At this point I would like to say that there are no secrets to camera repair or restoration nor is this rocket science. Any person who has a reasonable mechanical ability, patience and intelligent application can do a wonderful job. There are specialty tools but most of the tools I use are simple and frequently home made. However if you are going to do much of this type of work, I do recommend owning a quality set of minis and cross point screw drivers and good quality tweezers. Good tools make the job easier and will last for many years while cheap tools are frustrating to use will need to be replaced often. Unless I am repairing the same model several times I don’t take the time to make special tools. Besides drivers and tweezers, general spanner wrenches and modified pliers will suffice for most work. Thin blades for leather removal can be made from copping saw blades with the teeth ground off mounted in a wooden handle. The metal is both strong and flexible. A good workbench that is large enough to allow for the expansion of work is also necessary. The height of the bench should be such that your back and shoulders do not get tired after several hours of concentrated work. Average tables are too low. My workbench is slightly below mid chest when I am sitting up straight. After 30 years, I still don’t get tired sitting there all day. I also recommend wooden floors if there is a choice. Carpeted floor coverings tend to eat dropped screws and springs. Parts and tools dropped on concrete floors tend to break and these floors are very tiring on your legs. If something is dropped on a wooden floor, you can hear where it rolls and rarely does it break. Don’t forget to have proper light. I love working in natural light, however I once had a shop where my bench was located under a south-facing window. I eventually covered it with a large sheet of muslin cloth to keep out the intense light. An eastern or northern window is the most preferred giving nice light without the intensity of late afternoon light.

The first thing I do with a camera is to check it over. This check includes all of the workings of the mechanism, the state of the optics, the movement of any knobs and the condition of the external surface of the body. I also shake the camera to listen for strange rattles that might indicate loose or broken parts. I work on quite a few unusual cameras so I have a book where I keep drawings of unusual designs, which after this much time, has become very useful to me. If the camera has any missing parts, I want to know what the original parts looked like before I begin to do anything. This may include research into books of cameras, calling up other collectors or using the Internet to a place like the George Eastman House. Frequently photograph the camera for a record as well as to be able to pass the picture on if needed for more information from others. (If I am doing a restoration for a customer, I discuss the work I feel should be done with him to be sure that we are in agreement.) In other words, “I determine exactly what I want to do before I start to do anything”.


THE BODY

The most apparent part of the camera is the body. With older cameras, pre 1900’s, for the most part the body will either be finished wood or leather covering. Occasionally the cameras were made of metal and this was usually painted brass.

1. LEATHER

When the term leather is used in camera coverings there are many materials that are used ranging from hide leather to paper and cloth with a grain embossed on the surface.

Animal hide leather is an organic material and is the most prone to damage. The most common problems are: dry, cracked, flaking, red fungus damage, mildew, bubbling from the back, missing pieces and probably 20 other things I have missed.

Fungus and mildew should be immediately treated to prevent further damage. A solution of 1 tablespoon of chlorine bleach in a gallon of water applied sparingly to the surface should kill all the fungus. Use a damp cloth and gently wipe all the leather but try not to soak any area. Let it dry in open air.

Most leather is black and made of cowhide but goat, sheep and occasionally exotic animal hide were also use. Matching the color and texture of the surface is a big challenge of restoration. Probably the best source of material is another camera by the same manufacturer. Especially if it is for small areas. Frequently it is easier to remove an entire cover and replace it rather than try to patch the old. There are sources of new leather to use but rarely will these ever look like the original and should be avoided unless your camera has lost ALL of its covering. CameraLeather.com has a few good replacement leathers. One for the larger grained 1900’s kodaks called black beauty is pretty good, but the others are just close. Where I live there is a community of old order Mennonites who still drive buggies. Consequently, there is a harness shop where I can have the most beautiful straps or replacement handles made to match most any need.)

Very small areas, less than 1.5mm, are usually best filled with black Crayon wax. (Don’t forget to put it back in your kid’s box). This can be shaped to match the leather and is quite satisfactory. Irregular shape area can be matched by tracing the outline on paper than transferring it to the replacement. This is difficult and rarely is very successful. A better way is to cut a square or circle of the replacement that is larger than the missing piece and aligning it on the leather so that the grain best matches then, cutting the original leather to fit the patch. The crack can be filled so there is no detectable line.

Older camera makers often used shellac to adhere the leather to the body. On most bodies this is not a problem however, if there are brass rivets or screws there is a chemical reaction resulting in a green waxy substance. This leaves unsightly bubbles on the surface of the leather. There are several solutions for this problem.

1. My preferred method is to remove the entire leather, clean off the corrosion, which I first scrape than clean with isoprophal alcohol. Next, coat the brass rivet with fingernail polish and finally reattach the leather using shellac.
2. In larger pieces of leather which cannot be easily removed especially on wooden bodies I cut a “X” over the bubble, clean out the corrosion, paint the rivet and than glue the pieces down using my stealth methods to hide the cut.
3. Another method, which I have used but do not like, is to use a hypodermic needle to inject alcohol into the bubble. After a short time suck the loosened efficacy out and continue to repeat this until the bubble is gone. The reason I am not a fan of this method is that the brass rivet is never sealed to prevent the re-occurrence of the bubble and one can never be sure of completely removing the corrosion.

There are quite a few leather treatments on the market. My favorite is a product named
“Venetian Cream” which is sold by Micro Tools. Its appealing qualities are: it will darken the leather without being overdone, it leaves a luster that looks very natural, and it is easily cleaned off any metal.

A word about the glues used in cameras. There was not a lot of scientific thought put into many older camera-manufacturing processes. What was available was used most often. Many of the modern petroleum glues and adhesives can have a deleterious affect on old leather and specifically those “leatherette” coverings used on many early 20th Century cameras. There is nothing more frustrating than to carefully apply leatherette covering to a camera only to watch it melt and wrinkle before your eyes. We simply do not know how these chemicals will affect the leather and wood in the next 50 or more years. My preference is to use the methods used by the manufacturer even in replacing leather or leatherette.

2.Wooden bodies

There are some wonderful wood cleaners on the market today. Try cleaning the body before doing anything else. Often that will be all that is needed. A quality wax such as Micro Fine will protect the finish and leave a beautiful luster.

Matching missing pieces is very difficult. Again, the best source is going to be another camera by the same maker that is used just for parts. Woodworking is a separate art. There are many books written on the subject offering more information than I can. Tackle what your skill allows.

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