Sinar F2 shift stops?

[Gavin Bowden]

Hi there, I just picked up an F2, the model with shift locks. Its been well taken care of and appears to be in pretty good shape. No
paint wear, just 2 dry levels. However both rear and front shifts are limited in movement by approx 6mm left and 6mm right. Am I right in thinking there are stops. There is a fine black horizontal screw at each end of the channels in the carriers that appear to block the frame as it nears the end of its travel. Does that make sense? Can these be adjusted or removed? I would love a full range of movement, especially on the rear. thanks

[Gavin Bowden]

In other words does your f2 shift all the way left 3cm and all the way right 5 cms, or does it stop short?

[Leigh]

There's a scale engraved on the frame base. It should shift the full range of the markings without any binding.

- Leigh

[Gavin Bowden]

That is what I had presumed - the #5 and the #3 should exactly line up with the index dot on the carrier. On mine the frame moves freely and smoothly and then stops short in both directions. At each end of that calibrated frame base, blocking the ends of the channel, are narrow black screws, which prevent the frame sliding all the way. These horizontal screws act upon the stainless screws/stops that are set in the carrier. I have removed the black screws and now the frame is free to move all the way, and more, however there is nothing now to stop it from sliding all the way off, should I be extremely careless. From what I can see the stainless screws in the carrier cannot be repositioned. Doesn't make sense to me. Is it ok to slide the frame off the carrier - will it slide back on again? Then I can have a better look.

[Leigh]

I'm certainly not an F2 expert. I have three of them, two 4x5 and one 8x10.

All of them have a hard stop at both ends of the shift scale.

There are small horizontal screws at the extreme ends to stop the movement and prevent the back from coming off.
These are the 2x14 screws shown at the top of your service sheet, but there's one at each end.

- Leigh

[Gavin Bowden]

Thanks, then I'll remove the screws and not worry any more about it.