I thought everyone might appreciate a short video of Mitchell Standard #46 racking over for the first time in decades. This 6 seconds of video represents 5 months of hard work that has finally paid off.
Mitchell 46 Racks Over at Last! Read More »
True to my word, I struggled through the myriad of steps needed to get Mitchell 46 back onto its rackover L-base this week. On its surface, this sounds like a simple process, but without the various fixtures that the Mitchell factory had to complete this, the process becomes complicated. Mechanically, the rackover L-base is a
Victory Over the Rackover L-Base! Read More »
I had to take a break from work on Mitchell 46 for a few days this week to do some rearranging of my machine shop. A friend has offered me his CNC milling machine, and in order to fit it into the shop, I had to sell my venerable Webb milling machine. The logistics behind
Making Room for New Machinery Read More »
Somehow we find ourselves in July already (not sure how that happened!), so we decided to take a couple of days off for the 4th of July holiday and relax. Now though, we are back to work on Mitchell 46, along with the dozen other projects we have going at the same time. Much to
As there has been nothing simple about bringing Mitchell 46 back to life, it is only fitting that the process of getting the camera securely mounted to the milling machine, and true and parallel to the film plane, was a week-long endeavor. This process had to take into consideration machining the bottom surface of the
A Long Week’s Journey Back to Machining Mitchell 46 Read More »
I took some time this week to catch up on a number of smaller projects while I carefully considered what my next step will be on Mitchell #46. Beginning with Mitchell #46 though, I spent a great deal of time considering how to set the camera up so I can begin machining the replacement bottom
A Week of Many Projects Read More »
With my work on the Dykstraflex camera complete, I have returned my attention to Mitchell 46. I dusted off the setup on the mill, re-indicated all the surfaces that needed to be true, and began to make a tool path map. I had transferred the actual position of the camera movement to the aluminum plate
Mitchell 46 Get a New Front Read More »
This past week I had the privilege of doing preventative maintenance on the Dykstraflex camera for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I serve on the Academy’s Technology and History Subcommittee, and following the restoration of the Dykstraflex camera crane, subcommittee members were concerned that the camera may have developed problems after having
Dykstraflex Camera, Revisited Read More »
It’s a little late for Star Wars Day, but we wanted to share this latest project in anticipation of the premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” tomorrow. Previously, in 2019, I completed a major restoration of the Dykstraflex camera crane for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The restored Dykstraflex was prominently displayed at the
Dykstraflex: Preparing to Service the Camera that Shot the original Star Wars Trilogy Read More »
Despite my good intentions, replacing the roof on our building interfered tremendously with progress on Mitchell 46 this week. My next step in restoring this camera was to prepare the casting so it can be accurately mounted on the milling machine. There are very few things on the casting that remain true, so the only
The First Step in Setting Mitchell 46 Up for Machining Read More »
