WannaWanga ANH Graflex Configuration
- Thread starter roygilsing
- Start date
unclemarsellus
Member
Great work, Roy. That guide would've saved me so much time and pain. Such a great idea for future builders.
I see you managed to fit the bubblestrip into the clamp without beveling the edges. I was unable to do that with mine. All of the clamps vary in their fit, of course. Me, I tend to lean toward the hero having a beveled strip because the Elstree saber (presumably made around the same time as the hero) was done that way. But your build does show that the other, non-beveled way is a possibility.
Yup, I was planning to bevel the edges, but it didn’t end up being necessary. I still might do a slight bevel, but no where near as dramatic as the one on the Estree saber.
Yeah. If they weren’t beveled at a steep angle, they must have been sanded (but retaining the 90-degree angle) to reduce the width of the strip. It all depended on the fit on the clamp and its teeth, of course. Beveling the edges allows the clamp teeth to grip the strip, but also allows the body of the strip to sit underneath the teeth a bit, which helps fill that empty space. A strip sanded to retain the 90-degree angle would leave two very large gaps on either side of the strip, in the “U”-shapes formed in profile by the curvature of the clamp’s teeth on either side).
Unlike the circuit cards of the later iterations, which could be trimmed to fit snugly AND fill those gaps. Aside from aesthetics and perhaps a lack of Exactras on the sequels, that might be another reason why the change was made to the circuit cards.
Granted my setup is 100% replica, but I’m starting to think maybe it wasn’t beveled (at least not as we see on the Elstree). When I remove the clamp washer, screw in the clamp lever such that just a little bit of thread is showing (like the toe pic), and tighten things down as much as I can, I end up with the clamp lever at a wonky angle just like the real prop. If I removed material, I think I’d be able to close the clamp all the way. I will have to try with my vintage Folmer and Graflex Inc. clamps tomorrow.
In my case—which is also 100% replica—the clamp lever (screwed in that extra 360-degree turn) won’t close with an untrimmed strip. After I beveled my strip, the lever closes to the degree seen onscreen (and sticks out at the wonky angle), but it would be a fight to get it closed all the way, AND a fight to get the thing open again.
That's nice! Thanks. I will probably have them again later this week.
...y’know, something is still nagging at me.
Roy’s grip guide is great, no question. And, this last time, I carefully measured out my grips and cut them to Roy’s specs. The final result matches Roy’s revised blueprints very well.
But...
The reference images show a very small gap between the grips and the clamp. Maybe almost no gap at all, in some cases. And, in all of the available reference images of the prop, the bottom half of the flash very clearly looks to be fully extended, since there’s no visible gap in the lower rectangular holes on the clamp. When the bottom half is pushed in, that gap (from the J- shaped slot in the bottom half) is noticeably visible through the clamp holes.
Now, as it stands, the gap between the grips and the clamp when using Roy’s grip guide does allow one to remove the clamp, if necessary. But I find myself wondering more and more if that wasn’t actually the case on the real prop. I almost think one would need to add another millimeter or two to Roy’s established grip lengths to get a more screen-accurate look. I’m kinda tempted to wait until I can get a stamped sidebar from TGS, and make one last attempt with a new set of grips.
The research shown in this thread indicates some variance in bottom halves, but not necessarily in a way that would affect the length of them as measured from the bottom endcap to the clamp, whether fully extended or not.
Thoughts on this? Roy?
Roy’s grip guide is great, no question. And, this last time, I carefully measured out my grips and cut them to Roy’s specs. The final result matches Roy’s revised blueprints very well.
But...
The reference images show a very small gap between the grips and the clamp. Maybe almost no gap at all, in some cases. And, in all of the available reference images of the prop, the bottom half of the flash very clearly looks to be fully extended, since there’s no visible gap in the lower rectangular holes on the clamp. When the bottom half is pushed in, that gap (from the J- shaped slot in the bottom half) is noticeably visible through the clamp holes.
Now, as it stands, the gap between the grips and the clamp when using Roy’s grip guide does allow one to remove the clamp, if necessary. But I find myself wondering more and more if that wasn’t actually the case on the real prop. I almost think one would need to add another millimeter or two to Roy’s established grip lengths to get a more screen-accurate look. I’m kinda tempted to wait until I can get a stamped sidebar from TGS, and make one last attempt with a new set of grips.
The research shown in this thread indicates some variance in bottom halves, but not necessarily in a way that would affect the length of them as measured from the bottom endcap to the clamp, whether fully extended or not.
Thoughts on this? Roy?
R5D4
Active Member
Are you talking about this when you say that there is a little bit of thread showing in the toe pic?
Last edited:
R5D4
Active Member
Oh okay that looks good then? Thanks!
Drew Baker
Sr Member
Eventually I'll redo mine and try to match the gap (or lack thereof) between the grips and the clamp.
Drew
