Repair Thornton Pickard Shutter

[mug]

Hello,..
I'm starting to repair an Thornton Pickard Shutter. I prefere to to it as close as the original. But some things are difficult. Here below a detail picture of the shuttercloth just near the cut-away and the bamboo. Why they made these smal cuts in the cloth? Is this essential? Or can I leave it. Its more difficult to do it that way. I'am also planning to stitch it (more original), and not use glue as I think nowadays is more common. Any one advice or tips?
I already found myself these webpages
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~paul..._shutter_4.htm
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=26571
Greetings from The Netherlands

[Ash]

When I pulled mine apart (which was in an absolute state) I didn't keep it as close to the original as possible, I did it as practical as possible.

Some of the methods from 100 years ago show that they degrade and fall apart pretty fast. I used epoxy resin and stitching and am currently in the process of trying to find that really thin weaved metal wire/thread they use for security systems in shops. That way it's sure to last at least 100 more years.

Good luck with yours, I'm sure it'll look a lot nicer on the inside than mine

[BarryS]

Maybe they cut the corners that way so there was less chance of tearing? The angles are greater than 90 degrees, so that may put less stress on the corners. From a strength standpoint, I suppose round corners would be ideal because they distribute the stress around the radius of the curve instead of at a single point.

What are you using for shutter material? I'm doing some work on a TP shutter and may need to replace the curtain. Thanks.

[mug]

BarryS ..."put less stress on the corners"... I Think you're right about the corners from 45 degree. But that's actual not what I trying to ask. I repace the picture in my first post above, and now 'll see a arrow. There are two smal cuts in the cloth where the bamboo goes "up and down". I was asking myself why?
The cloth I use, you can buy by Microtools or as I did by Jon Goodman on Ebay.
Ash, For the wire I planned to use special wire that they use fore kites. It is special very fine & special woven and it can't stretch ! It's very different from wire they sell a boat/sail shops that stretch very very much.

[BarryS]

I think the loop over the bamboo is a consequence of the way they cut the corners. So, because the corners are cut at an angle, there's less fabric at the ends and the loops were cut to secure the ends of the bamboo. Thanks for the tip on the cloth, I'll look into the kite string too.

[E. von Hoegh]

Mug, it looks like they were trying to give the adhesive as much area as possible to bond with, as well as reduce stress on the fabric. How is the weave oriented?

They likely used hide glue in those days.

Please feel free to PM me any questions; I'll do my best.

Oh damn!! I just looked again at the pic. you posted, and saw a slit at the end of the "strap" in the middle of the cutout.

I have no idea why that would be there..

[mug]

About my wire tip. Look for wire that's made of Dyneema.(http://plastics.inwiki.org/Dyneema). It's stronger than steel.
..."Some of the methods from 100 years ago show that they degrade"...
Today I cut the wire sticking from the shuttercloth and release bamboo from the cloth. There was only a piece of glue (shellac) at the top and bottom. And see, the bamboo is not straight, but a small bow. Seems better not to re-use this and replace it for....
I have to choose. Try to make the shutter as much as the same as the original, or make them as much possible reliable. I think it's better to replace the bamboo for a piece of carbonfiber (again the kite shop).
At the picture above bamboo, at the bottom carbon fiber 1,2 mm round.

[BarryS]

Right, if you use a new piece of bamboo, you're only going to have to repair it again in another hundred years. I just want to get mine working reliably and am not too worried about using the exact same materials. On one of the web pages, I saw that one person cut a new bamboo strip. I don't even know where I'd find a small block of bamboo, but the local hobby shop has a good selection of carbon fiber. I couldn't find Jon Goodman on ebay--do you have a link by any chance? Thanks.

[Ash]

Barry I used shutter curtain material from a Speed Graphic. I used a piece with the metal lining for that shutter, so it served the same purpose as the TP's bamboo.

I have some curtain left over if you like?

[BarryS]

Ash--Thanks for the kind offer. I'll PM you.