I just received an Agfa Ansco 8x10 I got from Ebay for a couple hundred bucks, that I want to restore to a user standard. The good news is that the camera is largely complete (only one missing knob), has a bellows that smells musty but appears to be in generally good shape and light-tight, has a perfectly decent 8x10 back and ground glass, and as a bonus has a built-in working packard shutter. The bad news is it requires a complete breakdown and rebuild, largely due to several loose joints in the rails and and a hacked rear standard focus lock knob. Oh, yes, it's also painfully ugly, and so I'll be bringing the finish up to at least a non-crumbly condition - right now I'm thinking of stripping all finishes and just applying an oil afterwards.
So here is the "before":
Any pre-emptive input would be appreciated. I have two specific questions - since these were Agfa branded cameras, should I expect to look at metric replacements for missing screws? Also, can anyone tell me which model of camera this is. I know not all early A-As had front tilt, but from what I've read, both the Unversal and the Commercial had front focusing, and this one doesn't - only rise and shift. It's definitely not a Commercial, judging by the rail extension. Is it just a very early Universal?
Finally, as this is my first post here, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Simon, and I'm an architect, but I studied photography at Columbia College Chicago in the 1990s. I have been an on-off large and medium-format user, including quite a bit of pinhole photography and other experiments, not all of which have been analog. I have quite a stash of cameras, including a working 5x7 post-war Ansco field camera, a Cambo Cadet and a Speed Graphic. Recently I've started doing things with the Ansco, and I have to say I have enjoyed the larger format. That was mostly what induced me to take the plunge into 8x10, but since my family budget can't justify the purchase of a more modern and expensive option, I decided to go for a fixer-upper.
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