Skills Required: You should have experience using a bench grinder, and especially the ability to control a metal workpiece during grinding operations. Out-of-control workpieces and cutting tools can be very dangerous. You can cut the notches in any of several ways. I used a Dremel tool fitted with a small rotary saw. Again, you should have experience using this tool for fine carving operations. Of course if you have more sophisticated tools, like a vertical mill you could make these modifications so that they looked like they were part of the original design, rather than from my basement woodshop.

Safety: I wear safety goggles, a simple dusk mask, and hearing protectors. I created a temporary jig to hold the rollholder steady while I cut the notches. To my workbench, I tacked two thin strips of wood, separated to form a channel to hold the long edge of the rollholder case as I worked on the opposite edge. I also fastened a short piece of 2x4 perpendicular to the strips. I could press the rollholder shell against the butt end of the 2x4 to steady it.

Refer to Figs 1 and 2 and 3 .to visualize these operations

Removing the Rib(s). Except for a very shallow channel at the dark slide end, a Graflex rollholder has a completely flat baseplate that attaches to the Graflex Rotating Back (RB). This very shallow groove engages a rib on the corresponding side of the pressed metal structure, as a light trap. Most Graphic rollholder backs have one or two cast ribs, in addition to the heavier one on the end for the dark slide. On my RB10, it was necessary to remove only the ridge nearest the image frame aperature. I would suggest removing only this rib first, then determining if it is necessary to remove the second one. Use a medium grit grinding wheel. A narrow wheel is less likely to contact the rest of the base plate. Work slowly and conservatively to avoid taking off too much material.

Cutting the Light Trap Groove. The pressed metal structure of my Series B back forms a slight lip on the side corresponding to the dark slide end of the holder. In a Graflex holder, this lip seats in a groove that runs across the short dimension of the base plate. You will need to cut a very shallow groove (the turquoise line in Fig 3 ) in the face plate to receive this lip. It needs to be only wide enough to accept this sheet metal edge and deep enough to allow the holder to seat firmly against the felt surface on the camera. As Bert Saunders pointed out in advising me on this modification, this channel must be shallow enough to not weaken the base plate. I made this channel with a Dremel tool and a very steady hand, but for such freehand 'drawing' you must have this kind of control. I kept taking off small amounts until I got the depth right. The retaining bars on the Graflex back should be stressed enough by the rollholder baseplate that it sits firmly against the felt, but not so much that the retaining bars put unnecessary stress on the wood screws that fasten them to the wooden strips.

Cleanup. Aluminum grinding chips are hazardous to the useful life of your focal plane shutter and unless they arrange themselves in an artistic way on film surfaces won't help you win prizes at the local show. A vacumn cleaner with a crevice attachment did a good job of preserving my creative reputation.

The Fudge Factor. I suspect that Graflex light traps were never considered excellent, particularly near the end of Graflex production when film indexes were rising. My solution to whatever light leaks I might have created was to install open cell foam (the yellow lines in Fig 3.), that is used in modern camera light traps, around around the perimeter of the image aperature on the holder base plate. This specialized kind of foam is available from suppliers of camera repair materials, like Fargo Enterprises. Since I have little reason to use sheet film in this camera, the rollholder shell stays attached and the foam isn't subject to abrasion.

The Payoff. I now use my Series B as a working camera. It has a reasonably sharp 127mm Ektar and gives me the basic functionality of a Bronica or Hassy at a fraction of the cost. One of the major benefits is that, with several other Graphic and Graflex cameras and several rollholders, the Series B now joins the group that all use the same film backs. The alternative to this metal work, of course, is to hunt down a Graflex rollholder on eBay for about twice the cost of the average Graphic rollholder.