Burke & James Press - Weak Springs?

[mikedlt]

I picked up a well used Burke and James 4x5 press camera at auction - My first large format camera.
After getting my first negatives back, I realized with a sinking feeling - On No! I have light leaks!

Hunting around with a LED flashlight inside the camera late at night, I realized because this is a spring back camera,
and it came with a film holder with a spring back (possibly in there for years) the springs have taken a set and don't quite hold with enough force to seal completely light tight against the bakelite camera back. Now the good news. The bellows are in remarkably good tight shape!

I also noticed that some of the rivets protruded just enough to possibly cause a problem, so I did some careful surgery with a very fine Dremel bit to slightly file them down, just enough so a depth micrometer (or other precision flat) would not snag on them. This seems to have helped, but did not completely solve the light leaks without more spring pressure.

So my question is: Did Burke and James use anything else on this camera, like foam or felt, to seal the film holder?
I don't appear to have any on this camera. Also, does anyone out there have a Burke and James press that has a bad bellows with good spring that would be willing to sell or trade for?

[Steven Tribe]

These are not like car springs - which lose their original temper over time. As far as I know, these are just cold bent strips.
Dismount the springs and bend them equally in the same direction which would increase pressure on the plate/film holder.
Repeat until the pressure exerted is enough to remove light leaks. You may have to repeat the exercise in a half century!

[Vaughn]

I agree with Steve -- I 'fixed' some weak springs on my old 5x7 just by bending them some. I did not think that the solution would be so easy.

Vaughn

[leighmarrin]

Another source of light leaks in the 4x5 B&J Press is in the revolving back. I suggest you check it in both the vertical and horizontal position with a small flashlight inside, and a filmholder in place. I've had two 4x5 B&J and the more-used one had this problem. I could not figger out an easy fix, short of taping the gap...

[mikedlt]

Thanks for the replies! I'll bend them as much as I feel comfortable with, see if that helps. Now the revolving back, seems quite tight on my particular camera. It probably has not been revolved much, but I will keep an eye out for problems there. For cameras that do have such a problem, I wonder if black molybdenum grease or ultra black car rtv silicon from the auto parts shop could be a solution? Well. On second thought, that might create a big mess.

[Jim Noel]

If you leave your dark cloth ver the back of the camera at all times when the film holder is in you will eliminate many light leak problems. I try to follow the lead of Cole Weston and never let the film holder be out from under the cloth. I suspect he got this from his father.

[mikedlt]

Funny thing about film holders in this spring back Burke and James press camera - I have read high praise for older Riteway holders - but Lisco "Regal II" holders I have seem to fit more snugly, with no light leaks around the edges. Film plane accuracy notwithstanding. I might need to weed through my film holder collection more carefully. The comment about always having a dark cloth over the camera back when the slide is removed I think is spot on for good insurance. Will post again when I get some negatives back developed!

[mikedlt]

Well, I shot some 4x5 with the Burke and James Press - As far as camera light leaks - all gone!

I bent the springs as was suggested. I think my technique improved also. First the ground glass cover is carefully closed under a rubberized dark cloth, and I place my left thumb on the cover with my fingers gripping the top of the camera. The idea is to keep pressure on the film holder while removing or inserting the dark slide. This is a bit of added insurance that the film holder will not shift on camera with the slide removed, as that gives me bad feelings in my stomach. I clip my dark cloth to the back of the camera with three springy metal binder paper clips like you get at Staples. I can keep everything out of the direct sun this way. It works !