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Ok- so I got the little Cooke 10.5" f4.5 Series II in my hands today. The glass has a bunch of marks, but nothing that would stop it from making good images.The aperture on the other hand, is super stiff and barely turns. Who would you all recommend for servicing something like this?
Carol at Flutot's Camera Repair.
Pro camera in D.C.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Davis
Bob, you mentioned Pro Camera in DC a few times, but I can't find any info on them (and having lived in DC for 16 years, I have never heard of them). Can you please enlighten me? Thanks!
https://www.prophotodc.com/Quote:
Originally Posted by giganova
Pro camera is in Chancerville. They would be the second site as they are further away from you.
Sabu and Nick own the DC facility. Give them my regards.
Bob owns Charlottesville. Tell him hello for me also.
It seems to be a fairly common problem on Cooke lenses from TTH. I have a series III on which the diaphragm would hardly move and I simply sent to my local general camera repairer who sorted it out no problem. Apparently its not a difficult fix but the lenses can be hard to dismantle due to accumulated grime and hardened grease (mine was ~1895).
Well... I took a run at it myself. This one was actually relatively easy to do. I got it disassembled, all the old gunky grease removed, gave the outer aperture control ring a tiny shot of lubricant, re-installed the aperture blades, and got the glass all cleaned up. It's now actually kind of pretty, even in its distressed condition. There's a couple of scratches in the glass that will never go away, but nothing that will actually interfere with function. Here's before and after photos:
Before:
Attachment 207043
and after (with some of my other great lenses accompanying it - the Hermagis Eidoscope #3 on the left and the R. Beard daguerrian lens on the right) :
Attachment 207044
I've got to get the flange dispatched to Grimes to get it mounted so I can put it on my 5x7 and give it a whirl.