The bellows were always going to be an interesting part of this reconstruction, namely due to the fact that they were so big, and so badly damaged – finding something from another camera wasn’t really an option. Likewise repairing the originals, something I had originally considered but decided against after seeing just how badly they […]
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This was always going the biggest job of the reconstruction, and without a doubt the most significant. Fortunately the fine brazil Mahogany was a little too tough for the woodworm to chew through and no significant repairs were needed, as had been the case with the stand. To recap, the camera had been stripped down, […]
Read More »Another piece of the gigantic camera jigsaw (almost) in place now, a 12×15″ plate holder. Seen here on the left, with a whole plate and a 5×4 side by side for a sense of scale. It’s huge! Although not as big as I’d like, with the original being 15×15 it will suffice for now to […]
Read More »With the stand repaired and repainted, with only a few minor finishing touches remaining, attentions turned to the camera itself. I initially felt this was probably going to be the most complex part of the reconstruction but actually, once I’d begun stripping things down it didn’t seem too bad. I’d barely seen the camera as […]
Read More »Well. After many hours of sanding and repairs with not too much to show for the effort, I wanted to feel like I’d achieved something and made something shiny so decided to tackle the cleanup of the lens. It’s an Optimus 3B, adjusted by Perken, Son & Co Ltd of Hatton Garden, London. I measured […]
Read More »So, last post you may recall an impressive amount of woodworm damage in one of the legs of the stand which required a bit of attention… Let me say firstly that I’m not exactly blessed with quite as much skill, tools or nice dry workshops when it comes to woodworking but I think, given the […]
Read More »As mentioned in the previous post – there was a canny bit of woodworm evident at some point in the camera’s life. Chances are the beasties inside had long gone but with the camera being stored indoors once restored it’s not a chance I wanted to take. Fortunately, I work in a Museum. Equally fortunately, […]
Read More »A slight precursor to this post for those outside of the North East of England regarding the word WASS. Wass is a NE (or maybe Sunderland only) word which means massive, or huge, eg: ‘just seen a geet wass spider under me bed, like.’ And also a nod to the legendary ‘WASS HAIR’ unisex salon […]
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