I have a 1956 Crown Graphic (serial # 9247xx) and I find it difficult to drop the front bed. I've tried on a different Crown and didn't have any trouble at all.

I don't want to damage my trusty camera by forcing it. Checking online, I've seen conflicting information as to whether my camera's bed can be dropped or not. Can anyone please confirm one way or the other?

All Pacemaker Graphics -- the Crown is one -- have drop beds. To drop the bed, first rack the bed rails as far back as they'll go.

I actually have the rails back all the way. It just seems a lot more resistant to dropping than the other Crown I tried. Just me being paranoid, I suppose.


Thanks for the confirmation,

Henry

The resistance to dropping the bed is provided by the springs which bear on the side struts. These are coil springs which are buried in slots under the metal top surfaces of the bed on either side. They are quite powerful, and it may just be that you have unusually stiff ones. It is possible to reduce the force of a coil by cutting a little bit of the wire off one end; however, this is obviously an irreversible step, and I would not recommend it unless you have a real problem with an excessive force.

Thanks for the explanation. I don't mind the stiff springs, as long as I'm not going to damage the camera by dropping the bed. I'll give it a try this weekend.