Graflex Variations: Facts and vs. Replica
- Thread starter scottjua
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Biskit1
New Member
The band was a really tough one since every metal handles bending differently. We tried a couple different materiels and ended up using stainless steel so we didn’t have to try and plate it. The SS was water jet cut from a sheet then sent to the tool&die folks. Every time a die hits metal it costs $$$ in the manufacture and there were a lot of hits on the clamp. I believe the ears were bent first then both ends took two hits. The body ended up requiring 5 hits to have a smooth curve
WOW what a detailed thing, thank you! I didn’t realize how many processes were in just… one detail like the folding of the clamp lol
The originals were.. trying to remember, they had to be steel because they rust differently than the brass body corrodes (in real life)
The originals were.. trying to remember, they had to be steel because they rust differently than the brass body corrodes (in real life)
Biskit1
New Member
There were SO many tiny, stupid details I wanted right. The little, brass pins to plug the original into the camera were actually machined from thin brass on the lathe so they looked right. The other area I know I changed was the red button and glass eye. Because they both had a nice, shiny finish rather than brushed I didn’t have to use the exact material so we chose aluminum. The eye itself was a craft plastic bubble thing that matched. If I remember correctly, we didn’t fix either the glass eye or red button (custom cast) in place, but just stuffed them in so the owner could decide to fix them in place or make the button press
Biskit1
New Member
It feels like forever, Jim! I was mentioning on Twitter my brief flirtation with internet micro celebrity and found this thread
Is it for ESB?
Hey all, recently picked up a Folmer flash from an auction and was curious about the lever it came with. It's shinier than an Inc but has a larger rivet. I'm pretty positive it's vintage but I've just never seen one like this. Here it is compared to an Inc lever. Red dot for shiny 'Folmer'. Any thoughts? Brushed up Inc lever maybe?
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These were made by hand in the 30s
AnubisGuard
Master Member
As far as I'm aware, shinier + larger rivet was the standard for Folmer levers.
Oh really? I had thought they were shinier with a smaller rivet that was level to the lever.
This is the way
Hmm, that's peculiar since the majority, if not all Folmer variants, I have seen definitely have the smaller, shorter rusted rivet head and most often have shiny levers.
I was very confused when I received it, do the Folmer variants have a plating or polished finish? This one seems polished and smooth
The majority of vintage Folmers I have received have the shiny finish. That one could be a rare shiny Inc. hard to say for certain though.
Could be lol. I'm thinking someone probably just brought it over to the wire wheel to clean up possibly. Who knows, unfortunately now I need to find another lever for my flash LOL. It'll look nice on my ANH saber though.
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