Adapt-a-roll parts?

Does anyone have any or know where to find them? I'm looking for the roller for a 620

adapt-a-roll-- it's the roller where the film bends before it goes throught the gate for

exposure.

 

Thanks!

Adrian

You mean the roller on a steel shaft? Is this for a specific camera? Or will any roller do?

Unfortunately, very specific. The roller not only turns the film around it also increments

the exposure # dial. The problem with mine is that it's missing the foot that I assume

should be there to push on the linkage for the exposure dial. I figured I could make

something if I could drill into it to attach the new foot, but no luck.

 

I'm thinking now I might be able to make something from scratch if I can't find one.... But

I'm still looking.

There are two sizes (one for 2 1/4x3 1/4 and one 4x5) but the roller should be the same.

 

I notice from the parts list that the roller was not sold separately it was part 8505-33A "back plate and roller assembly". Were you able to take the roller off the back plate? That little pawl looks like is screws or is riveted into the end of the roller. Looks like it would be easier to make up a pawl than find a roller.

 

I got mine to work the other day for the first time (requires proper lube) waiting to get film back.

Right, mine was missing the pawl that pushes on the long rod. Or I assumed that it was.

There was no trace of one. I hoped to drill out the end of the roller, put a screw in and cut

away the head of the screw to make a pawl. I can't seem to drill ir though. The roller

seems to be aluminum, but the pawl must have been some very hard steel. I'm not sure

how the pawl part was held into the roller. It seems like the roller and the small bracket

that held the end with the pawl must have been a permanent assembly. I couldn't unscrew

the remnant. (It occurs to me now, far too late, that it would have had to have been a left

hand thread screw... I wonder if that was it.)

Ok.... I'm figuring it out now. The roller was not removable. The bracket on that end was

cut away and repplaced with a little aluminum one. (Pretty nice job.) The new bracket did

not leave enough room for the pawl to spin around so it was cut off. Damn. I didn't

realize until I tried to make a new roller. That was fairly successful but I found that I

couldn't make a long enough pawl. Now I see why.

You know thinking about my problems with the adapt-a-roll, making a pawl might not be such a good idea after all.

 

The film moving over the roller is required to move a lot of "stuff" (roller, copper rod and film counter etc.) and there just isn't much torque to do all that work. I fussed with it for about a year until the obvious dawned on me (at last) that all the axils needed was lube (I used watch oil). I think, therefore, the fit of all the pieces is critical to the whole drive train and it would be unlikely that a jury rigged pawl would work.

 

I bought mine (4x5) at a camera show last year for $50 (looked new in the box with instructions). I've seen the Calmet copy go for as little as $70 on eBay (in 6x7 - 6x9 goes for far more)). Adapt-alls go on Ebay in either 2x3 or 4x5 for about the same price range.

 

Good luck.

Hi, I use a Adapt-a-Roll for my Miniature Speed Graphic. With 120 film and a 620 take-up spool, the frame counter is next to useless, it doesn't count correctly and I waste film or get partial double exposures.<p>

So I wasted one roll of cheap expired film and put it through the roll film adapter (several times), marking the frames on the film and noting the number of turns I had to do after each exposure to get enough unexposed film for the next frame.

<p>

If you only need a correct roller for the frame counter mechanism, it might be pointless to look for this part, because it might still not work. For all interested, here are my frame counting information that I use all the time with the Adapt-a-Roll. I printed it and put it on the back of mine. You need to make a marker on the film advance screw to correctly count your turns. You will get nine exposures with one roll of 120 film. Hope this helps.

<p>

<b>Adapt-a-Roll frame counting</b>

<p>first column: start frame /// second column: number of turns for next

frame /// third column: next frame number

<p><tt>0 ---> 3 1/4 ---> 1

<br>1 ---> 2 1/4 ---> 2

<br>2 ---> 2 1/4 ---> 3

<br>3 ---> 2 1/4 ---> 4

<br>4 --->   2   ---> 5

<br>5 --->   2   ---> 6

<br>6 ---> 1 3/4 ---> 7

<br>7 ---> 1 3/4 ---> 8

<br>8 ---> 1 3/4 ---> 9</tt>

<p>(0=start of film just visible in mask.)

Hmm. I'm not surprised to hear that the film has a hard time turning the counter reliably.

I would imagine that it requires a good deal of tension on the supply reel to keep enough

pressure on the roller.

 

I was trying to figure out how many turns per frame too, so I'm inclined to just go with

your table. I am a little confused how you get nine frames though. Shouldn't it be 8

frames for 6x9? Or 10 for 6x7? Or am I missing something?

 

Thanks!

You read that right, you will get nine closely-spaced 6x9 images from a roll of 120 film if you use the film area economically. The images will not overlap and there will still be several millimeter of space between each image.<p>

By the way, by "visible in mask" I meant visible in the film gate of the closed film holder with the dark slide removed. Once the real film shows up (turning will get pretty stiff then), put in the dark slide and start counting the turns.<p>

Have fun!

Adrian, my AARs' film counters usually work reliably. It is indeed possible to squeeze 9 frames out of a roll with one. The cost of this is that frame spacing, although even, is very tight.