Graflex Variations: Facts and vs. Replica
- Thread starter scottjua
- Start date
David,
I've used a combination of one part white vinegar to two parts hot water (hot as in, just below the boiling point). Then dropping the Graflex tube or clamp into the mixture. I would then agitate the concoction by stirring the pot/bucket. I've read that you can create a paste with baking soda and white vinegar and then let that sit on the corroded area for a very short period, but have not tried that personally.
Another option that I have tried is electro-cleaning, which also involves white vinegar...this way of removing rust/oxidation is a bit involved though and requires a bit of investment for the equipment: a power source (or battery), two wires with alligator clips, a piece of metal bar.
Awesome! Thanks for the tips Andy!
i dont know if this will help but here is pictures of my LARBEL HK replica
from my gathering it looks like all the LARBEL replicas came with 2 holes drilled in the bottom from factory, threw back searches it looks like the graflex sent to china for reproduction had 2 holes in the bottom. and the company reproduced the holes...
from my gathering it looks like all the LARBEL replicas came with 2 holes drilled in the bottom from factory, threw back searches it looks like the graflex sent to china for reproduction had 2 holes in the bottom. and the company reproduced the holes...
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Probe Droid
Master Member
I second the vinegar solution. I've saved loads of old camera flashes caked in glue/tape gunk and leaked battery acid with vinegar, Q Tips, and a tooth brush. It's an old photographer's trick that really works. I've used the vinegar/backing soda combo to clean other things, but it's quite messy. It works though.
Good luck.
Maybe it's me, but I think the weathering on this graflex looks kinda awesome. I'd make a TFA saber and call it what the prop should look like after 60 years of battle and falling from a gas mining facility in the sky. But maybe I'm a sucker for a "piece of junk"
Vanitas
Sr Member
Heh, thanks. I still have it laying around, as Darth Real Life has all but bumped me out of doing any fun stuff. I'll get around to doing something out of it one day, but only when I have real time for it.
And one man's junk is another's treasure, remember, that's the cornerstone of our work. :cool
scarf man
Master Member
Here is that "R" you might have dropped. LARBEL*
Hello,
I'm new to the RPF, but I have read through this whole thread and I'm glad to see it's still alive and kicking. I also have a telegraph style 2-Cell and would love to get a 3-Cell bottom. I know this has already been touched upon in this thread but there did not seem to be any resolution to it. So, just wondering if anyone out there has any leads on Graflex 3-Cell bottoms. I am getting my 2-Cell telegraph back tomorrow, after having moved around for the last few years, and would be more than happy to post pictures if anyone is interested.
Thanks
I'm new to the RPF, but I have read through this whole thread and I'm glad to see it's still alive and kicking. I also have a telegraph style 2-Cell and would love to get a 3-Cell bottom. I know this has already been touched upon in this thread but there did not seem to be any resolution to it. So, just wondering if anyone out there has any leads on Graflex 3-Cell bottoms. I am getting my 2-Cell telegraph back tomorrow, after having moved around for the last few years, and would be more than happy to post pictures if anyone is interested.
Thanks
There have been a couple that have recently shown up on eBay lately... but the last one just went for $225 with the clamp :facepalm
at the rate graflex's are going if it was a folmer bottom i would have bought that!
And it was... probably about $75-$100 more than I would have paid personally (obviously since $225 was the BIN price lol)
dang!!!
You dodged a bullet. That was a frakking Parks replica clamp, maybe a Roman's. The spacing on the clamp is a dead give away. The bottom might have been a replica too, based on how soft the stamping looked. If the clamp was a Parks, odds are the bottom was too.
I told that seller that it was a replica and described how you can tell, but he said it was a real Graflex.
I feel bad for whoever bought it.
I thought that the clamp might have been a replica... it was too pristine and in the photos the guy made sure to avoid showing off some of the tell-tale look fors...
As for the bottom... I don't think I've ever seen a replica Folmer bottom before... :confused
The Parks sabers have the Folmer bottoms. Check out Scott's photos in the first post, plus the ones on the Parks site:
The guy might have been conned himself by that seller who was selling those shady mixed replica and real parts Graflexes a couple of months ago.
this is why i doubt ill never buy a real graflex off ebay..:cry
From experience, once you've done enough researching and then building with the real thing, it gets a lot easier to recognize that stuff. There are still deals to be had, you just have to be careful...
