Giving a Graflex Speed Graphic Shutter a Second Life

Some time ago, I purchased a Graflex Speed Graphic with a broken bed, specifically for the purpose of salvaging its focal-plane shutter.

I have several large portrait lenses that don't have built-in shutters, and I wanted a practical way to use them in the field on my 8×10 cameras without being limited to a 1/5th of a second shutter speed by using a Packard shutter.

The Speed Graphic's roller-blind focal-plane shutter seemed like the perfect solution.

The First Version

My now gutted speed graphic shutter, minus the lens board it was mounted on.

My original solution was fairly straightforward. I gutted the Speed Graphic, removed everything I didn't need, and mounted the remaining camera body to a custom lens board for my 8×10.

The lenses themselves were mounted to separate custom boards that attached to the front of the Speed Graphic body.

And it worked!

The only problem was that it looked like my beautiful 8×10 camera had an alien Speed Graphic bursting out of its chest.

It wasn't particularly elegant, but it was functional.

I considered modifying the Speed Graphic body further by cutting off the unnecessary front portion that protruded from the camera. That certainly would have improved things, but ultimately, it still felt like a compromise.

What I really wanted was something that looked and felt purpose-made.

Finding an Existing Design

I had planned to design and 3D-print an entirely new housing for the shutter assembly myself.

But before spending the time doing that, I figured I'd do a quick search to see whether anyone had already attempted something similar.

And, to my surprise, someone had!

A maker named Rayfor had designed a standalone housing for the Speed Graphic focal-plane shutter assembly, complete with downloadable 3D-printing files.

Perfect!

I downloaded the files, prepared them for printing, and started producing the various parts.

Nearly two days of printing later, I discovered a huge issue.

I'd printed the wrong version.

My donor camera was a Graflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic, which has eight shutter speeds.

The housing I'd printed was designed for an earlier Speed Graphic model, which has more shutter speeds and a completely different arrangement of controls on the side.

Needless to say, discovering that after nearly two days of printing was a little disappointing.

Fortunately, Rayfor had also designed a version specifically for the Pacemaker shutter mechanism.

So, back to the printer!

Making a Few Modifications

Although printing the wrong housing was frustrating, it actually turned out to be useful.

While examining the first print, I noticed a couple of things I wanted to change.

The first modification involved increasing the internal lens clearance.

My modified Pacemaker housing on the left, and the unmodified design on the right.

Some of my larger portrait lenses weren't able to sit as close to the shutter curtain as I would have liked.

Looking at the housing, I realized that portions of the internal structure covering the shutter rollers could be reduced without interfering with the mechanism.

By opening up these areas, I was able to create additional clearance for lenses with larger rear elements and barrels.

That was modification number one.

The second modification involved the rear mounting plate.

Rayfor's original design uses a mount intended for a Sinar lens board.

However, I wanted to mount the shutter directly to my Eastman Commercial All-Metal 8×10 camera, using its native lens board opening.

So I redesigned the rear mount to fit my Eastman.

I also noticed that the original rear mounting assembly consisted of two separate printed pieces.

Since I intended to use this shutter with some fairly large and heavy portrait lenses, I decided to redesign those pieces as a single component.

This allowed the entire rear mounting assembly to be printed as one solid piece, eliminating the joint between the two original parts and giving me greater confidence in its strength.

With those modifications completed, I printed the correct Pacemaker housing and began transferring the shutter mechanism.

Transferring the Shutter

The actual conversion was surprisingly straightforward. I apologize for not taking any photos during the conversion, I'm writing this after the fact in hopes that it is still helpful.

Once all the printed components were ready, transferring the shutter mechanism from the original Speed Graphic body into its new housing took me approximately 45 minutes.

The design didn't specify which screws or inserts to use, so I chose M3 brass threaded inserts and M3 machine screws to assemble the housing.

You'll need two types of M3 screws:

• Countersunk screws for securing the rear cover.

• Socket cap-head screws for the front lens board retainer and its retaining locks.

One thing worth mentioning is that the original brass screws holding the shutter's side mechanism are approximately 75 years old.

And they're fragile!

I managed to break the head off one of them during the conversion.

Luckily, the new housing only requires five of the six original screws used for the side shutter-speed mechanism, so I was still able to complete the assembly.

There's another small detail worth keeping in mind when installing the mechanism.

Unlike the M3 screws used to assemble the printed housing, the original brass screws for the shutter mechanism thread directly into untapped holes in the 3D-printed body.

This actually works quite well. The screws form their own threads in the plastic, and the mechanism fits securely.

However, be very careful when tightening them.

You don't want to apply so much torque that you strip the newly formed plastic threads. And, perhaps more importantly, you don't want to break one of those old brass screws while driving it into the plastic.

Take your time and tighten them gently.

The Finished Shutter

I'm really pleased with how this project turned out.

The new housing is considerably more compact than my original gutted Speed Graphic arrangement, and it looks much more at home on the front of my Eastman 8×10.

The original focal-plane shutter mechanism is retained, including its eight shutter-speed settings, and I can now use a variety of large portrait lenses, with speeds of up to 1/1000th of a second!

Best of all, the finished assembly feels like a purpose-made photographic accessory rather than a modified camera body bolted onto another camera.

And there's something particularly satisfying about giving a shutter mechanism that's roughly 75 years old a new purpose.

Download the Files

I'd like to give full credit to Rayfor, who designed the original 3D-printable housing and made the files available.

Without that work, I would have spent considerably more time designing a housing from scratch.

If you have a spare Speed Graphic shutter and would like to attempt a similar conversion, you can find the original files here:

Download Rayfor's Graflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic Shutter Housing on Printables

Just make sure you select the correct version for your particular Speed Graphic shutter!

I hope this is useful to anyone looking for a more practical way of using their large old shutterless lenses in the field, or even using their existing large shuttered lenses at much higher shutter speeds.

Happy shooting!

Peter