Drilling your own...

[Scott Davis]

Does anyone here have experience with drilling their own lensboards? I've got two new(to me) lenses arriving in the next week, and I need to mount them. I've got a Calumet C-1, which takes aluminum lensboards. Can I get specialty metal drillbits to drill the mount holes, (I realize that absolute precision is not required, as long as I'm within a millimeter over or so) or should I just ship the lens and the blank board off to someone? I live in the Washington DC area, so if anyone has a local recommendation for someone who does this, it would be much appreciated!

[Herb Cunningham]

Having done both, I finally located a machine shop who owner does small jobs. I went to the biggest shop in town of Raleigh NC, area population over a million, and got the old guy who does not do any production work, just small jobs, to drill, or more precisely, use a four jawed chuck on a lathe. He gets $60/hr, usually winds up about $15 per board.

I have used hole saws in a drill press, but it can be pretty scary for the unitiated. By the time you have bought a few hole saws you will have paid a machinist.

Several camera stores will sell used boards, that is another option. Check with Jim Andraki at Midwest.

good luck

[Richard Rankin]

You don't HAVE to use a metal lensboard anyway. I used old wooden Deardorff boards on mine with no problem. As I recall, it takes 6x6 boards and you can often see them on Ebay, plus, as mentioned already, I'm sure Midwest would have them. Cheers, Richard

[Peter Galea]

I use a General Circle Cutter here on a drill press. Very easy and clean.

[Mark Sawyer]

If you have woodwoorking tools, you might switch over to wood or composite (like Pergo laminate flooring) lensboards. I've made about two dozen lensboards for myself and a few locals, and really like the Pergo; it's a little tough on cheap hole-saws, but cuts well with a tablesaw and router. Woodgrain finish on one side, flat tan on the other, (which you could paint.) Tougher and more resistant to splits and warps than wood, but not as tough as aluminum.

[John_4185]

If that's the 4"x4" lensboard, then I have an aluminum one with only a pilot hole drilled. I THINK I still have it. Couldn't GIVE it away last month. So, if it's 4x4, I'll mail it to you. If I have a hole saw of the correct size, I'll even drill it for you. No charge. Click on my initials for my email address.

[Scott Davis]

JJ- thanks for the offer. the C-1 takes a 6x6 board. I've stuck with using the Calumet-made boards because of the funky lip on the back of the board they supply- I'd be concerned about light-tightness using a perfectly flat homemade lensboard.

Pete Galea - do you have a source for getting that General Tool cutter? The webpage had no pricing info or ordering recommendations, and I searched the Home Depot and Lowes websites to no avail.

Do you think my RotoZip would be an acceptable tool to do this, or would I be inviting far more trouble than its worth?

One of the lenses I'm getting shortly will need for certain a CLA, so I'm thinking of sending it off to SKGrimes to have them drill the board, CLA the shutter and mount the lens all in one swell foop.

[Terence McDonagh]

I use an adjustable hole-cutter bit in a hand drill attached to a drill guide. I use the tempered hardboard from 99 cent clipboards and build up the back with black matboard as required. Cheap and almost indestructible.

[Peter Galea]

Scott, click here for a link to the #55 circle cutter that I use. I imagine you could hand hold it as long as you clamp your work piece securely (though I have not tried it) . Max reccommended rpm is 500.

[Conrad Hoffman]

Best way is to find any local machinist to put it in a lathe with a 4-jaw chuck, and bore it. He'll also measure the lens so the hole size is right, and put a small hole in the right spot for the anti-rotation screw, if there is one. You can do nearly as good a job with the above mentioned adjustable circle cutter. Any large hardware store, or Sears, may have them. You want the single arm type, and you *have* to use it in a drill press. Put the lens board in a vise and screw the vise down to the table so it doesn't catch when you finish the cut. Though you can certainly hack your way through it with a hole saw, there's a certain pride of workmanship if you do a better job- lens board aren't cheap anymore.