8x10 to 11x14 back

[DrTang]

I have a 11x14 camera w/o a back (Vageeswari)

I also have a misc. 8x10 back

has anyone tried 'enlarging' an 8x10 back to fit an 11x14 camera back frame?

the advantage being the GG panel to frame dimension is already set.. so one would just be splicing in wood lengths to lengthen it

seems straight forward..but.. as in custom car fabs - anything that seems simple usually turns out not to be

[Vaughn]

Make a frame to fit on rear of the camera. Mount the 8x10 back onto the frame. No modification to the existing 8x10 back should be needed.

[DrTang]

no.. I do not have an 11x14 back..so I want to lengthen the 8x10 back into an 11x14 size back

I want to shoot 11x14

[Vaughn]

Comes the dawn! A more interesting project! Finding an old 11x14 back (from a process camera?) that needed work would be an easier place to start, but good luck!

[DrTang]

Comes the dawn! A more interesting project! Finding an old 11x14 back (from a process camera?) that needed work would be an easier place to start, but good luck!

them are hard to find and expensive

[Randy]

I am not sure I understand the question, but you could make an 11X14 back. Doesn't have to be a spring back - it could just be one that has the same dimensions as a standard 11X14 back, with the slot (trap) for the ridge that is on the film holder. When I made a 4X5 pinhole camera out of thin plywood, I didn't have a back to mount to it, just constructed one out of plywood. Something like this -

166664

Then you could make a GG back that you would insert for composing / focusing, and remove when you are ready to insert the holder and expose. I am playing with the idea so I can shoot larger Xray film in my 8X10 camera but 11X14 holders are so darn expensive that I haven't bothered yet.

[Luis-F-S]

Or you could buy/make an 11x14 back for your Vageeswari!

[plaubel]

Instead of enlarging something, I would build a completely new back.
Seems to be easier to me, in spite of the "problems" with the dimensions of GG and film plane.
Ritchie

[Tim Meisburger]

Yes, as long as you have a holder, making a back is not too difficult. Use the 8x10 as a model, and just expand to fit the 11x14 holder. Breaking up th e8x10 to scab pieces on it would be more difficult.

[stawastawa]

I think what Tim says is best. if you don't have the large back, you need to make a large back. You could probably mount the 8x10 back on the 11x14 as a reducing back fairly easily though.

Yes, as long as you have a holder, making a back is not too difficult. Use the 8x10 as a model, and just expand to fit the 11x14 holder. Breaking up th e8x10 to scab pieces on it would be more difficult.

[DrTang]

I think what Tim says is best. if you don't have the large back, you need to make a large back. You could probably mount the 8x10 back on the 11x14 as a reducing back fairly easily though.

I have an 8x10..I have two 8x10's even... I don't need an 11x14 that shoots 8x10

maybe I'm not getting it..maybe it is tougher than I though (probably)

I already have an 8x10 back that had been sitting in a box 20+ years

my idea was to take a chop saw and cut the back frame.. and then the GG frame into 4 pieces... quarter it in fact

and then use those four pieces as the 'corners' of a 11x14 back and frame....but cutting wood middle sections and gluing them into place....thereby maintaining all the proper measurements and tolerances of the original frame in a new 11x14 size- - the middle 'cut in' pieces would not need to be super critical as long as they aren't ..taller.. than the original pieces

[Tobias Key]

I have an 8x10..I have two 8x10's even... I don't need an 11x14 that shoots 8x10

maybe I'm not getting it..maybe it is tougher than I though (probably)

I already have an 8x10 back that had been sitting in a box 20+ years

my idea was to take a chop saw and cut the back frame.. and then the GG frame into 4 pieces... quarter it in fact

and then use those four pieces as the 'corners' of a 11x14 back and frame....but cutting wood middle sections and gluing them into place....thereby maintaining all the proper measurements and tolerances of the original frame in a new 11x14 size- - the middle 'cut in' pieces would not need to be super critical as long as they aren't ..taller.. than the original pieces

If the pieces you insert are lower don't you invite the possibility of light leaks? I think if you dealing with very large and expensive pieces of film, everything needs to be as well crafted as possible.

[Bruce Barlow]

Have Richard Ritter make one for you.

[Vaughn]

Hey, Doc...

One issue you will need to deal with is the springs to hold the holder tight against the back. Chances may be that they are not strong enough for 11x14.

And I still think that you could find an old trashed 11x14 back far cheaper than the cost of an 11x14 holder, but the challenge to stretch out the 8x10 would be fun!

[DrTang]

If the pieces you insert are lower don't you invite the possibility of light leaks? I think if you dealing with very large and expensive pieces of film, everything needs to be as well crafted as possible.

I'd fix that with cardstock or something... the film holder would ride on the original 8x10 back's wood mostly and if the patches are slightly shorter.. that would be okay as long as they are light tight... and the wood frame of the film holder would be covering it anyway..so.. chances are it wouldn't be an issue

[stawastawa]

...
my idea was to take a chop saw and cut the back frame.. and then the GG frame into 4 pieces... quarter it in fact

and then use those four pieces as the 'corners' of a 11x14 back and frame....but cutting wood middle sections and gluing them into place....thereby maintaining all the proper measurements and tolerances of the original frame in a new 11x14 size- - the middle 'cut in' pieces would not need to be super critical as long as they aren't ..taller.. than the original pieces

I can see that working. keeping it ridgid might be tough. I like the first visualization I just got of the corners held together with rods... maybe even on extendable rods then it could be a multi format holder! (minus the light leak problem that presents...)
Using the extra back for measurements and building a solid 11x14 back seems more straightforward, but as Vaughn said - "sounds like a good challenge!".

[plaubel]

the advantage being the GG panel to frame dimension is already set..



Is the 11x14 filmholder of the same thickness than the 8x10 holder, so that the film would come into the same plane?
Ritchie

[MAubrey]

Is the 11x14 filmholder of the same thickness than the 8x10 holder, so that the film would come into the same plane?
Ritchie
Nope. They're different: 0.260 (8x10) vs. 0.332 (11x14).