Leather covering for a Speed Graphic

[jcapodiferro]

I recently acquired a 4x5 Speed Graphic (to go with my Crown) which is in need of some TLC.  I can handle all of the adjustments and repair myself except for the leather covering which has dried, cracked and peeled beyond what some shoe polish would recover. (and it is really only the front panel that is in bad shape).  I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation to have this re-covered?  I looked at cameraleather.com but they didn't have the Speed Graphic as a supported model.

Jay

[Glenn Thoreson]

There's only one possibility that I am aware of. If you go to graflex.org and search for Fred Lustig in Reno, NV he may have something to offer. He has the last remaining stock of factory original Graflex parts. No online contact, just a home phone. If you call, please do so during daytime hours only. I have a spare front door in the parts box. It's been a while since I looked at it so don't remeber how good the leather is. PM me if interested and I'll check.

[paul ron]

If you aren't concerned about it bing original issue leatherete, Micro Tools has it in a few different grains and textures. I also believe they have Leica leather as well. Look em up on the web as MicroTools.

[ksmattfish]

I looked at cameraleather.com but they didn't have the Speed Graphic as a supported model.

Did you email them?  I bet they can still help you.

[paul ewins]

Having just completely reskinned a Speed Graphic, I can say it's not that hard and if you only want to do the front panel it shouldn't be too difficult. There are only two catches really. The first is the bulge. The leather that I used had enough give that I was able to stretch it into place. I made a little wooden frame to go around the bulge and clamped it in place, which kept it fairly neat but left a few bulges at the edges of the frame. If I was doing it again I would cut a piece of MDF the same size as the front flap and then cut a hole in that to match the bulge. Bonus points if you can shape the edges to match the slope on the sides of the bulb.

Second catch is reassembly as you really need to pull it apart to do a neat job. Once you have taken out the 18 - 20 screws that hold the rack in place and removed the old leather you will find that there are 18 brass nuts that sit in little hexagonal counter sunk holes. Push these back into place and hold them there with a dab of glue. Otherwise they will pop out of the holes when you go to reassemble and leave little bumps. You'll get most back into place but inevitably a couple will twist and refuse to seat properly.

The other reassembly problem is the springs that put tension on the struts connecting to the body. I found it easiest to unscrew the brackets on the body to which they connect. The struts can then be flopped forward and the springs replaced without compression.