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Deardorff bed cracks


jim_galli4

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Shooting this weekend I noticed for the first time that the venerable

Deardorff V8 is developing a crack in the beautiful 4 piece bed. It

is

inevitable where I live (Tonopah, NV. 8-14% relative humidity is the

norm) that older wooden things should suffer. My question is should I

schedule an appointment with the Deardorff hospital, or just shrug and

keep on using. I'm roughly the same age as the 'dorff and am also

developing many creaks, groans and cracks but have no plans to undergo

any limited use anytime soon.

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Are the cracks along the diagonal seams or in the grain? Separation along the diagonal seams is normal and to be expected and are more of a problem if you don't have the aluminum base plate. But if you do have the base plate, they generally are no big deal.

 

Speaking of humidty, I would say that very dry or very moist isn't as bad as extreme swings in humidty. It's the constant expansion and contraction that will really cause problems.

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Sorry, the reference to bed cracks was in an article Ken wrote for the November, 1989 issue of View Camera magazine entitled "Buying the Used Deardorff." There he says "Check the wood bed for cracks along the glued diagonal seams. If there are cracks do not attempt to repair them yourself."
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