Polaroid 545 and reducing back trouble

[Matt Miller]

I just received a Polaroid 545 holder that I would like to use with a Rittreck 4x5 reducing back. When I test fit the holder in the back, I found that the roller cover/bump out on the front of the holder pushes it away from the film plane on one side. It looks like it pushes it out about an 1/8 inch or so.

I'm not sure what I need to do about this. Is there another 545 holder that has less of a "bump out" on the roller cover? Is there a way I can shim the ground glass plane out so that the holder will fit properly?

Thanks for any help!

[lenser]

I had a machinist friend build a reducing back for my Kodak Master View (8x10) When he did it, he failed to make allowances for the Polaroid "hump", so rather than redo the whole thing, we made an aluminum shim that was about 1/4 inch think and attached it between the main plate and the old crown graphic back that we had used for the 4x5 set up.

We attached the shim with epoxy and counter sunk flat head screws, then sprayed the interior surfaces with flat black before final assembly of the graphic back.

I don't know what the Rittrek back looks like, but if you can remove the 4x5 section and get down to the basic flat back plate, I think you should be able to have a good machinist or woodworker (cabinet maker) create a shim for you. The only concern would be to make certain that it is light tight so you have no leaks for either the Polaroid back or the regular film holders. A flocked black paper or very thin black felt should do the trick and then trim it out on the inside.

Tim