Crown Graphic lens rail repair

[jonbrisbincreative]

What's the feasibility of getting a Crown Graphic on the cheap that, except for the rear focussing rail in the body being out of alignment with the one on the bed, is in great shape? Is that repair easy enough for someone completely new to LF to handle on their own?

I'd like to get a Crown that I can strip the covering off and refinish the wood. I'm also thinking of getting a 90 and a 210 Fujinon lens for it, so starting condition isn't important to me since I'll be stripping off the rangefinder and everything else I can to lighten it up. The only thing I'm concerned with is proper operation of the focusing and movements (such as they are). I'll be doing some 4x5 but just as much 6x9 and maybe 6x12 if I can find a back that doesn't cost more than the camera itself!

I do traditional and environmental portraiture and I'd like to do some international travel with it, possibly into the jungles of South America to do environmental portraiture of primitive peoples.

[mdarnton]

You're looking at the one on Ebay. Often what has happened in this instance is that the back rail has come out of it's track, and the person selling it doesn't know how to get it back it, which is pretty easy but not immediately obvious. When I saw your post, I went looking to see if I should buy one, and that one popped up as a possibility that I would buy if I wanted one, then I checked the sold listings, and discovered that if I were willing to wait and watch, ones for 1/3 of that price or a bit more come up quite regularly, complete with lenses, so no, I wouldn't do it, because of the price, not the rail problem.

My warning on this, however, is that often late Crowns and Speeds go cheap because someone has removed the back, and it seems the seller doesn't know enough to know it's gone (or maybe he's just hoping YOU don't know enough!) So before you punch the button on a cheap one, make sure the whole thing is there!

[jonbrisbincreative]

You're looking at the one on Ebay. Often what has happened in this instance is that the back rail has come out of it's track, and the person selling it doesn't know how to get it back it, which is pretty easy but not immediately obvious. When I saw your post, I went looking to see if I should buy one, and that one popped up as a possibility that I would buy if I wanted one, then I checked the sold listings, and discovered that if I were willing to wait and watch, ones for 1/3 of that price or a bit more come up quite regularly, complete with lenses, so no, I wouldn't do it, because of the price, not the rail problem.

My warning on this, however, is that often late Crowns and Speeds go cheap because someone has removed the back, and it seems the seller doesn't know enough to know it's gone (or maybe he's just hoping YOU don't know enough!) So before you punch the button on a cheap one, make sure the whole thing is there!

Thanks for the info! I'll keep watching my saved searches then.

[Will Frostmill]

I think I saw a stripped Crown Graphic on the FS board already, so that's probably your best choice. (It might have been a Burke and James, which would also work.)

I would recommend against stripping a Crown, particularly stripping the rangefinder if you are doing environmental portraiture! A dual rangefinder model set for your 90 and 210 would be ideal - Kalart rangefinders can be adjusted for those focal lengths, and new cams can be ground for top mounted Graflex rangefinders.

You will not see a significant weight savings by stripping the camera, and the leatherette will protect the wood body from warping due to humidity, a definite consideration if you are going to the jungles of South America.

If you really want a light camera, and you want it to be wood, with no rangefinders, your better bet is to buy an old wooden folder (Pony Premo, for instance) and buy a modern back to bolt on it.

[mdarnton]

B&J works just so-so with 90mm lenses--I have one, am sorry I bought it with w/a in mind, and don't recommend it. If you go vertical--the spinning back is great--and drop the bed, then tilt and raise to cancel the tilt and fall of the drop, you'll be sitting off the back of the track, mostly off, and it's very unstable. I'm with Will on stripping, though. The RF just doesn't add that much, and it's handy to have. The frame finder, moving with the lens board, is thus always accurate for any lens, which is cool, too.

If you go the Ebay route, set up a shortcut for newly-listed 4x5 crown graphic, and hit it at least three times a day. I have found that when I'm really set on something, that does the trick within a couple of days. If you don't do that, someone else more focused than you will beat you every time.