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Hrhwilson17
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Username: Hrhwilson17

Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 07:30 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi I am interested in camera restoration which I do as a hobby.Most of the ones I restore are destined for the rubbish tip.Would be interested in your comments on some of my restorations. Photos attached of some I have completed this year.Lightning-beforeLightning-after No4 Kodak junior-beforeNo4 Kodak junior-afterPenquin-beforePenquin-after
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Adrian
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Username: Adrian

Post Number: 70
Registered: 08-2006

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Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 02:49 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Harry ( I think I can read that on one of your pics), it looks to me like you should visit this site - you sing from the same hymn sheet!

http://ifitsrusteditsmine.googlepages.com/cameraindex

He hangs around here too - you should compare notes!

Adrian
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Rjl
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Username: Rjl

Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2007 - 07:05 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Your work looks lovely Harry, especially on such a range of vintage tools. Do the cameras work too?

Kind regards.
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Hrhwilson17
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Username: Hrhwilson17

Post Number: 4
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2007 - 05:28 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi all the mechanical parts work, on the Lightning I had to replace springs same on the No4 Kodak Junior ,the string set also needed overhaul.I still have to replace a spring in the shutter of the King Penguin. The No4 came without the back section for the plate/roll film
so I made a non functional back section to the original dimentions for display purposes.
Thanks for your interest Regards Harry
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Hrhwilson17
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Username: Hrhwilson17

Post Number: 5
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 01:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi I am running out of cameras to restore can anyone help me. If you look at the ones that I have restored you will get an idea of the ones I want.ones suitable for the rubbish that need a lot of TLC.I am willing to pay for them.
Thanks Harry
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Canuck_curt
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Username: Canuck_curt

Post Number: 12
Registered: 03-2007

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Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 05:10 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi Harry,
It looks like you do excellent work and really enjoy yourself which is great but could you please hit the "Enter" button between each photo you post or they'll load all across the screen like this and make your post hard to read. Thanks, otherwise I really like your work and wish mine turned out as well. Regards, Curt.
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Rj_
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Username: Rj_

Post Number: 31
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 03:13 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Harry - Just curious to see how your restoration work is going.

Can you share how you restored the covering of the Kodak Junior?
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Hrhwilson17
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Username: Hrhwilson17

Post Number: 8
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 - 05:29 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi
the hardest part to restoring an old camera is to locate a covering suitable for the job.
The covering I am using is from a local bookbinder which as been used for about the last 50 years for book binding.the brown that I use is not the correct brown(too light) so I age it with a leather dye for the older look.If I can help further let me know if local you can allways visit.Harry
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Rj_
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Username: Rj_

Post Number: 56
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Monday, October 15, 2007 - 03:51 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi there,

thanks for getting back.

You're spot on - this first step is the most challenging. Looking at a Thornton Pickard 1/4 plate camera which I had hopes of working on, I've not seen any material flexible enough to cover this with.

I'd love to visit to see the camera, however geographically, I think I must be at least 12,000 miles away. By next month, that will be down to 4,000 miles when I'm back on assignment.

Would love to hear your ideas on restoration via email if possible, since this will be my first time approaching restoration of a box type camera.

Kind regards,

RJ

www.luxcamera.co.uk
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Retina
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Username: Retina

Post Number: 2
Registered: 06-2010

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Posted on Thursday, June 03, 2010 - 02:51 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Nice.
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Gyurmi
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Username: Gyurmi

Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2009

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Posted on Saturday, June 12, 2010 - 06:06 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Wow! This is astonishing. Do you specifically target the really crapy ones? I can imagine that the bigger the challenge, the greater the satisfaction is. Not long ago I 'restored' a Canonflex, which was in a rather poor shape and enjoyed the work more than just cleaning, as I normally do, the cameras I pick up from deceased estates. I had to put the word restored in inverted commas, as my effort was nowhere as advanced as yours. I still need some leather - you gave me an idea by mentioning bookbinder.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~gpauka/foto/Restoration/CanonflexRP/index.html
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Edward8
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Username: Edward8

Post Number: 36
Registered: 03-2010

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Posted on Sunday, June 27, 2010 - 09:20 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hello Harry,

I live in country Victoria, but tend to travel interstate for work. Next stop is Hobart, I think. Will keep an eye out for suitable candidates for restoration.

Seen a few around where I live, but nothing special.

Cheers. Edward.
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Msiegel
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Username: Msiegel

Post Number: 190
Registered: 03-2008

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Posted on Monday, June 28, 2010 - 02:05 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

@Gyurmi
A very fine article on the Canonflex restauration.
Another source for leather that is often mentioned in online discussions are women's handbags from flea markets, thrift stores etc. They are available in an infinite variety of colours and patterns. They go cheap and provide enough material for more than one camera.
A wellknown source for leather and leatherettes is the following:
http://www.cameraleather.com/ but you certainly did know that.
Regards
Martin
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Donyet
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Username: Donyet

Post Number: 36
Registered: 06-2009

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Posted on Sunday, July 18, 2010 - 07:36 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Wow, that's some impressive restoration work. I wouldn't have gotten near these cameras in the shape they were in before.
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Mogul264
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Username: Mogul264

Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2012

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Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - 09:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I have a family heirloom, a 1924 2A Brownie Model C box camera. The rear door leatherette/cloth hinge has torn completely across, with only the clip holding it on. It appears to have been a one piece covering/hinge, and there are several rivets, viewfinder bezels, and the winder key mechanism through and on top of it, plus other controls which pass through near the edge, complicating any replacement. Is there a way to unobtrusively repair this which will also allow actual use, should I find actual rolls of #116 film?
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Marty
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Username: Marty

Post Number: 99
Registered: 11-2008

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Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - 10:39 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I've had some luck fixing torn fabric hinges by replacing them with bias tape, (my wife sews,) gluing it in with contact cement.

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