De Vere 8x10 + Sinar/Copal shutter

[Steven Tribe]

Dear CJ,
A couple of questions.
Did you see photographs before it was sent? It has been known that sellers pack an already damaged item inadequately to move the responsibility over to the postal authorities. Even if there was a photo, it would be wise to check that it is the shutter you have received - a used item will always have some unique marks.

Wrapping items together is just asking for postal damage. Were the shutter leaves withdrawn into the body - this is the only way to ensure no damage in the post?

As far as repair, this should be practical as the shutter uses fairly simple and large items inside. Damage to the leaves would probably require replacement of these.

[cyberjunkie]

Yes, i have the original picture.
The shutter looked perfect. It was a damage caused by a very bad packing.
The parcel was full of paper, on one of those paper balls there was a Copal/Wista No. 0 shutter, and on a bigger one there was the Sinar shutter, together with both the shutter release and the flash connection. The Sinar flex release isn't very flexible, it's hard and strong, and with some strong edges. Having the release packaged against the shutter was a bad idea, big parcels go very often on top of smaller ones, and probably that's exactly what happened.
But i have good news:
the vendor didn't answer to my emails, the friend who's repairing photographic stuff was not there... so i decided to try to tackle the problem by myself.
I unscrewed one of the side covers, nothing there, just the big leaves of the shutter.
Then i opened the other side, i tried to understand how it works, and with my first touch of finger the shutter was released. Awesome!
After that i almost restored to its original state the aluminium cover with the shutter speeds inscribed on it, and then i looked for a small screw that could keep together the two small round thingies that stay on top of the speed selector lever. Maybe the size was not perfect, but now the two small "knobs" stay in place.
I don't know what i have done, but for some magic reason now the shutter works at all speeds.

All in all, in less than 24 hours i have restored two expensive items, for which i had scarce hopes. The other one being the TTH Cooke Portrait Series II E, which did come in very poor condition: mold stain on the glasses, like a growth of spores seen thru a microscope, "softness" ring and retaining ring were badly stuck, and the brass barrel looked as it was attacked by some sort of acid, that also went inside, leaving a lot of traces of some black oxyde.
On "Lenses" sub-forum there is the entire story...
I am also reporting in brief on this post, because i'd like to show to other newbyes like me, that sometimes it is worth to give it a try, and that the results can make you soo happy!
Sometimes a few basic tools, and a lot of patience, are all you need to make a work done. Given the present economic situation, and the always shrinking budget that we can save for our hobbies, doing some stuff by ourselves is both a personal satisfaction, and a much welcomed saving.

Back to the De Vere 8x10 plus Sinar shutter:
i understood why the frame of original De Vere bellows is so thick.
It's because the two "side locks" on the standard don't engage the full thickness of the bellows frame, on the two sides of the frame there is a recess where the two "flaps" engage. That way, either a De Vere or a Sinar bellows could be used (actually the Sinar frame is less than half the thickness of the De Vere, so the two flaps should engage directly BEHIND the frame).
Unfortunately the Sinar shutter uses a totally different system; on the bottom there are two screws that could be unscrewed a little to allow for a thicker frame, but on top the moving part that locks the bellows into place can't be distanced from the shutter body! No chances this way...
The only viable option would be to extend the two recesses on the De Vere frame to the full perimetre, or at least for the entire length of its upper and lower side.
That way it would perfectly fit on the back of the Sinar shutter, but the difficult part is finding some machinist that would do the job without totally destroying the bellows.
I am fraid that if i unglue the bellows from the front frame, it would not be so easy to reglue it. I have looked at the bag bellows, that's not with the camera because it needs some fixing (some light leaks), and i didn't see any screws.
I must look again with a torch, but the bellows looks glued, with no fixing screws.
Any clue about it?

have fun

CJ

[Brian Ellis]

Your 240 G Claron will cover 8x10 with plenty of room to spare. A 210 G Claron will also cover 8x10 with room to spare as you stop down from f16. I used both lenses for 8x10 and coverage was never an issue with either.

[Steven Tribe]

Dear CJ. The Sinar/Copal is a pretty robust animal - just a little vulnerable to leaf damage. I am not at all surprised that a strip and reassembly solved the problem. Similarly, the T,T &H series II E. I contributed there and was pretty sure is was the late E type but didn't want to get your expectations up! The new coloured metal surface is a very thin layer. Modern brass contains more than just Copper and Zink. In the old days moisure and corrosion lead to the zink leaching out and leaving a reddish copper layer. This layer could well be tin if the alloy was halfway between brass and bronze.