i rebuild these old grafmatics. the most common issue i see , and the reason why allot of people only shoot straight ahead, is due to loose septums. the springs are not pushing on the septums, or one of the springs are sometimes missing/broken. the loose springs will also cause the septums to jam since they are not held down and in place when shuffling. another user mistake is not having all 6 septums in the case, this will cause all the septums to be loose.
That's a good point about the springs. I have 6 straight septums in each of my grafmatics, but I don't think I've ever noticed the condition of the springs.Originally Posted by Jerry G
The grafmatic I'm shooting now is the funky one, and I can see that it has a couple of issues. There's one internal spring - not the septum spring - that I think is either broken or unhooked.
What happens is the film can slide a little out of the septum and get in the way of the shuffle sequence... More of an issue when in a vertical orientation, and gets shook when the septum bangs while changing, shaking it loose and film can slide...
A spot of tape on the notch end on film/septum or maybe a thicker strip of mylar glued to septum where film ends can prevent film from sliding around as a stop should work...
I need to do this to a couple of mine but haven't gotten around to it yet (as this has happened to me also)... Solved a jam in the field once by inverting whole camera, gently shaking mechanism until film slid back into septum... Swore I would fix that for good someday soon... ;-I
Steve K
Or insert the holder up from the bottom instead of down from the top?
If you have room under camera to operate slides???
Steve K
As others have said, make sure that the two springs that pinch the film are tight enough and seat the film all the way into the septum for good consistent results. Also lubricate the slides to keep them operating smoothly. Use either paraffin or Lemon Pledge. (Yup)
I have reconditioned all of my Gmatics; taking them apart and cleaning out the dirt. The holders were originally lubricated with high melting temperature paraffin, which you can get at Fisher Scientific (made for histology). Stay away from pledge, it may get on your film and attract dust. Put a thin layer of wax on all sliding edges.
I have bent the springs on all my holders to ensure adequate tension.
If you look at the septa some will have a compression of the flange at the open end , this helps keep the film from sliding. Others have a tab cut out of the flange to do the same thing.
About 20 or so years ago Howard Bond published an article in Photo Techniques on which holders held film at the correct plane for focus. G'matics were the most consistent, and near or at the proper plain. Meaning that if you want your image to be in optimal focus, use a G'matic.
Mike
I have had a few Grafmatics over the years. They are great little machines. I could never integrate them into my workflow though. But they are really interesting to manipulate, a bit like a magician's trick box.
A tribute to how well made they are is their age, 50+ years, and still clattering along. No DS
LR bought new today would be that rugged, even if never used it would just rot in the box.
Drew Bedo
www.quietlightphoto.com
http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo
There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!
Here is a copy of the original instructions:
Graflex Grafmatik Back instructions
https://graflex.org/speed-graphic/grafmatic/
Rod
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