Agfa-Ansco 5x7 track refurbishing advice requested

[Joseph Kashi]

I have a 5x7 Agfa-Ansco tailbed camera (fixed front standard model) that's largely refurbished to relatively tight working condition with one exception: the side grooves in the track still have some wear or play in them allowing the rear standard to have some forward and back movement when lightly rocked by hand despite being the locking nobs being fully tightened. These are the two grooves in which the back standard base moves forward and back when the camera is focused.

I can fit a .005 inch piece of shim brass between the wood groove's bottom and the piece of rear-standard metal that rides in it. Doing so noticeably reduces the amount of possible movement and it's clear that this play is the major remaining looseness. I've already tried to expand the wood and tighten the groove a bit with Swel-lock.

My question: is there anything else that might be done to tighten this track groove by about 5/1000 ths inch without binding the focus or are we at the practical limit for what can be done to improve rigidity?

[LabRat]

Standard metal tongues can be made thicker with shim stock...

Steve K

[Joseph Kashi]

How do you attach the shim stock to the tongues in a way that stays attached in use and workable? There's very little available thickness for glue or epoxy.

[LabRat]

Superglue can if well squeezed by clamping, but you have to figure how to prevent the ends from folding into the groove...

You can "paint" a thin layer of marine epoxy, then carefully sand to thickness...

But if the gap is that small, note you should leave some clearance in the gap to prevent expansion/contraction binding when in use...

Steve K

[Tin Can]

I don’t have that exact camera

But on something similar I have adjusted by slightly bending the male parts that fit the slot

[dap]

Another option would be to go down to the local hardware store and get a roll of adhesive backed aluminum foil tape (made for ducts). I have used it in the past on projects that needed shims on moving parts.

[Joseph Kashi]

Thank you, everyone, for the excellent and useful suggestions. I found that the track was loose enough to wobble a bit if the rear standard was gently moved but not loose enough to allow free movement with even .002 shim stock. It bound in some positions but not in others. Ultimately, what seemed to work best was to take the two tongue parts off the camera and gently tap them down very lightly with a hammer. That still allowed non-binding movement while noticeably tightening things up, albeit not perfectly so given that it's at least an 80 year old wood camera. It's definitely better now.