DIY LF film holder

[koh303]

A few weeks ago i read a thread that had several links to blogs and sites where folks were showing step by step sheet film holder creations.
Can someone point me to the right thread (or provide the links again)?

Thanks

[Steven Tribe]

OP is Daniel Stone - title is "I'm making myself some film holders(and I need some" last post march last year.
Advanced search - titles only - with the text I have given.

I have bumped it to reappear here!

[koh303]

Thanks, after reading this again today, and hours of google yesterday, i did find the page i was looking for is gone.
It was a page off the blog of colin graham.
I wonder if anyone else has a photo step by step building a holder guide...?

[Bruce Barlow]

Egad! Why bother?

Friend Richard Ritter tells me of all the precise setups needed to create the parts for a film holder - and he knows what he's doing better than just about all of us put together, with the tools and tooling to make them. It is gruesomely labor intensive, by his account.

Life's too short for that much work and aggravation when there are so many pictures to be made, and so many good holders available for sale.

[Tin Can]

+1

Egad! Why bother?

Friend Richard Ritter tells me of all the precise setups needed to create the parts for a film holder - and he knows what he's doing better than just about all of us put together, with the tools and tooling to make them. It is gruesomely labor intensive, by his account.

Life's too short for that much work and aggravation when there are so many pictures to be made, and so many good holders available for sale.

[VPooler]

But what if you want to shoot an odd format. Or ULF. You seen the prices on holders of 8x10 inches and up? Im not made of money!
Sorry for the rant, I have an ULF project at hand myself and I am in dire need of holders. There is really no use in making 4x5 holders or even 5x7 but if you dont need the standard DDS holder, you could start by buying various thicknesses of hardwood veneer. Take one thicker sheet, that makes the central base. Take some thinner ones, lets say, the thickness of film plus a bit extra, cut them to narrow strips to make edges. Now take the same veneer or maybe a bit thicker, cut some broader strips than previous etc...you see where I am going with this - you are building it in layers. A sheet of thin aluminium will make the darkslide and some beeswax on the edges will make it slide better. Totally doable.

[goamules]

I've found all the rare film holders I've needed, with patience. A Rochester wholeplate that needed one of the three different sizes that were made. An Anthony 8x10 wetplate camera than needed a tambar back for plates. Eventually I found what I needed. Still, nothing wrong with trying to build something, anything, yourself. Sometimes you may have to.

To me, I would first find a holder before deciding to shoot an obscure size, then a lens, then try to wrap a camera around it. Holders and lenses are the hardest to find. A lot of us have obscure size cameras, and the most common query for ULF is "what lens covers something-X-something?" And "where can I get a holder for an [8X18, 16x20, etc] camera?"

[Noah B]

I'd do whatever the hell you want to, Ritter didn't get to where he is today by not trying to learn something new. Chamonix makes beautiful film holders, I'd get one and start there if I were to embark on such an endeavor. Maybe even buy some crappy wooden film holders on sleezbay and take them apart?

[Dan Dozer]

I tried making film holders for my 8 x 20 camera and it was a constant struggle in dealing with potential light leaks at the two corners on the loading end and also at the end where the darkslide goes in. I was to the point where I was having to try to drape the dark cloth over the holder every time I was making an exposure to try to prevent light leak problems. Try pulling a dark slide out of an 8 x 20 holder with a big dark cloth over it. While it did work, it was extremely cumbersome with a camera that big and I eventually broke down and ordered some holder from Chamonix. Paying the high cost for big holders was much more feasible tha never knowing until I developed the negs whether they were OK or ruined with light leaks.

[VPooler]

Well, I simply cant chip out half or more of my monthly salary for one measly holder.