12x10 inch Thornton Pickard Shutter

[Nas]

Here's a shutter I recently picked up. I'd heard about Thornton Pickard making them this large but this is the first I've ever come across. I plan on using it with my 12x10 camera but the fitting on my camera is different so I'll need an adapter of some sort. That's for the future, for now I'm sharing some pictures to ask for information on how to change the shutter speeds. I'm able to cock the shutter with the top dial and it fires smoothly but the current slit looks like 1/1000. The film holders which came with this are amazingly light with metal dark slides. There's a Christie's auction house sticker on one of them. Unfortunately the camera was not sold with this shutter on this occasion but I found a message in pencil written on the back which mentioned they should be sold together.

Please chime in with any information/instructions on how to adjust this shutter. The dial at the top cocks the shutter, the dial at the bottom with the window has letters which are visible in the round window. The dial with the black cog and numbers is on the opposite side at the bottom left. Anyone who has used one of these before please share your knowledge. I'll be visiting Wendy tomorrow with this to see if we can figure it out but I don't want to force/break anything.

On my Marion reflex the shutter curtain needs to be in a certain position before you adjust the slit width (it has a dot to indicate the correct position). I can't see any markers on this to indicate this is the case here.

Top dial to cock the shutter. Bulb release missing but shutter is still able to be tripped easily.

This dial below is in the middle on the right hand side looking from the back


These are at the bottom on the right hand side looking from the back


This is on the bottom left looking from the back

Makers plate

Shutter curtain

 

[Nas]

After some more research I found scans of some Thornton Pickard adverts from a BJP Almanac (unknown date). 12x10 is the largest size listed and from this ad it looks like mine is a "Model 2 with outside adjustment" but it's not pictured.

After thinking about this a bit more I've got a feeling the shutter speed needs to be set by a combination of selecting a speed with the dial on the side in the middle (with letters and numbers), reading off the number and letter combination you set the number on the black cog (bottom left) and the letter by turning the dial on the bottom right so that the letter you need is displayed in the round window.

 

[Ian Grant]

I have a better version in a 1915 BJP Advert which I've just scanned.



There were a few different versions of these Focal Plane shutters, I'll see if I can find all the TP patents.

Ian

 

[Petrochemist]

It's a shame we can't order these new anymore, especially at those prices!

 

[AnalogueWendy]

I have been looking at what Smartflex are doing with their focal-plane shutters and think I building one of these might be easier!

 

[Ian Grant]

Ian

 

[AnalogueWendy]

View attachment 5116

Ian

That is fascinating - thank you Ian. Easier to understand than the diagrams for the shutters inside their reflex cameras too

 

[Nas]

Update. The dial in the middle of the right hand side with shutter speeds and letters turns freely and doesn't appear to be connected to anything. As Wendy suggested, it seems more of a reminder of your settings than an adjustment. With some trial and error we managed to change the slit size and trip the shutter a handful of times before it struggled. The metal edge of the bottom curtain is snagging on something when you try to re-cock it. We tried to remove the back adapter plate by removing all the screws but it won't come off. There aren't any removable side panels because the frame has nice finger joints on the corners. For future reference, the slit size was able to be changed with the shutter cocked and the slit wound to the top.

I will sleep on it but I think this shutter will probably be going on the for sale pile in the future. It's been wonderful to cross paths with this and see it working in the flesh but I've got too many other projects which will be easier and less expensive to complete. The plate holders that came with it are beautiful and super light compared to the hinged all wooden type. I'm tempted to look for a Thornton Pickard 12x10 just to be able to use them.

 

[AnalogueWendy]

It's a magnificent bit of kit. Leaves me in awe of our photographic and manufacturing ancestors. They had skills and ingenuity we have mostly lost.
Just a chance that this one was not Thornton Pickard's finest hour, but if Nas can get inside it to see that mechanism we will learn a lot!