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View Full Version : Homemade Calumet C-1 Lensboards?



David Karp
23-Dec-2004, 16:17
Hi,

Yesterday, I borrowed a Calumet C-1 8x10 camera and some film holders from a friend of mine to play with for a while, and I went to Freestyle during my lunch hour today and came back with a box of 8x10 Arista.Edu 400. I am all ready to go, but have a lens problem.

My friend had a No. 3 lensboard for the camera, but all of my lenses that cover 8x10 are in No. 1 shutters. I am thinking about fashioning some makeshift boards from thin sheets of modelmaker's plywood. This solution has been mentioned by others on this forum for use on other cameras.

Has anyone tried plywood for use on a C-1? The aluminum board is designed to fit into a stepped opening in the front standard. Will a flat board work? I would appreciate it if any C-1 users have come up with a home made solution.

Thanks in advance, and happy holidays!

Jim Rice
23-Dec-2004, 16:38
Hi David, While not for the C-1, I have successfully used 1/4" black-black-black Gatorboard for temporary lensboards. It's pretty easy to work (Exacto knife), compresses nicely to fill in the light traps on the camera and is strong enough to hold heavy lenses.

Jon Shiu
23-Dec-2004, 16:54
Yes, flat plywood works fine. I've made a few and put some black tape on the back so that the board fits more snugly. I believe the C1 has some felt around the opening so if the board is snug it should not leak light.

Ernest Purdum
23-Dec-2004, 17:15
Airplane model plywood is great, very strong, stable and easy to work. You can build up to just the thickness you need using sheets of hardwood from www.micromark.com or a few local stores. My recollection is that they come in thicknesses from 1/32" to 1/4".



Wood lensboards sometimes work out to be too thick for some modern lenses. You wind up not being able to screw the rear cell in all the way. You can, of course, correct this by cutting an oversize hole through some of the thickness.

Dave Moeller
23-Dec-2004, 17:40
David-

All of my C-1 lensboards are made from hobby plywood. I just cut a square to size, drill the hole for the lens, and paint them flat black. I've never had light leak problems, and I've never had to put anything on the back to mate with the light trap. I think that if you get the size right you won't have any problems at all.

Good luck.

David Karp
23-Dec-2004, 18:23
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the quick responses. A trip to the hobby store is in my future tomorrow!

By the way, I rigged something up to put a lens on the camera temporarily, and all I have to say is WOW. The difference between the image on the 4x5 groundglass and the image on the 8x10 groundglass is amazing. I never understood how anyone could call the 4x5 groundglass image small, as I have seen from time to time, but now I do.

Gem Singer
23-Dec-2004, 19:54
It's awesome, isn't it Dave? I compare the difference between a 4 x5 and an 8x10 screen to seeing an I-Max movie screen for the first time.

Merg Ross
23-Dec-2004, 23:20
Now, that is dedication; a trip to the hobby store on Christmas Eve! Seriously, the hobby plywood will work fine, Dave, and as Jon noted the C-1 has felt at the opening as part of the light trap. Also, if you have the #3 board you can attach plywood with a #1 hole to the interior of the #3 with a good adhesive. This method depends on the size of the lens you are mounting. Make sure to paint with flat black.

To you, and others that frequent this forum, best Holiday Wishes!

Alan Davenport
23-Dec-2004, 23:35
Does the C-1 use the same 6 3/8" square lensboards as current Cambo and Calumet 4x5 cameras? If so, they are very easy to make using 1/8" birch plywood. Very stiff and solid.

wfwhitaker
24-Dec-2004, 01:44
Deardorff boards work, too.

David Karp
25-Dec-2004, 00:08
Alan,

Unfortunately, the C-1 does not use the current square Cambo boards. I have several, including a Cambo to Technika adapter that would have been the answer to my problem, but the Cambo boards are too big.

Thanks again to everyone. And Eugene, that is a great description. I kept wanting to say it was like looking at a TV set, but that just did not seem appropriate. The I-Max reference is more in line with what I felt.

David Karp
9-Jan-2005, 09:58
Hi all,

Just thought I would update this thread with what I came up with (for anyone who might have a similar question in the future).

The hobby shop had some model aircraft plywood in a perfect size: 3/16" thick x 6" wide x 12" long. The plywood was stamped "Bud Nosen Models Aircraft Plywood." I made two boards that fit almost perfectly, just by cutting the board in half. I then had to sand them down so they are somewhat less than 3/16" thick, and rounded the corners by sanding with 100 grit sandpaper. The plywood cost US$2.49. The hobby shop has a website: www.kitkraft.biz, in case someone lives in an area that does not carry this product.

Thanks again for the help.

Dave Moeller
9-Jan-2005, 10:11
Dave-

Glad to hear that the hobby plywood worked out for you. Let me know what solution you use for cutting out the center of the boards for the lens...I'm always interested in finding out how others do things.

I'm about to finish my restoration of an old Korona Pictorial View 8x10, so I'll be making some new lensboards for it. As with my C-1, I'll use hobby plywood, although these I intend to stain on the front to match the camera. The people at the art supply store where I get my plywood have gotten to the point where they don't even ask if they can help me any more...the just say "Hi" and watch me head for the plywood. So far I've successfully made lensboards for the C-1, a couple of Cambos, and my Shen-Hao (Linhof-Technica style boards). I'm amazed that anyone would pay for lensboards, given how easy they are to make and how cheap they are. My only tools are a steel square, a pencil, a small saw, and a Dremel tool. At this point, I don't think there's a lensboard I can't make. (Pride goeth before a fall...)

Be well.
Dave

David Karp
10-Jan-2005, 14:27
Dave,

It would have been good to have the Dremel tool to cut the holes for the lenses. I did not really have the proper tool available, and was too impatient to wait until I could go to the hardware store. So I located the hole and traced a circle using one of my Technika-type boards as a template. Then I drilled some holes in the board with my drill, placing the edge of each hole at the edge of the marking for the lens hole. I cut the remaining material away with a jigsaw. The holes are not perfectly round, but good enough so that the lens fits and no light gets into the camera through the hole (except for the light that comes through the lens). Not very elegant - The boards look a lot better with the lenses on them than they do without them!

My method probably will not help you very much, but it might give you a chuckle.

Thanks again for the help.