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  1. #1

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    Question What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    I'm in the process of making my first 4x with 5 view camera. I'm interested in darker woods with wavy appearance.
    What type of would did you choose for your projects? Why did you choose it? What was the price of the wood you chose?

  2. #2
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    LF cameras have been made from many woods. Traditional woods seem to be Mahogany, cherry. Some walnut. Ebony wood and Teak are tough on tools. I think Burk and James used Beach, but they painted them battleship grey. A dense wood with tight grain is needed. I once had a Rajah 5x7 from India that was in some nice looking tropical wood I'd never seen.


    Oak is too coarse, I've never seen Hickory either. Soft woods are n ot used.

    My recollection is that there was a thread on wood selection here on LFP not long ago.
    Drew Bedo
    www.quietlightphoto.com
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    There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!

  3. #3
    Steve Smith's Avatar
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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Bedo View Post
    Oak is too coarse
    I don't agree. I have made a couple of cameras with oak - recycled from old furniture.

    If you are new to woodworking, mahogany is probably a good choice.


    Steve.

  4. #4

    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    "Could white ash be recommended? Anybody used it?"

    Yes and yes, as long as it's quarter sawn and straight grained, properly seasoned helps. It is stronger and tougher than white oak, about the same weight. Works well, glues well and finishes well. All around a fine choice.

  5. #5
    (Shrek)
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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Fitzgerald View Post
    "Could white ash be recommended? Anybody used it?"

    Yes and yes, as long as it's quarter sawn and straight grained, properly seasoned helps. It is stronger and tougher than white oak, about the same weight. Works well, glues well and finishes well. All around a fine choice.
    Old hardwood flooring can be a good source for ash (and maple, around here; oak further south). If you manage to get an entire room, you can pick and choose the best grain for critical elements, and of course being a 50-100 year-old floor means the wood is as seasoned as you're going to get anywhere. Plus I love recycling, I hate sending stuff like this off to a landfill. I rebuilt my sailboat's tiller using old flooring.

  6. #6

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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    When i decided to build my 12x20 - I chose Cherry for the hardwood. I have rebuilt several wooden cameras and used Cherry and mahogany as appropriate. Craig

  7. #7
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    Burke & James used maple for their cameras. Beech splits too easily, and is dimensionally unstable.

    I have an old French camera made from oak, but it's a much finer-grained oak than any modern oak I've seen. Modern mahogany doesn't seem as nice as the old stuff either.

    I'd say maple, cherry, or walnut. All can have the nice waves you're looking for, but that varies quite a bit from piece to piece. A good maple is a little hard on the tools too, but I think it might be worth it. Hard (but not impossible) to stain very dark, if you want a dark finish, but beautiful in a yellow or red honey finish! (And then you have to decide, sugar maple, rock maple, tiger maple, birds-eye maple... )

    Maple is the most common wood for electric guitars, if you want to consider the finish possibilities. (Camera makers could learn a LOT from luthiers...)
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  8. #8

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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    Dark and wavy makes me think of claro walnut.
    You probably don't want something too dense if you're concerned with weight. Something around the density of maple or beech is a good target (0.7ish specific gravity).

  9. #9
    Cogito, ergo sum
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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    Could white ash be recommended? Anybody used it?
    Life = Love + Passion + Responsibility

  10. #10

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    Re: What type of hardwood do you recommend?

    mahogany- very even grain which makes the woodworking easy- looks great, light and very attractive once finished.

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