8x10 monorail conversion - bad idea?

[joshwool]

I found an old Grover 8x10 that someone discarded a number of years ago, it's in excellent shape, but is missing the monorail and tripod mount. I've been looking for replacement parts for as long as I've had it, with no luck. So my thought is to either construct a mono rail out of 8020 t slotted aluminum and appropriate linear bearings and fasteners/plates etc or fabricating a wooden field camera style base with a slider of some sort for the front standard to pull focus . I'm not so worried about how it looks, more that it works and I can use it for wet plate work. Getting parts machined is out of my price range.
Before I go too far down the rabbit hole on this, anyone have any insight to what might be the most practical/cost efficient way to bring this camera back to life? Or things to be weary of?
Thanks
J.

[Dugan]

Maybe post a WTB ad on this site for the parts you need...
Or for a junker 8x10 B&J Commercial View or Rembrandt you can salvage the rails from...I "think" some parts would interchange.

[joshwool]

Maybe post a WTB ad on this site for the parts you need...
Or for a junker 8x10 B&J Commercial View or Rembrandt you can salvage the rails from...I "think" some parts would interchange.

I've done both with very little luck. Time to think outside the box.

[Dugan]

I get it.
The fixer-upper guys here are dwindling, many just buy a new Chamonix or get a Canham/ Ebony/Deardorff/Arca-Swiss/whatever.

[joshwool]

I get it.
The fixer-upper guys here are dwindling, many just buy a new Chamonix or get a Canham/ Ebony/Deardorff/Arca-Swiss/whatever.

I like dyi, and hate seeing things go to the scrap pile if they don't have to. Plus, it makes for a good story!

[Tin Can]

I like my only NEW cam

Intrepid 8X10 latest model

I am still looking for the perfect box

It needs 12.5 X 12.5 X 5"

I like the magnetic back, very strong, but easy to use

and love the perfect dims of the SINAR size lens board, which is often used with a Linhof adapter

[rfesk]

I like dyi, and hate seeing things go to the scrap pile if they don't have to. Plus, it makes for a good story!

Ditto for me. I am in the process of making a lightweight 4x5 monorail patterned after a Gowland Pocket View from parts from 4 cameras at last count.

[Havoc]

I like dyi, and hate seeing things go to the scrap pile if they don't have to. Plus, it makes for a good story!

Can't agree more. If you have all the essential parts and it is "only" the rail and tripod mount then I would also try to re-use as much as I could to make it into a working camera. I looked at some pictures and it looks like it is a standard hex bar of aluminium with a rack machined in. Try to find an amateur model engineer near you and show/explain him/her this. Chances are they can make something usable for you. And I also see photos of such a camera without the rack and pinion for moving the standards, that is even simpler.

The tripod mount would have to be a complete build but even that, if you can start from something like an old tripod head it isn't impossible.

[joshwool]

Can't agree more. If you have all the essential parts and it is "only" the rail and tripod mount then I would also try to re-use as much as I could to make it into a working camera. I looked at some pictures and it looks like it is a standard hex bar of aluminium with a rack machined in. Try to find an amateur model engineer near you and show/explain him/her this. Chances are they can make something usable for you. And I also see photos of such a camera without the rack and pinion for moving the standards, that is even simpler.

The tripod mount would have to be a complete build but even that, if you can start from something like an old tripod head it isn't impossible.

I still need to sketch out the plan, but the basic ideas is a 30" length of 1" or 25mm t rail. The front standard mounted on a linear bearing with brake for rough focus and the rear standard mounted on a second linear bearing attached to some sort of lead screw or gearing for fine focus. Two 2x1" 3 hole plates attach to the bottom of the rail with bolts to mount a tripod block/cheese plate to attach a swiss arca quick release plate, that are tapped to 3/8th-16 thread. Still deciding on if I need the bearing on the front standard. But total build would be under $200 and I really like the idea of it being modular.

[warpath]

If you give up on it and want to sell, let me know. I was looking for a grover without the rails to make a diy frankencamera out of haha. And I think recently I saw on ebay a b&j tailboard setup without the standards. At quick glance I thought it was for a 4x5, but might want to check it out and ask the seller. Might work for 8x10 and I think it was being offered for cheap. good luck

[joshwool]

If you give up on it and want to sell, let me know. I was looking for a grover without the rails to make a diy frankencamera out of haha. And I think recently I saw on ebay a b&j tailboard setup without the standards. At quick glance I thought it was for a 4x5, but might want to check it out and ask the seller. Might work for 8x10 and I think it was being offered for cheap. good luck

I'm going to hang on to it, it's in remarkably good shape, so going to do my best to make if functional again. Good luck with your build!

[MIke Sherck]

I've used that monorail camera in the past and while it is functional no one would ever be described as solid. It can be managed with care and patience but don't expect to avoid movement. It is, however, pretty light for an 8x10.

My avatar photo shows me with this camera. :cool:

Mike

[Drew Wiley]

It's next to impossible to DIY what the Sinar monorail system, now often at bargain pricing, will do by itself.

[Tobias Key]

I have used a manfrotto super clamp as a supplementary monorail clamp in the past, you can also buy wedges so it will clamp to different shaped services. Certainly strong enough for the job, cheap and easy to find. Mild steel or aluminium hexagon rail seems to be easily available and cheap - you'd just need the size. Then you'd just need to get gear teeth machined on to the rail, although maybe you could do without that or attach a ready made rack to the rail with counter sunk screws. I am sure you could get rudimentary functionality for much less that $100.

[JefW]

I tried to do the same thing with an 8x10 Grover, using plywood scraps, and vslot 8x20 extrusions and gantry cart kits from openbuilds partstore. The aim was to have something compact, self-contained, and lighter. The original ~10 lb aluminum rail was heavy and inconvenient to carry around. My end-result is still too bulky, crude and clunky, but it is self contained, and has all the movements of a monorail, and the lens can potentially get very close to the film plane for wide angles. It's lighter than with the aluminum rail, but could be lighter still. If one could dispense with the plywood platform and find a way to have the vslot segments hinge in such a way that there are no gaps between them (if such an inline hinge exists), that would be an improvement. With the plywood base though it's nice to have a "shelf" to hold my loupe and glasses.
238669238670238671

[joshwool]

I tried to do the same thing with an 8x10 Grover, using plywood scraps, and vslot 8x20 extrusions and gantry cart kits from openbuilds partstore. The aim was to have something compact, self-contained, and lighter. The original ~10 lb aluminum rail was heavy and inconvenient to carry around. My end-result is still too bulky, crude and clunky, but it is self contained, and has all the movements of a monorail, and the lens can potentially get very close to the film plane for wide angles. It's lighter than with the aluminum rail, but could be lighter still. If one could dispense with the plywood platform and find a way to have the vslot segments hinge in such a way that there are no gaps between them (if such an inline hinge exists), that would be an improvement. With the plywood base though it's nice to have a "shelf" to hold my loupe and glasses.
238669238670238671

Thanks for posting those photos, gives me some interesting ideas. I'm going to use this for a dedicated wetplate portrait camera, so I'm not so worried about portability so much as stability/functionality. How long did you end up making the rail section?

[JefW]

The rail section is about 19.5". (I'm using it at the moment with a 250mm lens that doesn't require very long extensions). The original rail is 26".

[joshwool]

The rail section is about 19.5". (I'm using it at the moment with a 250mm lens that doesn't require very long extensions). The original rail is 26".

Great, thanks for the info!

[joshwool]

Not quite done yet, but ended up building a wooden base with sled for rear focusing. I'll add a fine focus at some point.
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[JefW]

Looks great. Probably a lot more stable than the original monorail.

[rfesk]

Take your time with focusing and you will do fine. Looks great!