DIY 4x5 Wet Plate holder

[Ari]

Hi all,

I saw Alex's wonderful video about making one's own wet plate holder from an 8x10 film holder.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlb7DRoSSVI

I am about to embark upon making such a holder, but I intend to use a 4x5 holder to hold quarter-plate-size glass/aluminum.

Just wondering if there are any extra precautions to take since I'll be working with a much smaller holder, or if anyone has any practical advice in general.

I got me three new-ish Fidelity holders, they use a metal center septum instead of wood; I'm hoping by the time I'm done, I'll have one good, usable holder.

Thanks in advance.

[Ari]

I just found Alex's description, with photos, of how to make a wet plate holder from a 4x5 holder.

http://collodion-art.blogspot.ca/2013/01/modifying-normal-4x5-film-holder-to-wet.html

Thanks, Alex!

[alex from holland]

Ari, be sure you take a more expensive 4x4 holder. There are two versions. One with a solid thick aluminium plate in the middle. That's the one you need. The cheaper version has two thin metal layers in the middle and that simply won't work with wet plate as it will collect a lot of dirt while using it.

[Ari]

Alex, thank you very much for replying.

I bought three Lisco Regal II holders, they seem to have one solid plate in the middle, as best as I can tell.
There's no bend in the plate, and it is definitely not plastic.

I really appreciate the work you've put into the blog, I've found it exceedingly helpful while I find my feet in the wet-plate world.

[asiqueira]

Thanks Alex for the teaching. On the 8x10 plate you used stainless steel wire and here you say to use 99.9 silver wire, here in Brazil I did not find the silver wire, can I use the stainless steel? Hug.

[alex from holland]

Yes, no problem. Stainless will do the job

[tonyowen]

Ari, be sure you take a more expensive 4x4 holder. .

Your description states" tape the inside which makes you able to mark the actual needed size. You can go up to 8.4 mm x 11,4mm " Should this be 8.4cm x 11.4cm (or 84mm x 114mm)?
regards
Tony

[Mark Sawyer]

Forget the tape, cut a plate the size of what you'll use, center it on the septum and mark the edges with a pencil.

Don't cut from the corners. Drill a big hole in the middle of the line and cut into the corners. The divots left behind in the middle of each edge are handy for getting your fingertips under the plate to get it out.

Avoid any little stray drips of epoxy when gluing the wires in. They'll always look like little wet drops of silver bath when cleaning out the holder between plates.

Mark the rear darkslide on both sides so you don't mix up which side of the holder is which.

Duct tape a little flap of mat board to an edge at the back to keep the plate from falling backwards it the holder:

[Steven Tribe]

Read with interest, although I have the old time wooden plate holders. Most of these have these silver wire corner pieces, exactly as Alex shows.

I can imagine that replacing the dark slide is a bit more difficult than the original style, where there is a back door which is locked down.

A few of my wet plate holders have thin glass corner pieces stuck underneath the 4 corners as a cheaper solution. These are still intact a hundred plus years later!

Surprisingly, the nearby mahogany is not protected in any way. I was thinking that the application of gold leaf on wood surfaces in the most dangerous areas for spillage might be a help for stopping silver nitrate attack and make cleaning easier?

[Mark Sawyer]

BTW, don't use older-style wooden film holders for the conversion. They tend to have thin double-wall septums that bend easily while cutting, and the edges of your plates can slip into the airspace between the septums.

[alex from holland]

You are right!

[asiqueira]

Yes, no problem. Stainless will do the job

Thanks Alex.