[LargeFormat] Busch Pressman D Bellows maintenance

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <carlos@casadeibambini.net>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 3:31 PM
Subject: [LargeFormat] Busch Pressman D Bellows maintenance


> Hello,
> I just got my first large fomat camera, a busch pressman
"D".
> It has the original bellows, does anyone knows how should
I clean it (water,
> brush it) and what to put on the bellows to protect it and
it should remain
> flexible?
>
> Also, what films holders work best for this camera (I am
on a budget)
>
> Thank you in advance!
>
> Carlos
>
>
  I am not sure if the Pressman bellows are leather or
synthetic. If synthetic they need only to be wiped with a
damp cloth. Leanther is a problem. The information on the
Conservation site at Stanford University suggests that most
leather dressings will accelerate degradation of the leather
even though they may result in a temporary increase in
flexibility. Leather needs to exchange moisture with the air
so waxes are not desirable, they seal it too well. If its in
good condition a wipe down as above is probably the safest
treatment. Beware than oils, like Neat's Foot Oil, tend to
penetrate the leather and attack the stiffeners and
adhesive. In older bellows the stiffeners are hard manilla
paper. Graflex seems to have stopped using leather with the
Anniversary series Graphics, introduced in 1940, I suspect
that Busch probably used synthetic from the beginning.
However, its been years since I had a Pressman (a burglar
got it) so I don't know for certain. The Stanford site is
at: http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/
   As far as holders, they are standardised. I've found the
best of the used holders are the "Riteway" brand made by
Graflex. Old wooden holders tend to be warped so I would
avoid them. I've also had warpage problems with some early
plastic holders such as the original Fidelity Deluxe. Later
holders are OK. The key is that the film position must be
correct. You can check holders with a depth micrometer and a
reference plane of some sort. I use a metal block with a
hole in it for the micrometer feeler. This block is wide
enough to fit aross the width of the holder and maybe an
inch long. The correct position for the film is shown in the
following table. This is measured from the flat part of the
holder.
ANSI Standards for film plane placement in sheet film
cameras.

Size    Location   Tolerance + or -

4x5     0.197    0.007

5x7     0.228    0.010

8x10    0.260    0.016

Dimensions in inches.
Film thickness is 0.007  The above does not include
film thickness.
Smaller formats than 4x5 are the same as for 4x5.


---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com