Expensive fake lens boards !

[ederphoto]

Recently I've noticed an increased number of " fake new old stock " lens boards on E*y . I understand someone making cheap "4 or 6 pieces glued " lens boards for a living but to sell and pass them as original and authentic " 3 pieces assembled and glued " it's just not right ! Specially when charging over $100,00 for them . Those 4 pieces lens boards can be made in a kitchen with a hand saw , a copy saw and carpents glue . A properly made lens board will last 100 years and never come apart .If someone wants to make and sell lens boards , they should sell them with their name or brand and give whatever warranty they see fit . The reason I'm bringing this up is because I bought two of them when they first showed up some years ago . They didn't even fit my camera and weren't even square . Now I see some being passed as original old stock with a tag price of a $100,00 , that's too much ! My fellow forum members , know what you are buying ! Use you hardly earned money wisely ! A solid wooden lens board should be made of three pieces of wood with tongue and groove joints . You shouldn't pay more than $20,00 for a glued up board of two , four or six pieces without joints . Anyways , that's my two cents !

[consummate_fritterer]

I'll bet you $100, eBay will do nothing about the scam no matter how many times you report it and no matter what BS the agents tell you when you contact them.

[ederphoto]

QUOTE=consummate_fritterer;1443262]I'll bet you $100, eBay will do nothing about the scam no matter how many times you report it and no matter what BS the agents tell you when you contact them.[/QUOTE]

You are right ! I just hope the most large format users that buy on E**y are members here and see this . Other than giving the unscrupulous seller a negative feedback and filling a claim to get your money back , there's nothing else you can do . E**y will allow him to continue his bad business practices and the novice large format users are the ones loosing . Money they could spend on film is waisted on crap lens boards . Sad !

[Jim Galli]

Somebody picking up "sample" hardwood pieces in Home Depot and making lens boards out of them. I'm all FOR capitalism. I'm dead set against mis-representation and outright lying.

That said, I've got a sweet new old stock Burke and James 4 1/2" lens board in the original Burke and James box if anyone wants it for a hun.

[faberryman]

Recently I've noticed an increased number of " fake new old stock " lens boards on E*y . I understand someone making cheap "4 pieces glued " lens boards for a living but to sell and pass them as original and authentic " 3 pieces assembled and glued ", it's just not right ! Specially when charging over $100,00 for them . Those 4 pieces lens boards can be made in a kitchen with a hand saw , a copy saw and carpents glue . A properly made lens board will last 100 years and never come apart .If someone wants to make and sell lens boards , they should sell them with their name or brand and give whatever warranty they see fit . The reason I'm bringing this up is because I bought two of them when they first showed up some years ago . They didn't even fit my camera and weren't even square . Now I see some being passed as original old stock with a tag price of a $100,00 , that's too much ! My fellow forum members , know what you are buying ! Use you hardly earned money wisely ! A solid wooden lens board should be made of three pieces of wood with tongue and groove joints . You shouldn't pay more than $20,00 for a glued up board of two , four or six pieces without joints . Anyways , that's my two cents !

I looked at eBay and didn't see any. Do you have a link to an example?

[Jac@stafford.net]

Are you referring to boards with possibly counterfeited OEM envelopes?

[ederphoto]

Are you referring to boards with possibly counterfeited OEM envelopes?

No . I'm referring to the ones that even my 8 year old can make . I'm not against capitalism ! I'm all for it ! I'm against the exploitation and false claim of authenticity .

[ic-racer]

Link or example of what to look out for?

[ederphoto]

I won't put any lens over $150,00 in one of these , 6 pieces glued on , no tongue and groove joints . Some go for $22,0 which is fair but now some are being sold for $99,00 and up to $199,00 !!!

[Jim Galli]

Give us a link please.

[Leigh]

What's a "fake" lensboard?

If it's square (or appropriate shape) and has a hole in it, and fits the camera, it's a lensboard.

Now if it has a logo or manufacturer's ID, and was not made by that company, then it's a fake.
Lacking such ID, a poor-quality product is just a poor-quality product.

- Leigh

[Jac@stafford.net]

Help us. What, exactly is wrong with multilayered glued boards? Glue can be a stronger bond than the materials bound. Might you be protesting engineering you do not understand?

[Jeff Keller]

Not sure if this is the same construction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-LENS-BOARD3-75-x-3-75-95x95mm-TYPE-B-for-GRAFLEX-Solid-Wood-free-hole/231293435609?hash=item35da29bed9:g:ok0AAOSwzaJX5Mki ($19)

Seems odd that he didn't glue the two layers with the grain at 90 degrees to each other. He probably could have use 2 pieces of wood and been better off than using the 6 pieces with parallel grain on the two layers.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Not sure if this is the same construction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-LENS-BOARD3-75-x-3-75-95x95mm-TYPE-B-for-GRAFLEX-Solid-Wood-free-hole/231293435609?hash=item35da29bed9:g:ok0AAOSwzaJX5Mki ($19)

Seems odd that he didn't glue the two layers with the grain at 90 degrees to each other. He probably could have use 2 pieces of wood and been better off than using the 6 pieces with parallel grain on the two layers.

Nonetheless, his boards are less expensive than my time making the same, so I buy two and put one away for back-up!

[Bob Salomon]

Not sure if this is the same construction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-LENS-BOARD3-75-x-3-75-95x95mm-TYPE-B-for-GRAFLEX-Solid-Wood-free-hole/231293435609?hash=item35da29bed9:g:ok0AAOSwzaJX5Mki ($19)

Seems odd that he didn't glue the two layers with the grain at 90 degrees to each other. He probably could have use 2 pieces of wood and been better off than using the 6 pieces with parallel grain on the two layers.

Jeff, can’t be the same, the OP said that they were $100.00, not $19.00.

[Dan Fromm]

Recently I've noticed an increased number of " fake new old stock " lens boards on E*y . I understand someone making cheap "4 pieces glued " lens boards for a living but to sell and pass them as original and authentic " 3 pieces assembled and glued ", it's just not right ! Specially when charging over $100,00 for them . Those 4 pieces lens boards can be made in a kitchen with a hand saw , a copy saw and carpents glue . A properly made lens board will last 100 years and never come apart .If someone wants to make and sell lens boards , they should sell them with their name or brand and give whatever warranty they see fit . The reason I'm bringing this up is because I bought two of them when they first showed up some years ago . They didn't even fit my camera and weren't even square . Now I see some being passed as original old stock with a tag price of a $100,00 , that's too much ! My fellow forum members , know what you are buying ! Use you hardly earned money wisely ! A solid wooden lens board should be made of three pieces of wood with tongue and groove joints . You shouldn't pay more than $20,00 for a glued up board of two , four or six pieces without joints . Anyways , that's my two cents !

I just ran this search on eBay (lensboard, "lens board") (wood, wooden), got 184 hits. Ordered in descending price order, there were sjx (6) priced above $100. Two listings for Lotus boards, four for boards that fit an 8x10 Deardorff and accept a Linhof board.

What did you see that I didn't?

[Jeff Keller]

This one looks like the same construction but has a price of about $82 (US)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Deardorff-Field-Wood-8x10-Camera-Lens-Board-1-Accessory/112105984401?epid=1645042022&hash=item1a1a099191:g:w6cAAOSwCQNWe3lY

I would agree at $19 they are pretty reasonable, at $82 not so reasonable.


Jeff, can’t be the same, the OP said that they were $100.00, not $19.00.

[MikeMGB]

This one looks like the same construction but has a price of about $82 (US)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Deardorff-Field-Wood-8x10-Camera-Lens-Board-1-Accessory/112105984401?epid=1645042022&hash=item1a1a099191:g:w6cAAOSwCQNWe3lY

I would agree at $19 they are pretty reasonable, at $82 not so reasonable.

But they're not claiming it to be an NOS original, they're just looking for idiots willing to pay that much money,

[Dan Fromm]

Jeff, what an interesting listing. In addition to offering a lens board, not represented as original, it says:


We have a factory in China to make professional cosplay costumes for our customers all over the world. All costumes we sell are new, made with standard size or custom-made to your own measurements. Please provide your size according to our “How to measure yourself” guide. We only provide new, custom-made, first class craft-work made by our experienced professional tailors, in your own size. If you need to change color or any part, please contact us.

[pepeguitarra]

I guess the lens board is a side business, the main gig is to make customs. This guy also sells dark clothes. I buy from China to this guy. (https://www.ebay.com/itm/center-hole-Lens-board-COPAL-0-or-1-or-3-for-LINHOF-wista-ShenHao-96-x-99/142614549203?hash=item21347d52d3:g:AwIAAOSwRQlXfZia) Any knock off from Leica or any other photographic brand, he will do it. In fact, he is the only lens board (https://www.ebay.com/itm/center-hole-Lens-board-COPAL-0-or-1-or-3-for-LINHOF-wista-ShenHao-96-x-99/142614549203?hash=item21347d52d3:g:AwIAAOSwRQlXfZia)that fit my 4x5 Intrepid nicely:

[Randy]

I don't understand - I make my own lens-boards out of old Masonite clipboards I find at yard sales for $0.25 each - I don't understand...

[mdarnton]

I'm finding it difficult to get outraged. If someone spends $100 on what the OP showed a picture of, they deserve what they get. He would never find mine acceptable, but I don't need them to last 100 years, and I don't charge myself that kind of money.

[Nodda Duma]

Seems like caveat emptor applies here. What are the terms of sale listed in their Etsy store?

[neilt3]

All my lens boards are made out of 1/8" hardwood ply .
For thicker boards for heavier lenses a glue several layers togeather .
Backs painted flat black , fronts varnished , looks good to me and does the job .
Probably costs me about 50 pence per board all in , if that .

[ic-racer]

I'm still in the dark; are these fake Linhof, fake Shen-Hao, fake Chamonix, fake Deardorff, fake Horseman?
I once bought some Chinese Linhof-style and 8x8 Horseman-style boards, but neither had a fake logo and both performed fine.

[goamules]

I think the OP is sweating the small stuff. Cameras are user items. A lensboard is a lensboard. Not many people are trying to outfit a camera with an "original" lensboard, because most photographers would lose, break, redrill for a new lens, sell with an old lens, their boards. It's like saying you have an original set of tires on a 1955 car, or an original toilet tank gasket. It just doesn't matter.

[MikeMGB]

A collector may want an original lens board, but as most here would do, when I bought my Rochester 8x10 without a lens board I made one out of birch ply. I did go as far as staining it mahogany though so it almost matches the camera.

[Colin Graham]

Not sure if this is the same construction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-LENS-BOARD3-75-x-3-75-95x95mm-TYPE-B-for-GRAFLEX-Solid-Wood-free-hole/231293435609?hash=item35da29bed9:g:ok0AAOSwzaJX5Mki ($19)

Seems odd that he didn't glue the two layers with the grain at 90 degrees to each other. He probably could have use 2 pieces of wood and been better off than using the 6 pieces with parallel grain on the two layers.

Jeff, 3 piece lens boards like the ones in your link are traditionally breadboard-style construction. The end pieces each have a groove, the middle panel has a tongue on each side that fits in the grooves. The light trap is routed on the back after the glue is cured. If you view the board from the end of the assembled edge it's a lot easier to see this tongue and groove joint.

The graphic below is of a tabletop from Canadianwoodworking.com (https://www.canadianwoodworking.com/get-more/solutions-cross-grain-problems), but the construction is similar.

https://www.canadianwoodworking.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/woodscience_illustration1.jpg

[goamules]

I've got like a hundred lens boards. If I worried about trying to find "matching, original" for each camera it would be a long, boring endeavor, for no real purpose. I make mine too.

[Jeff Keller]

Thank you Colin,

It's been a long time since I did much woodworking so I could be missing something ...

- The end caps give the board a more finished look
- The end caps might make it a little easier to thin the edges or cut a light trap since the cut would be going with the grain.
- The end caps would help prevent cracks forming at the edges and spreading inward
- The end caps would help prevent warping but that probably isn't an issue with something as small as a lens board

I think the "Chinese made" boards were designed so that it only takes simple cuts to create the thinner edges. They put end caps on to make it look nicer. Probably they are strong enough but if someone was worried about the glue failing they could orient the boards so that the camera clamped the edges which have all three pieces rather than just clamping the end caps.

However if they oriented the grain of the two layers at 90 degrees to each other (like plywood) and didn't have end caps, the simple design would be quite stable and strong. It might not look as nice with every edge showing end grain, but it would be sturdy, stable, and easy to make.

Thanks for the link to canadianwoodworking. It was interesting.

[Mark Sawyer]

For those interested in cheap, durable, and semi-presentable lensboards, I've had good luck making them from composite flooring material like Pergo, (though I use a cheaper brand without the foam backing). It has a nice wood finish on one side, and won't warp. I made a bunch of 6x6 boards at around 50-cents each, and if someone local needs one, I'll trade for a beer and make a healthy profit!

[Jac@stafford.net]

I don't understand - I make my own lens-boards out of old Masonite clipboards I find at yard sales for $0.25 each - I don't understand...

Well, you are lucky to have a Masonite mine, or some retired Masons. :) Seriously, good idea. Thanks for that.

If I may, I understand how a restoration enthusiast might spend a lot of time ruminating or spending money for an original board (bless the purists), and the many alternatives posted here could be put on the main page. One of the most cost-effective gizmos I have is a Dremel router guide. (I wish I could afford all the miniature wood working and machinist tools.)

[Bob Salomon]

I don't understand - I make my own lens-boards out of old Masonite clipboards I find at yard sales for $0.25 each - I don't understand...

Back in the day, when I was hard pressed for a board for my monorails, I made them from double weight black mount board. Worked out OK except for a few cuts when the knife slipped!