Question about mounting an Ilex Acme Synchro #3 shutter

[David Karp]

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try when I have the lensboard.

[David Karp]

Thanks to everyone who pitched in an answer here.

I finally got around to mounting the flange and putting the lens on the board. Rick Denney's how-to description is right on.

I had the seller cut a 52mm centered hole in a Technika type board. It was just the right size for the flange that came with the 215mm Ilex Caltar.

I marked the flange location on the lensboard so that the lens would be in the proper orientation when screwed in - thanks to Michael Graves' suggestion in the thread I linked above. I went to a local supplier, Allen Bolt in Burbank, who set me up with some 2-56 countersunk screws, the appropriate drill bit and a tapper. The screws require a tiny Allen wrench, which Allen Bolt also supplied. I used my late father-in-law's drill press to precisely drill the holes and made a makeshift handle out of some scrap wood to use with the tapper. The tapper worked smoothly. WD 40 lubricated these operations. After a quick cleanup, I was relieved to see that the holes were in the correct locations and the screws went right in. I now have a nice shorter focal length for my WP setup, and when I remove the front element, it converts to a 14 inch to play with to do some WP portraits.

My blue loctite went missing, but I could not wait to put everything together. Do any of you who mount flanges on metal boards use blue loctite as insurance against the threads loosening?

[David Karp]

I should also say that despite the fact that mounting a Copal or Seiko shutter is much easier, I had some fun working on this project.

[Tin Can]

Please! No Loctite! Just snug is best.

[BrianShaw]

I'm glad to hear that you were successful and had fun. Last time I had to mount something very much like yours I paid $35 and had a camera repairman do it (machine a metal lens board and mount an Acme) overnight. Less fun for me, I suppose, but quite effective.

[David Lindquist]

Thanks to everyone who pitched in an answer here.

I finally got around to mounting the flange and putting the lens on the board. Rick Denney's how-to description is right on.

I had the seller cut a 52mm centered hole in a Technika type board. It was just the right size for the flange that came with the 215mm Ilex Caltar.

I marked the flange location on the lensboard so that the lens would be in the proper orientation when screwed in - thanks to Michael Graves' suggestion in the thread I linked above. I went to a local supplier, Allen Bolt in Burbank, who set me up with some 2-56 countersunk screws, the appropriate drill bit and a tapper. The screws require a tiny Allen wrench, which Allen Bolt also supplied. I used my late father-in-law's drill press to precisely drill the holes and made a makeshift handle out of some scrap wood to use with the tapper. The tapper worked smoothly. WD 40 lubricated these operations. After a quick cleanup, I was relieved to see that the holes were in the correct locations and the screws went right in. I now have a nice shorter focal length for my WP setup, and when I remove the front element, it converts to a 14 inch to play with to do some WP portraits.

My blue loctite went missing, but I could not wait to put everything together. Do any of you who mount flanges on metal boards use blue loctite as insurance against the threads loosening?

Very nice work, Dave. I particularly admire your improvising a tap wrench from scrap wood. I would have felt a compelling need to buy a Starrett no. 93A (well I already have one). Allen Bolt sounds like a great resource and flat head socket head screws lend a certain je ne sais quoi to mounting the lens flange, even though they'll be hidden by the lens and shutter. I agree, Loctite would be overkill.
David

[David Karp]

. . . I would have felt a compelling need to buy a Starrett no. 93A . . . .

That is so true. I want one too. I was going to pick up an inexpensive tap wrench, but I forgot. Once I was in the garage at my in-laws' house, I had to improvise. Probably worked just as well as a cheap one and maybe a touch more satisfying to boot!

[David Karp]

I took a few photos, but I did not have enough hands to make a photo and show me tapping the holes. :-) If I ever get them out of the camera, I'll post a few.

Thanks also to Randy and David on the advice regarding Loctite. I'll skip it.

Brian: Who do you use for repair work and machining? Are they out here in LA? Did they machine a board from scratch? Or did they mill it out and drill/tape the screw holes? Thanks.

[BrianShaw]

...
Brian: Who do you use for repair work and machining? Are they out here in LA? Did they machine a board from scratch? Or did they mill it out and drill/tape the screw holes? Thanks.

Steve Choi, Steve's Camera Repair in Culver City.

For me they started with a Cambo board with a Copal 1 (I think) hole. Originally the lens was mounted to a wooden Deardorf board. The hole was machined to proper size and the lens was mounted with the flange on the back side as a retaining ring. At first I was a bit taken aback since the flange is not blackened, but so far I've seen no reflections from the flange.

[David Karp]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip.

I tried to mount mine using the flange as a retaining ring. The threaded "tube" portion of the flange (for lack of a better description) was too long. It prevented the rear cell from screwing all the way into the shutter.