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Thread: Toyo-View revolving back lever

  1. #1

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    Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Recently I picked up a Toyo-View 45G I haven't used one of these in 25 years and cannot remember much about it. I am having trouble in figuring out just what this little lever does, nor can I find what this lever does in the only online manual I have found.

    I found this image on the web, in one corner on the long side there is a lever that has been pulled out, I cannot figure out just what it does.

    The revolving back, doesn't have a release mechanism to allow you to revolve the back, I just twist and although it is very firm, the back just moves. I thought this lever was a locking mechanism, but it doesn't lock the back. It could be that the locking lever, if that is what it is, could be broken, I just don't know.

    Mick.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Toyo_view_revolving_back.jpg  

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    1

    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    I have a D45M and it's the lock for mine. I have just a older gray version of the back that is displayed on your post.

  3. #3

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    I see, that means mine is broken, still it's as stiff as to turn, so maybe it won't make too much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, nice to know though, many thanks.

    Mick.

    Ps:- welcome to the forum.

  4. #4

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    If your Toyo D45M back is stiff and doesn't rotate easily, or at all, it's not a difficult repair.

    1. Take the back off
    2. On the inside, look in the corners. You'll see each corner has a small cover. Everything you need is under there.
    3. Using a razor knife, gently pry up each cover. It's glued in a few places so you have to carefully work the blade under and as far back as you can get
    4. The detents are operated by the small metal parts screwed down on two corners. Undo one screw, loosen the other screw, and lift the small metal part off
    5. The two parts of the back are held together by the small tabs that are screwed down. Unscrew them.
    6. You can now separate the two parts so you can clean and lubricate them. I cleaned with paint thinner and a toothbrush to get the old grease off, and then lubricated with a good quality synthetic grease.
    7. Re-assemble in reverse order. The four small parts you removed to separate the two main parts have adjustment screws you can adjust to get the tension right.
    8. If the ground glass and/or fresnel lens are dirty, now's a good time to clean them. Just be very careful (they're only held together by the frame). Take lots of pictures so you can re-install the ground glass/fresnel in exactly the way it was installed before.

    9. I put the covers back on only after I was sure I was sure everything was in order. To glue them down, I used a tiny amount of silicone (which holds them down well but allows for future removal). I also put a tiny drop of Loktite on the adjustment screws.

  5. #5

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Quote Originally Posted by rdeloe View Post
    If your Toyo D45M back is stiff and doesn't rotate easily, or at all, it's not a difficult repair.

    1. Take the back off
    2. On the inside, look in the corners. You'll see each corner has a small cover. Everything you need is under there.
    3. Using a razor knife, gently pry up each cover. It's glued in a few places so you have to carefully work the blade under and as far back as you can get
    4. The detents are operated by the small metal parts screwed down on two corners. Undo one screw, loosen the other screw, and lift the small metal part off
    5. The two parts of the back are held together by the small tabs that are screwed down. Unscrew them.
    6. You can now separate the two parts so you can clean and lubricate them. I cleaned with paint thinner and a toothbrush to get the old grease off, and then lubricated with a good quality synthetic grease.
    7. Re-assemble in reverse order. The four small parts you removed to separate the two main parts have adjustment screws you can adjust to get the tension right.
    8. If the ground glass and/or fresnel lens are dirty, now's a good time to clean them. Just be very careful (they're only held together by the frame). Take lots of pictures so you can re-install the ground glass/fresnel in exactly the way it was installed before.

    9. I put the covers back on only after I was sure I was sure everything was in order. To glue them down, I used a tiny amount of silicone (which holds them down well but allows for future removal). I also put a tiny drop of Loktite on the adjustment screws.
    You see that this was a 4 year old post?

  6. #6

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Salomon View Post
    You see that this was a 4 year old post?
    Yes, Bob, I did notice the date on this thread. The date for every post is right there in the blue line above every post.

    If you head on over to the FAQ section, you'll see that one of the purposes of this forum is to build a "repository of knowledge". The knowledge that I provided in my response today to this old thread is knowledge that wasn't previously available on the forum. I have searched for every conversation about the Toyo D45M. Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has previously explained how to repair a stiff or seized back on a Toyo D45M camera. Don't you think that's useful knowledge for someone in future? I do. I would have been grateful to find that knowledge when I needed to repair mine.

    Some people think it's a sin to post a reply to an old thread. I think it's more useful to concentrate the knowledge by adding to old threads, rather than creating all kinds of little stubs of knowledge scattered across multiple threads.

  7. #7

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Quote Originally Posted by rdeloe View Post
    Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has previously explained how to repair a stiff or seized back on a Toyo D45M camera. Don't you think that's useful knowledge for someone in future? I do. I would have been grateful to find that knowledge when I needed to repair mine.
    This was immensely helpful to me, as I was trying to figure this out last week. Thank You!

  8. #8

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeH View Post
    This was immensely helpful to me, as I was trying to figure this out last week. Thank You!
    Glad to hear it.

    By the way, the movements on these amazing cameras are all adjustable. All the movements have extremely tiny "ways" adjustments that you can loosen or tighten with a hex key (I think 0.5mm). For example, if you're finding that that the focus knob is too tight or too loose, there are two ways screws on each focus knob. Ditto basically every other adjustment.

    I mentioned this tip in another thread, but my camera came with the standard (roughly 6") rail and the short extension rail that screws into the standard rail. You can carry the camera on the standard rail, but I find that 6" is too long for my pack. I discovered that you can also carry it on the very short extension rail. It just barely can hold the two standards and the standard bellows.

    Next up I need to figure out how to work with short focal length lenses on this camera. I'd like to use a 75mm lens, but the arms on each rail are only about 6.5" apart at the narrowest point. It might be a tight squeeze with the big floppy G bag bellows. The one for the Omega series looks a bit smaller. Or I can just get a recessed board and live with fewer movements. From what I can see, there never was a specific bag bellows for this camera (don't quote me on that though because there's little documentation to double-check).

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Canyon Country, California
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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    I bought mine used, from Samys here in LA, but it looked like a one owner, used once & stored in the attic. It came with a bag bellows that I used for a 90MM and never had any problems, including photographing the New York Trade Center Towers. I realize a 75 might be a different story.

    I'd post the photo here, but others (off this site) have said I should be careful with it.

  10. #10

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    Re: Toyo-View revolving back lever

    Normally I would side with Bob; in this instance I do sort of. As the originator of this thread, that information will come in useful in a couple of months as we head into winter. I will be doing some product photography and will be checking things before we get going.

    Mick.

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