Re: [Leica] Another Sherry Krauter testimonial

[V8PWR@aol.com]

Dans un courrier daté du 07/12/00 16:53:08 Paris, Madrid, dpost@triad.rr.com 
a écrit :

<< Andrew-
 Your testamonial strikes true, and I can attest to her skill, even though I
 have my friend Youxin do a lot of the LTMs I buy and sell. Sherry told me
 about the 'routine' she uses to do a CLA. She completely rebuilds the
 camera, cleaning old lube and dirt from every little part, and reassembling
 with something like 9 different lubricants and literally puts it in factory
 new shape. The only down side is that it takes her over a full day to work
 her magic on one of these old cameras, and she now does it only as "A labor
 of love" as she puts it! I don't think anyone else in the world does such
 detailed and fine work, and if you intend to keep a camera, it is worth the
 wait (up to five months!)
 I wish she would do something like what George Milton did at Quality Light
 Metric and take on an apprentice (The nice young lady that answers the phone
 there alluded to doing a couple of my Weston Master Vs, and she did a
 magnificent job! She will have job security for a long time!) It would be
 nice if Sherry could find a dedicated person, young and manually adept in
 order to pass on what seems to be an encyclopediac knowledge of Leicas!
 I have seen several posts from erstwhile repair people and I do get the
 impression that it seems to be a underappreciated profession, and that is a
 shame!
 People like Don Goldberg, Sherry Krauter, John Van Stelten, and Steve Grimes
 who is a whiz at shutters, are becoming a dying breed of craftsmen (er,
 Craftspeople- shorry Sherry, but you ARE one of the 'guys' as far as I am
 concerned! I'd love to sit over a beer with you anytime!) I was very pleased
 with one of my sons who decided to take what we used to call 'shop' in
 school, become a welder, and decide that it is not above him to work with
 his hands. A friend of mines son got an apprentice ship with a machine shop-
 Most of the men there he referred to as "The Old Grays" since the median age
 of these guys was 55-60 years of age! They were wonderful- the men who build
 the machines that build the machines! I think it will be tragic to let these
 skills die out!
 I can attest to the problems of finding a place to machine negative carriers
 for the Ic and VALOYs! Late this summer I took it upon myself to get in
 touch with Leica, see if I could do it without stepping on anyones patent
 right, got permission, then went in search of a means to have them done!
 Well- if it were a matter of producing several hundred thousand of them, it
 would be worth the thousands to set up a mold for plastic injection molding-
 but I had firm interest from about thirty people!
 So if I got them 'copied' with screwed parts and swaged guide pins, we were
 looking as a per unit cost to make of nearly 60USD a piece, if I order a
 quantity of 50- a $3000 investment!
 Right now, I am workjing with a draftsman to get a working drawing for a
 carrier that has guide 'rails' on the bottom, and guide stubs on the top,
 and that can be machined from a single billet of aluminum on a numerically
 controlled milling machine. This should make them both cost effective, and
 nearly indestructible!
 It is true- it is hard to find someone now willing to get their fingers
 dirty, and do the exacting sort  of work that Sherry is so deservedly famous
 for! I can only say- "Live long, and prosper...."
 
 Dan >>

I've heard a lot about sherry and I'm wondering how old is she ?
I know this is not considered to be a good question if it concerns a lady 
but why shouldn't it ?
By the way I'm 37 .

Jo Goodtimes , France .
Live Free or Die.