Help, my Horseman back doesn't fit my Century Graphic

[bill_thompson2]

I own a Century Graphic with a grafloc back, for which I recently bought a

Horseman 6x9 back. I was under the impression that it would fit. From the

reading I have been doing on this website, apperantly it needs a modification.

It would appear that either the surface that contacts the camera needs to be

plained down or slots need to be cut into the sides so the slide-locks will

work. Either way there is concern for the film plane to match the gg plane.

Can anyone explain what needs to be done and advise me on my options, who

provides this service, how much it costs? Would I be better- off buying one

that fit? If I had known it would not fit I would not have bought it. Is it

worth the extra money? Thanks to anyone who will help. Bill Thompson

[michaelging]

Bill , If you are talking about a roll film back,I would just buy one on ebay. I found a mint, knob wind one for $35.00 that is 6x9 and works great.The lever wind seem to go for around $20.00 more. I would sell the Horseman and buy a Graphic roll back. If you are talking about a sheet film back I can't help you .

[User_503771]

I would suggest taking a look at whether you actually have a Graflock back, or a Graflex back. If you have the Graflex back -- which is basically obsolete -- this would explain why your roll holder will not fit.

 

If it's a true Graflock back your roll holder should fit, provided it was made to fit.

 

In 4x5, the Graflock and International back standards are identical; not sure about smaller formats, but would assume that the same holds true.

 

Check with Horseman, is probably the best idea, to make sure you got the current standard item, and that it's not made to some proprietary Horseman configuration.

 

You could look into replacing the back for your camera, if it's a Graflex, because I doubt you'll find much that works well in the Graflex back.

[sam_crater]

I have also encountered a similar problem - the Graflex and Horseman RFHs are not quite the same. I think you can fix the problem by using thicker washers between the body and the graflok sliders to hold the sliders a little farther 'out'. It's a non-destructive fix you can experiment with without permanently damaging anything.

[sam_crater]

I might have made clear the Graflex and Horseman holders match very well in terms of film plane spacing. The only problem is using the sliders to hold the RFH onto the camera. In fact, you should be able to test that you can make an image with the back as it is by ignoring the sliders and temporarily duct-taping the back to the camera.

[thirteenthumbs]

<a href=http://www.graflex.org/speed-graphic/century-graphic.html> Century Graphic </a> cameras were made with a Graflok back made into the camera body. The Century has a Mahognite (bakalite) body.<br>

Click on roll film holders in the link to Century cameras for some limited insight on roll holders for the camera.<br>If you have the roll film holder then just remove the focusing pannel and see how the Horseman holder fits, if it goes on and the locks secure it the you should be good to go, if not observe to see what needs to be done.<br>I have been a member of Graflex.org for several years and do not recall anyone asking about fitting a Horseman rollfilm holder to a Century.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Also rememember that a Graflock back is a type of back, not a size. They have been made in 2x3, 3x4, the most common 4x5, and 5x7 sometimes too. A common mistake with mailorder or ebay is assuming that a camera or accessory with a graflock feature is 4x5 inch in size. Here I have 3x4 and 4x5 graphloc speed graphics. Many times a more seedy seller will list a camera with a graphloc and NOT mention the cameras size, and folks wrongly assume its a 4x5 camera.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Whats interesting about his thread is there is no info mentioned about the Century Graphics size, thus the question is abit unanswerable still.

[bill_thompson2]

Mr. Flanagan,

I am aware of the different formats, and a Century Graphic is only gonna be a "2x3" back -even though that includes 6x9cm, 6x7cm & 6x6cm. Mine is a late model with a graflok back. The film back in question is a Horseman 6x9 roll film back. It fits perfectly into the back of my Century Graphic. But the slide-locks will not secure it because the grooves along the edge of the film back are a millimeter out of place (I compared it to my graflex 6x7 back). None of the research I have done has ever mentioned this subtley. I only hear how "universal" the graflok back is. I know it sounds rediculous that it would be so close but it is. I would appreciate any first hand information and/or advice from anyone on this issue.

Thanx,

Bill Thompson

[kelly_flanigan1]

Hi Bill, my thoughts were maybe you had bought a Horseman 6x9cm back for a 4x5 camera, trying to fit it to your smaller camera!

[bill_thompson2]

Thank you Mr. Flanigan. And thank you Sam Crater, I may have to try the washer idea although I noticed the clearance for the slide will be tight against the back.

[sebastianmoran]

<p>(Four years later... just in case it helps someone...)</p>

<p>No, the Horseman back won't fit right on a Century Graphic (nor on a Mamiya Press "G" adapter). The slide-locks won't close properly. People have suggested adjusting the slide-locks, but the problem lies elsewhere.</p>

<p>Hold the camera in front of you and look at the back... there is a vertical bar at the left side of the back. The Horseman roll film back wants that vertical bar to be thinner. The too-thick bar holds the Horseman back from seating fully, makes the slide locks fail, puts the film in the wrong place, and may create light leaks. </p>

<p>The solution is to make the vertical bar thinner. I had a Mamiya "G" adapter with a thinner bar made by a machinist. With a Century Graphic, I'd be tempted to just file down the bar.</p>

<p>For a photo of the problem with the Mamiya "G" adapter, look at this thread:<br>

<a href="ttp://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00PNFM">http://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00PNFM</a></p>