Mounting lenses on Deardorrf Boards...

[Capocheny]

Greetings again,

This may sound like a strange question but... here goes! :)

Is there a "proper" way to mount a lens onto a Dorrf 6x6, wooden,lens board?

Reason I'm asking is because, unlike a flat, one level Sinar board, there are two elevations when you look at the Dorff board straight down from the back. In other words, there's a lip that's approximately 1/4" surrounding the smaller inside board. (Kind of looks like a double mat used in picture framing. Easiest way to describe this. :)

Regarding the example I have (with a 183 Protar mounted - no shutter)... when you look at the board from the back side... the opening on the top "layer" is 2 inches in diameter. The opening in the second "layer" is just large enough to allow the rear of the lens to poke through.

Is it okay to simply drill the opening directly through the board and mount the lens just like the Sinar board? The lens is a big, heavy 360 Symmar f6.8 chunk of glass.

[BTW, the board in question is a wooden 6x6 rounded corner board for the 8x10 field camera.]

Thanks in advance for you input. :)

Cheers

[Ed K.]

Greets HDC!

If you've got a #3, the ring fits nicely into the recessed part - it might not make it all the way through there, yet still have enough threads to hold the lens well. For lenses that don't have a front flange mount, the countersunk hole is usually the way to go. Attached thumbnail shows Fuji 360 in #3 with rear element removed, in DD board. Use a lens wrench, so that you don't garf up the retaining ring as the previous owner of my lens did...

[Brian Ellis]

The spanner wrench that S.K. Grimes sells for about $30 will work fine with Deardorff boards so that you don't have to do any drilling.

[Ed K.]

HDC - one more thought -

There are people who can drill the board properly for you. It's important to have the hole be just right - the threaded retaining ring on the lens fits nice and snug through the hole, and it is designed in most cases, for the thickness of the countersunk area...

[Capocheny]

HDC - one more thought -

There are people who can drill the board properly for you. It's important to have the hole be just right - the threaded retaining ring on the lens fits nice and snug through the hole, and it is designed in most cases, for the thickness of the countersunk area...

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the info... :)

So, it looks like there's a need to drill the board 2x... the first time to enlarge the opening on the top "layer" (again, as you look at the board from behind) down to the top of the first layer, and a second opening needs to be cut for the lens itself through the first layer. Interesting.

In other words, one should not drill straight through both layers and simply mount the lens as you would on a traditional Sinar board? I'm just thinking this may not be possible because of the thickness of the board...



Brian,

Thanks for the suggestion... yes, I already have one of those. :)

Cheers

[Ed K.]

Hello Again HDC,

It's up to you, however I know that my #3 lenses won't mount properly with the full thickness of the board - perhaps sombody else's will. The hole that does the actual mounting ends up being the same as the #3 hole on the Sinar board, and the thickness is the same to perhaps slightly thicker than the Sinar. The hole is very precise, as the lip on the retaining ring is pretty thin to hold the whole thing in right.

See photos of genuine DD board, factory drilled...

[wfwhitaker]

It's not clear (at least to me) from the thread which shutter you intend to mount. If it's a Copal 3, you may be able to get by without the rebate (the counterbored hole in the back of the board), depending upon the thickness of the board and possibly the vintage of the shutter. If the lens is in another shutter, e.g. an Ilex #5, then making a hole for a flange requires only a straight bore.

If cutting a rebate, you may be better off simply sending the board of to Grimes or similar. That way you know the job is done right the first time. The Copal 3 is a standard size and you shouldn't need to ship the lens if you have a spanner to assemble it in the board. Losing a Deardorff board to an overly enthusiastic drill press may possibly pay for having the job done professionally in the first place.... not to mention potential bodily injury. :)

[John Kasaian]

Somewhere back in my little gray matter a flag went up. Not all Copal 3 shutters are identical. I recall that there is a 3, and 3S and yet another Copal 3 thats ever so slightly different. I mention this because I bought a lensboard once and the seller wanted me to send him the lens (a 450 Nikkor M in a Copal 3) so he could drill the correct hole. So I'm a thinkin' there might be enough of a a difference that would effect the size of the hole you'll need.

[Ed K.]

Hmmm, you guys might be right! The latest Copal #3, if that's what HDC is using, has 28mm allowed for the "mounting length", and the board is only about 12mm thick altogether. Would that leave enough threads after subtracting another 3mm or so for the lip on the threaded ring?

RTS - Copal Specs -
http://www.rtsphoto.com/html/copal2.html

Also, sorry, I should not have assumed that you have a Copal 3 - what shutter does your lens use?

[Capocheny]

Hello again,

Thanks for all the information... you guys and your words of wisdom are what really makes this one GREAT forum! :)

To confirm, yes, it is a Copal 3 shutter that the 360 Symmar f/6.8 is mounted in. As to which version of a Copal 3 it is... sorry, but I'm not sure.

Thanks again...

Cheers

[Michael Daily]

If you have access to a drill press, doing the lensboards is not difficult. Hole saws are available for just about every size hole fron 1/2 inch (12mm) up to over 4 inches (100mm). Clamp the board, face down to the table of the press and drill the smaller hole. Remove the hole saw and put in the one for the diameter of the retaining ring and drill down to about 1/8th inch (3mm). This can be done carefully by eye, or you can use stops on the press if you have them. The last couple I did took about 15 min. each including measuring. Hope this helps.
Michael

[Capocheny]

If you have access to a drill press, doing the lensboards is not difficult. Hole saws are available for just about every size hole fron 1/2 inch (12mm) up to over 4 inches (100mm). Clamp the board, face down to the table of the press and drill the smaller hole. Remove the hole saw and put in the one for the diameter of the retaining ring and drill down to about 1/8th inch (3mm). This can be done carefully by eye, or you can use stops on the press if you have them. The last couple I did took about 15 min. each including measuring. Hope this helps.
Michael

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the information... :)

Will have to take a go at this.

Cheers