DIY 5x4 in Sapele

[barnacle]

Here's this year's attempt: I'll post as things go along. The materials are sapele, brass, and plastic gear tracks.



Just to be awkward, I'm starting with something that isn't designed; a frame for my existing bellows (courtesy Custom Bellows, some years ago but never used.) This is 6mm strip, lap jointed at the corners and with a cunning use of bamboo food skewer to hold it together. The bellows are then stapled to the frame, but this might need further consideration; not sure yet.



I don't have many tools, but I can't help feeling that we're going to see that corner vice again...

Neil

[barnacle]

And some more of the tools - first, the world's smallest sawtable, but sufficient to slit a 20mm strip of 5mm for tomorrow's efforts - this dates from around 1960, I believe, which makes it as old as me.

Attachment 146115

And it is but the work of moments to convert it to a mill:



Neil

[barnacle]

I wonder what happened to the picture of the lathe as a saw bench? Oh well... been making some fiddly bits for the front standard today. Two each of two parts, milled from single 20mm x 5mm strips. I'm beginning to wonder if I will need to make this part thicker, but it seems robust enough for now. It must be nice to have one of those convenient workshops with a huge selection of power tools to choose from and loads of room...

Plans for the front standard:


And the part, nearly finished:


Neil

[Peter De Smidt]

Good stuff! Thank you for posting it. I'll follow the thread with interest.

[barnacle]

I have no doubt that today's efforts would have been far easier, and faster, had I access to a better equipped workshop. Still, given a mill that won't move more than a couple of inches, so I have to take four or five bites at each cut, and a circular saw blade that's designed for metal (i.e. without the wood-cut offset teeth) and cutting hardwood with the grain, I managed to convert some 10mm strip into six 20mm x 10mm x 200mm, then rebuild the mill and make the inner and outer slider parts of the baseboard and mill the slots for the focussing racks.



Meh, the upload does horrible things to line drawings. I'll post them somewhere better when it's finished and they're finalised.

Neil

[Jim Jones]

Neil, consider uploading line drawings as GIF files. JPEG introduces artifacts. Also, do any lettering fairly large. Expanding the lines by a pixel might help.

[barnacle]

Jim, they're uploaded as png files, but the forum software does something horrible to them.

Here are the drawings shown above, in order:

An overview of the camera:



The front standard:



The base board



and focus extension:



Hopefully that works for people who aren't me; the permissions on the server are a bit weird.

Neil

[barnacle]

Not a lot done today - some idiot measured things incorrectly and had to change things around - but the focus extension is now glued and almost finished, though it will require a little more machining to make sure the slider rails are straight where the crosspieces fit. I knew that right angle clamp would be back.



Also experimenting with the joint at the back of baseboard - this is hand cut but I think I'll machine the real thing for a better fit. I really don't have much in the way of cabinet maker skills...



Neil

[barnacle]

Some brass arrived.

The couriers tied it in knots.

Damn.



Neil

[barnacle]

Finally, it's starting to look vaguely recognisable.

Cunning tip for marking holes for the focus shaft: bamboo food skewers are near as damnit 3mm diameter... then drill through both side pieces at the same time to get the alignment and check with the brass shaft. The pinion wheels will need either glue or perhaps a tiny hole drilled through and a pin? The pinion wheels and gear track are from www.motionco.co.uk, at the huge cost of £1.50 each for the spurs and £3.00 each for the racks.



And the bottom and top view of the complete focus assembly, before trimming the side pieces to length. The glue is currently drying.