I received a 1953 Pacemaker Crown Graphic as part of a lot passed down to me from the estate of a deceased photographer. I've modified the camera to provide lens board movements not possible otherwise. I've added forward tilt capability as well as left and right swing. It is a bit fiddly working with swing, but having the ability opens up many possibilities for using this camera creatively. And all it cost me was a bit of my time and thought.
To start I removed the view and range finders from the box, as well as the built-in cable release. I need this thing to fit into my pack, so trimming off the excess was required. I was careful to organize and pack all the items and original fasteners so they could be reinstalled on the box easily at any time.
What about movements?
Some folks turn the front standard around to allow forward tilt. While I like that idea I also wanted to be able to use backward tilt when needed without having to go through the process of flipping the standard around. My solution was to cut two holes for the set screws into the frame opposite the original holes. I also had to remove the original adjustable stops to permit the movement. This also allows for left/right swing when the camera is oriented vertically. Here's a photo of the assembly after completion of cutting the holes (sorry you can't see them!):
The main limitation of this mod is that in order to use backwards tilt the set screws must be removed and relocated to the forward holes in the frame. That could be a bit too much to ask while out in the field. The parts are pretty small and could get lost easily. My solution to this problem will be to cut another pair of holes dead center of the frame. That would allow both forward and backward tilt, more than enough for most work, and the standard will still be convertible for more movement either way if needed.
The idea of adding swing came to me after noticing that the front standard already had a fair amount of "slop" that allowed for a small amount of swing. I removed the standard and took a look. Here's what's under there:
You can see the guides on the outside, and the two clamps which I've already scribed with the radius to cut along. I'm going to cut the corners off the clamps and remove the outside guides. Here is the finished work:
The standard clamps down as well as it did before with zero wobble or looseness. And now I've got a 4x5 field camera for almost "free".
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