Wood choice for camera building

[Fr. Mark]

The other day I went to an estate sale and found a 1"x6.5"x8 foot quarter sawn cherry board for $10, this seemed like a great price so I bought it even though I try not to spend hobby dollars 'til I'm sure I am going to use the materials. I'd thought I was going to build the next cameras out of hard maple and brass (or maybe aluminum and have it anodized black---the un-ebony camera if you like).

But I have this cherry board...

What do you all think about cherry for a camera build? I think it used to be commonly used 100+ years ago.

Also, how much wood do you recommend for large format cameras?
I'm thinking these will be flatbed field camera(s) to hike with, i.e. Day trips at most.
The temptations are across the spectrum of formats. I have holders for 4x5, 5x7 and non standard 8x10's. There are days I crave whole plate and this spring I made a composite 10x24 (3x10's in a cylinder pinhole camera) that is feeding a craving for BIG cameras and directly printing from negatives like 14x17.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Cherry wood has always been good for me.

[LabRat]

I had be given quite a bit of cherrywood + cherrywood covered plywood from a woodworker's scrap pile... Worked very well for dozens of camera projects!!! A little soft at the edges while working with it (before finishing) but do-able... And pretty!!!

FYI/ you can use about any wood for camera project, as long as the wood is well supported structurally, and well sealed against moisture loss/gain that would warp it... One COULD make a camera out of popsicle sticks of well designed + sealed construction, but some old-growth extinct wood camera might blow your mind, but not affect the image much at all...

Steve K

[Duolab123]

Cherry is beautiful. My concern would be weight. The Deardorffs used mahogany. A nice cherry board for 10 bucks is a find. I have a c 1917 Folmer and Schwing, I think its either cherry or Maple, it's heavy AND beautiful!

Best Regards, Mike

[Leszek Vogt]

It's up to you what size of the camera you choose, but you can use this cherry as a centerpiece and add other wood/s for accent or contrast. It takes little bit of second-third look....till it has a tasteful (if not artistic) look, but that's a subjective value. If it was me, I'd make sure the moisture is at reasonable level, before giving it appropriate finish.

To be honest, I prefer the working qualities of maple or mahogany, but if you use well honed tools you should be fine.

By the way, can you show us what the grain looks like ?

Sounds like a start of a project....

Les

[Fr. Mark]

The grain on the cherry is pretty straight except around the knots. Nothing like curly or Birdseye maple.
Weight, well, yes this is not Sitka spruce or the cedar I have for making a kayak paddle but I suspect that I could make a respectable 8x10 field camera that weighs much less than the 5x7 Sinar P. I have a 1900 or so 1/2 plate camera that weighs very little that appears to be cherry. I need to do a little more work on the film holders for that they suffer from light leaks. The camera is a fraction of the Sinar weight but also a lot harder to use.
Camera sizes: I probably need to get a macro lens for my Nikon d3100 and figure out how to stitch photos of negatives and how to print digi negatives because I might discover that 4x5/5x7 (or even 6x6cm) has enough information to make final prints that make me happy w/o all the additional problems and expense of bigger cameras. On the other hand the "simplicity" of an in camera negative is appealing. I guess we decide where we like it complicated.

[Pfsor]

Also, how much wood do you recommend for large format cameras?

Sincerely - a lot of it for a lot of them. Depending on their size, naturally.

[Drew Wiley]

The key is 1) dimensional stability, 2) machinability, and 3) proper curing of the wood in advance. Kiln dried or fully air dried cherry meets these requirements and is an attractive lightweight material. But it is also slightly on the soft side, so merely OK in terms of bumps and accidents, or holding screws. You don't want
figure to it unless you're more concerned about something pretty on your fireplace mantle rather than long-term functionality. Alder is the poor man's cherry, bland in color and harder to find properly cured. The classic wood was pattern grade Hondouras mahogany, now nearly nonexistent. But there are similar woods like sipo which are relatively dimensionally stable. Keith Canham uses black walnut. It's beautiful and easy to work, but you have to understand the curing options and various cuts first. Maple is a wonderful material except that it weighs a ton and you need to very carefully predrill everything due to its hardness.
No doubt numerous other species could be cited.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Jack Deardorff mentioned that during prohibition he scrounged scrapped bar tops for some good wood. I have some very old Walnut dimension lumber in the garage attic. It came with the house which was built in 1896. It's time to cut it up.

[Pere Casals]

There are a lot of woods that will work. You should see what wood style you like the most, if aesthecis is important. I've you are to invest a lot of time the price of the wood is secondary. Anyway Cherry wood is perfect

Hiromi Sakanashi selected Honduran mahogany or Indonesian ebony for the Ebony beauties, more Mahogany is better for bigger formats because its specific gravity is just 0.44grs/cm3, Ebony weights two times that, 0.88.

Mr Hiromi used 20 years aged heartwood.

As Drew said today honduran mahogany is not perhaps an option, but there is african ebony.

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/sho...ny_gaboon.html
https://www.westpennhardwoods.com/Our-Products.aspx


To make a camera that just works, in my opinion, there are a lot of options, if you are to make an object that you are going to love and you want to caress it with your hands then beautiful timber and accurate craft is required.

I had the same problem... I'm to make a wooden stereo camera (for Velvia, with 2 old Symmar 210, adjustable separation for the 1:30 rule), and I ask myself if I have to go straight or to consider some "ebony inclusion" to make a nice thing.

Finally I found that better to go straight and even printing 3D some parts, if it works then a "luxury" version may be built.


Anyway if you use precious woods please make sure it comes legal certified and from "applied ethics" source.

PD: wiki: While the three Swietenia species are classified officially as "genuine mahogany", other Meliaceae species with timber uses are classified as "true mahogany." So "genuine mahogany" may be more cash.