This shows a type of baseboard often found on old Field cameras. The circular cut out has two functions. It allows the camera to fold up with the lens and shutter still on board. More importantly, it is the top of a tripod. The idea behind it is to make the whole outfit easier to carry around. Removable tripod legs attach directly to this brass unit. The unit also has a turntable action; quite a useful idea really. If you want to make this sort of camera usable today you have the option of finding or making some wooden legs for it or, as I said in the main article, fix a board to the baseboard bottom in which a standard tripod bush has been fixed.

A typical project for anyone who does not want to build a camera from scratch. What appears to be a hopeless case is really not as bad as it looks. It might be expecting too much to restore it to its original condition but it is the sort of project that could easily be turned into a working camera.
Basically, the camera will need a set of bellows and a front lens standard. With a new back and a plate for the baseboard as described above it could be usable in a very short time. Fortunately the existing baseboard has a working focusing mechanism, in this case the camera back moves rather than the lens standard. Also in this model the front unit has to be detached from the baseboard when the camera is folded. The replacement should ideally have some form of rising front movement to make the whole thing viable. While this, as Field cameras go, is a fairly basic model it is shown as an example of what can be turned into a usable camera with the minimum of time and effort.

I think it is fair to say the restoration of an old camera is a bit of a grey area. It all depends on what you intend to do with it. From a collector's point of view original condition is all important so over cleaning woodwork and buffing up the metal parts is not a good idea. The only work that should be done is to repair any broken parts and replace anything that is obviously missing. How is this done? Well it is largely a matter of guess work. It is usually possible to see what a missing part should look like. Have a look at pictures of similar cameras if they can be found and build what is missing. The usual problem with some old cameras particularly in the larger formats is that they were often put together in a way which seems rather fragile for their size. I expect this was done to keep down the weight of carrying them about but it does mean a lot of then tend to have bits broken. Fortunately modern glues are very strong so clamping the broken pieces tightly together and gluing is the answer. The key to the whole process is to make the work as inconspicuous as possible Beyond doing that and using the usual furniture makers methods for hiding splits and dents in the wood work there is little that can be done. Remember any work done on a really valuable old camera is going to devalue it should you wish to sell it again. To the collector, the patina of age and original condition is all.

Making your old camera work

This is another matter. If you want to use the camera in question, and not preserving its original condition, there are things to consider. When these cameras were made film was slow by modern standards, in some cases very slow. Lenses were usually not much faster than f8 and therefore quite lightly built. People did not often enlarge their pictures but used contact printing instead. All this added up to a situation where cameras were not made then with the same precision that modern lenses and photography demands.
So if you want to use or adapt an old camera for today there are things to look at. The first is that it must be light tight. Replace worn velvet strips where the slides fit, make sure that the back, if removable, is tightly fitting and above all check the bellows. Also check the area around the lens panel. Sometimes this is part of the rising front system so look out for velvet light traps here as well.. Use the methods described elsewhere in my workshop section for detecting light leaks. Old bellows do not last well. They dry up and become stiff to open. The corners are the first to go and let in the light. Sometimes it is possible to give them a new lease of life by using a proprietary leather restorer and even sticking patches of rubberised material over the holes from the inside. It is really much better to replace the bellows all together with a new set. Some supplier will make up a set as a one off for you. Once your camera is light tight have a look at the pivots of the various movements and make sure these are not slack. It is maddening trying to work with a camera if everything wobbles around and will not stay in the position you set it. Modern lenses leave little room for error if you want the best results.
The baseboard of some early cameras had a large circular housing set into it. This was in fact part of the tripod and you merely attached legs to the provide lugs to put it into service. You may find it easier to cover this opening with a wooden plate with a normal tripod bush set in it. Then the camera can be fixed to a modern tripod more easily Apart from using a modern lens and shutter the other area that benefits from improvement is the camera back, or more particularly, adding the provision for modern cut film holders. My workshop section again tells you how this might be done.
Using an old camera is a cheap and trouble free way of getting into large format photography provided you are prepared to make the necessary improvements. It is also a useful alternative for anyone no wishing to build a whole camera from scratch.