I took the Patent Etui to the Nuclear Museum after doing a little more work on it.
I cleaned the lens again, replaced a missing light seal at the hinge in the film holder and smoothed out the film path a little to avoid film scratches.
The Tessar lens is really a great performer. Combined with the 6x9 negative size it is capable of producing some great results. Below is a crop of the rocket nozzle at 100% enlargement.
All the shots suffered to varying degrees from a couple remaining light leaks. I'm pretty sure the bellows is leak-free at this point, but the camera body and the film back still need some work on the light seals.
Like the Rada that I use with the Recomar 18, the Rollex film back has a removable internal frame for mounting the roll film and the take-up spool.
Because of the way the film back is constructed, the film feeds onto the take-up spool against the existing curl of the film. That means that when you remove the roll from the holder, the film and the paper backing spring outward and unroll. So, it is a good idea to perform that operation inside your light-tight film changing bag. Because the Rollex is a bit rougher in its design than the Rada, I think it is going to be a little more difficult to get it leak-proofed. It is unfortunate that sheet film is no longer available in this size as I think the use of a sheet film holder would be a help in diagnosing problems.
