Recognition - what is this wooden / bellows?

[goamules]

Hi, thanks for any help. I got this for the lens/shutter. Could someone tell me what the wooden, bellows and rail part is? An enlarger? Camera? I shoot wetplate collodion, and don't know my way around a "normal" darkroom....or is this a camera?

Thanks again,

Garrett

[Brian Bullen]

Hey Garrett, to me that looks like a home-made camera. I can't be sure from the photograph but it sure looks like it. Can a film holder be put in the back?

[goamules]

Could be Brian. I should claify; it's still being shipped, I don't have in hand. So if it has a conventional back, it's some kind of camera? Makes sense.

[Brian Bullen]

Let us know what you get. If it's workable and you don't want to keep it it will probably sell pretty easily. On the other hand I'm sure it would look great with some Silver Nitrate stains all over the back.

[Brian Bullen]

What lens did you get by the way?

[goamules]

I'll do that, we'll figure out what this is, it should come in the next day or so. The lens is a Gundlach Radar 8x10. I don't really need another Tessar, I already have a few Velostigmats, and one should cover my 8x10. But I wanted the big Betax No. 5, and trying a new lens is fun.

silver nitrate stained metal here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garrettsphotos/

[Jim Galli]

In typical Gundlach fashion the Radar was a tessar copy but it has 3 glasses cemented at the back instead of 2 very likely in order to get around paying license fees. They have a fine rounded look wide open but not so different from the 'stigmat that you would keep them both.

Camera looks home made. Looks like a burke and james wannabe. Nobody wants to be a burke and james though. You might get more for the bellows if it's good than the camera such as it is. I watched that sale too.

[goamules]

Thanks for the background on the Radar, Jim. The one plus for my collection is my biggest velo is only 8 1/4....this Radar is 12 inch. Would love to get one with difussion...but they keep getting too high for me. And I needed a big shutter for future eventualities. The velos are in barrel, which is fine for 20 second wetplate exposures, with a filmbox lid for a lenscap!

Yeah, I've been more impressed with the older wooden cameras like my Century 2. Perhaps the bellows will be good to recover some funds.