My old Graflex flash cord finally gave out mid-shoot

I was fixing up a 1940s press camera for a collector last Thursday and the sync cord just crumbled in my hand. The rubber was so dry rotted it felt like chalk dust. Spent the next two hours trying to find a replacement that actually fits the old bayonet connector. Has anyone had luck rewiring these old cloth-covered cords or is it just better to track down NOS parts?

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2 Comments

wendy2054mo ago

Oh man, I feel your pain. I had an old Kodak shutter cord do the same thing last month, just turned to dust in my fingers. Found some vintage cloth-covered wire at a flea market but the insulation was so brittle it cracked when I bent it. Ended up just using a modern replacement and Jerry-rigging the connector with epoxy.

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the_spencer4mo ago

Tbh that epoxy fix sounds like something I'd end up doing too. It's wild how even the "durable" stuff from back then just rots away after a few decades, kinda like how my grandpa's old vinyl records started flaking apart no matter how careful you were with them.

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