In order to move forward with the machine work on the replacement bottom plate for Mitchell 46, the front plate had to be installed so that three important things could be established: First, the proper thickness of the front plate so that the camera will slide freely on the rackover L-base and still light trap. […]
Mitchel 46: The Glue Crisis Read More »
After the puzzling and disappointing failure of the Loctite adhesive last week (Loctite has never failed me before!) I went through a process of cleaning and degreasing the camera casting and the replacement bottom plate. I spoke to an adhesive expert, and he recommended 3M’s Scotch Weld 2216 2-part epoxy. The process required 4 arms
Is This Glue Really Going to Work? Read More »
The task at hand with Mitchell Standard #46 is now to put metal back where it was unceremoniously removed. This problem is compounded by the fact that so much material was removed from the bottom of the camera casting, that some areas are perilously thin. After three days of contemplating the next steps, and a
Mitchell Standard 46 – Creating the Replacement Bottom and Front Plates Read More »
To go along with our ongoing restoration of Mitchell Standard #46, we are currently in the process of researching the history of the camera’s first owner, the Christie Film Company. Brothers Al and Charles Christie founded the Christie Film Company in Hollywood in 1916 and produced short and feature-length comedies through 1933. The Great Depression
Some Help with a History of the Christie Film Co. Read More »
Progress at last! Sadly Mitchell 46 has been far more butchered than I had anticipated. Still, we shall persevere. I managed to get about 90% of the working pieces out of the camera casting, though the shutter shaft stubbornly remains in place due to corrosion. The screw that holds the focal plane shutter to the
Undoing What Has Been Done – Mitchell Standard 46 Read More »
I have been working minus one thumb this week after having some minor surgery last week, and am unable to lift anything over 5lbs. for a few more days, so a brief update this week. I was able to calculate how much material needs to be added back to Mitchell Standard no. 46, as well
Wounded Camera, Wounded Engineer Read More »
The starting point to restore Mitchell Standard #46 is to determine exactly what and how much material was removed from the original casting. The problem with this particular camera is that the previous owner machined away all of the material that registered the dovetails, the rackover registration plate, and the rack gears that slid the
Assessing the Damage: Mitchell Standard sn. 46 Read More »
Now that the Fox Cine Simplex camera is finished, it is time to take up another long-term restoration project. I won’t be working on this one full time, as there is much other work to be done, but it is finally time to begin bringing Mitchell Standard sn. 46 back to life. In its previous
A New Project Begins: Mitchell Standard sn.46 Read More »
The Twentieth Century-Fox Cine Simplex camera represented a revolutionary change in the design and intended use of a studio sound production camera. From its inception, this camera was designed specifically to be sound silent without the added size and weight of a blimp housing. To achieve this, the camera’s designers rethought everything about how the
Fox Cine Simplex Now Available! Read More »
I have come as close to completion on the Fox Cine Simplex as time allows. This camera is 95% complete and in good working order, with the exception of a few parts that make the automatic slater and follow focus units work. Some of the parts that attach the automatic slater to the camera are
An End of the Journey, and Some Reflections Read More »
