Graflex Variations: Facts and vs. Replica

$free is the best price!

Besides the $10 unit mentioned above, I've paid between $50 and $175 (I think, it was a long time ago). Except for one that came with a camera, which I kept, I sold them all to people here for a little over the price I paid. None went to ebay.
 
Graflex experts, I need your help. After looking at all the reference material here I'm about 90% sure my Graflex is the real thing but I want to make sure before I convert it into an ANH Luke saber.

Profile:

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Red Button:
*Chamfered edges on the rivet holding the beer tab looks to have been polished off. Entire area looks shiny.

25711741434_2effb0169d_c.jpg


Pins:

26224195612_069d0944fc_c.jpg


Clamp:

26250365981_c999c5cbc6_c.jpg


Glass Eye:

26250365531_338a262234_c.jpg


Internals:
*Internals on bottom half looks to have been removed, lots of corrosion.

26224192082_f09f2df15c_c.jpg


Bottom stamping:

26043733960_dd997e5884_c.jpg


Am I good to go? Thanks for any input!
 
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Have you done anything to the finish? Or did the previous owner? It kind of looks like a real one that was painted black and then sanded to weather it. I see some good signs and some signs that points to that this is a reproduction, so I'm not sure.
 
Have you done anything to the finish? Or did the previous owner? It kind of looks like a real one that was painted black and then sanded to weather it. I see some good signs and some signs that points to that this is a reproduction, so I'm not sure.

I did nothing to the finish and I'm unsure what the previous owner did. My iPhone camera doesn't pick up the surface detail well. To me the patina looks natural. None of the weathering looks out of place other than some polishing marks near the top section.
 
No, that's the case - the details look good. The screws, clamp arm, shamfering, but the patina is way off. The tube should be yellowish inside, and the finish shouldnt be so polished. It might be a sanded original, or a well made replica.
 
Thanks for the input. The polished areas look black because of the reflections. They aren't actually black. I updated my post with better pictures in natural lighting. Hopefully some others can chime in too.
 
Thanks for the input. The polished areas look black because of the reflections. They aren't actually black. I updated my post with better pictures in natural lighting. Hopefully some others can chime in too.

This is most definitely the real deal so rest easy.
That being said, there is a seller on ebay, where I'm assuming this was purchased, that has a reputation for polishing/buffing 3 cells and selling them. He goes heavy on these things, so that's where the finish comes from as well as the rounding of the beer tab rivet and slide switch.
One other thing to mention also is that the clamp is of much older vintage than the top and bottom tube. Possibly swapped from another graflex.
Every part I see there is vintage though for sure
 
Quick HUGE favor for anyone who owns a vintage 3 cell, or a non-2.0 replica...

I've scoured this thread in search of a picture or two of a 3 cell without its clamp on, to no avail. I'm in the middle of making a replica mostly based upon Ant's Graflex replica and the Reflex prototype blueprints, with the exception that I've made it in 2 parts, in the same vein as the genuine article.

Now that I have both parts I can't for the life of me figure out how they lock in together without overlapping lopsidedness.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you all

EDIT: attached pics

8d00e01182de466e4f63d20c2466c42f.jpg


ca850cf82c6fae487397c102919ebd9b.jpg
 
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Quick HUGE favor for anyone who owns a vintage 3 cell, or a non-2.0 replica...

I've scoured this thread in search of a picture or two of a 3 cell without its clamp on, to no avail. I'm in the middle of making a replica mostly based upon Ant's Graflex replica and the Reflex prototype blueprints, with the exception that I've made it in 2 parts, in the same vein as the genuine article.

Now that I have both parts I can't for the life of me figure out how they lock in together without overlapping lopsidedness.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you all

EDIT: attached pics

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160409/8d00e01182de466e4f63d20c2466c42f.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160409/ca850cf82c6fae487397c102919ebd9b.jpg


here you go:

bottom:

DSC_0026[1].JPG

top:

DSC_0027[1].JPG
clamp:

DSC_0030[1].JPG

Anyway, pretty sure I remember seeing some schematics around this forum or on the internet, just search for "hardware graflex"
 
here you go:

bottom:

View attachment 612913

top:

View attachment 612918
clamp:

View attachment 612919

Anyway, pretty sure I remember seeing some schematics around this forum or on the internet, just search for "hardware graflex"
Thanks partner. I'm actually trying to get a pic of the top and bottom pieces locked together without the clamp on. Sorry that wasn't clear. I'm not that good with my wordspeak.

"For the Jedi it is time to eat as well"
 
Once you get the clamp made the will lock together, You can also tighten the clamp to make it tighter around the top and bottom. That hardware graflex tutorial is awesome, it says the clamp is one of the easier pieces to make. If you need additional pictures just ask, I have a few Graflex's sitting around here
 
Thanks partner. I'm actually trying to get a pic of the top and bottom pieces locked together without the clamp on. Sorry that wasn't clear. I'm not that good with my wordspeak.

"For the Jedi it is time to eat as well"

lol no probs

if I understood your question correctly, then the top and bottom piece actually lock themselves to the clamp, rather than to each other

here's a pic w/o the clamp, there is no lock mechanism at all, one slight touch and they will fall apart:

DSC_0034[1].JPG

look closely to the........ canals (can't remember the proper word for it) in both top and bottom, you will see a slightly raised "notch", that is the thing that is locking the top and bottom piece to the clamp.
 
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lol no probs

if I understood your question correctly, then the top and bottom piece actually lock themselves to the clamp, rather than to each other

here's a pic w/o the clamp, there is no lock mechanism at all, one slight touch and they will fall apart:

View attachment 612933
look closely to the........ canals (can't remember the proper word for it) in both top and bottom, you will see a slightly raised "notch", that is the thing that is locking the top and bottom piece to the clamp.
Brilliant! This was just a case of mistaken identity then, since I've never been in arms reach of a genuine 3 cell I always assumed the two pieces locked together prior to the clamp being placed on.

My eyes are now open! Thank you so much

EDIT: okay so the notches are something I did not include when doing my dremel work. Will have to work on that. Plus when I make my clamp it will really need the interior tabs, haha

"For the Jedi it is time to eat as well"
 
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Thank you for your help! Kind of regretting not doing it in one piece but this is my first attempt at a legitimate replica so I was in for a challenge, regardless.

"For the Jedi it is time to eat as well"
 

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