Material for wooden lensboards?

[Gene McCluney]

Yes, yes, I know wood!!...but maybe not. What are most of you guys and gals doing when you need to make another lensboard for your older wooden view camera? I mean where are you sourcing your thin wood, or alternate materials?

[Louie Powell]

My camera (Zone VI lightweight) used 1/4' thick lens boards. I found some 1/4" poplar at the local Lowes store that I used to make a couple of boards, and there is a specialty lumberyard nearby that sells 1/4" mahogany, maple, walnut and even some more exotic woods.

[reellis67]

I'm not big on the quality of wood at places like Lowes and Home Despot. I would recommend looking at Woodcraft, or some other woodworking supply. Both the quality and selection will be much higher, and the prices won't be all that different. I've made a few out of oak, but I want to remake them from the same wood as my camera when I get some free time (free what? what time? what what?).

- Randy

[John Bowen]

I just call Richard Ritter, send him a check and he sends me a well crafted wooden lensboard. No fuss, no muss top quality lens boards. Give him a call!

[Peter Collins]

When I owned a Tachi, I made two lensboards out of ~2 mm thick birch plywood (three-ply) stock. Wood was high quality; no patches. It came in sheets about 12 x 12 in. This stock also came in a slightly thicker size. The stock was exactly the thickness nec. to slip into the space for the lensboard. (The stock was the thickness of a "Linhof" lensboard.)

I drilled the largest hole possible--that is, I used my largest bit, and then a rat-tailed file to enlarge the hole to the needed 39mm. Of course, the hole wasn't perfectly round, but quite close--a snug fit, no leaks. I sanded one edge to a bevel at the bottom front so the board would slip into the bottom slot on the Tachi. I spray-painted the thing flat black--it came out of a can. I didn't look for a little "Linhof Shield" to afix to either board.

I made two lensboards for about $13.

I bought this at a train/plane/model building hobby shop. The same shops sell thick stock of plastic, which might be desirable.

ciao for now.....................

[MIke Sherck]

Hobby shops sell a high quality plywood used for building model airplanes. It comes in different thicknesses and I have found that it works very well.

Mike

[Dave Parker]

I buy all of my stuff at the local hobby shop that sells remote control airplanes, when I make a board, I use a 1/8" piece of birth plywood, cut to size, then drill the lens mount hole and then make a second piece of birch drill the hole about 1/4" larger and the board 1/4" smaller, glue together, flat black on the back and stain to match, costs about $4 for a 1 foot by 1 foot square of birch plywood.


Dave

[Dave Parker]

Hobby shops sell a high quality plywood used for building model airplanes. It comes in different thicknesses and I have found that it works very well.

Mike

Boy Mike, ya beat me buy less than a minute!!!!

:D

[Kevin Klazek]

I build my Dorff boards just like Dave described, except I laminate some mahogany veneer to the front side, then varnish it. They come out looking like the real deal but at a fraction of the cost.

[Dave Parker]

I build my Dorff boards just like Dave described, except I laminate some mahogany veneer to the front side, then varnish it. They come out looking like the real deal but at a fraction of the cost.

Kevin,

I did some about six months ago, and laminated Bubinga on the front of them, they were beautiful, the hobby shop we have here carries exotics down to 1/64 of an inch think, makes for some great laminates..

Dave

[Ron Stowell]

I use Lexan painted dull black for my Graphic view lens boards. You can get it at Lowes.
Cut the openings with a hole saw or Forsner bit.

[Jim Noel]

I second the recommendation of Hobby Shops.

Fine plywood of various thicknesses is sold for firewalls on model airplanes, as well as other uses. I generally by thinner than required and laminate it up to appropriate thickness.

[MenacingTourist]

I laminate two or three pieces of ply together until I get the right thickness depending on the camera then finish it with the super thin mahogany veneer. For holes I have forstner bits as well as an adjustable thing to go really large. This method takes a while longer but if I do several at a time it's not too bad. I consider these high end but the ugly masonite ones work just as well :)

All this is done with a table saw and drill press.

Alan.

[Ernest Purdum]

In addition to the hobby plywood, at www.micromark.com you can get thin sheets of mahogany and other hardwoods. They are available in a variety of thicknesses, so you can laminate up to a very exact thickness.

[Rafael Garcia]

The hobby shop plywood is good, but I just mill whatever hardwood I have around with my radial saw to the appropriate thickness of the light trap, then route the edges to the thickness of the slots in the standard. The holes get drilled with a Forstner bit. I stain or veneer the outside and spray the inside flat black.

[Turner Reich]

You can get some Baltic Birch plywood, thin 1/8, etc.. at Michaels craft stores if you live in the US. The plywood is better because it won't break in two like the single layer wood at Lowe's. I have used the Lowe's and HD wood and there is nothing wrong with it but for stiffness the BB plywood is better. It comes in sheets so you can make a bunch of boards with one sheet. You can paint, stain, or leave it natural too.

[Greg Dejanovic]

All great suggestions but I feel very important is to sandwich two pieces of marine or model airplane plywood together. If you use only one piece of MAP it will warp with moisture. Guess How I know.

Cheers Greg

[Bill_1856]

It ain't pretty, but I've always found Masonite to be a good way to make lens boards. It's cheap, it's very easy to work (all you need is a coping saw or a scroll saw, even to cut the hole), and it's at least as sturdy as wood of the same thickness.

[Rob_5419]

I haven't found laminate mahogany where I live.

Does anyone have a sensible way for shaving off 6mm off a mahagony lensboard?

I've miscalculated one lensboard and need to trim off 6mm from top and bottom to get
it to fit. The hacksaw is out of the question (too rough).

Help?

[Ash]

chuck it in a clamp and use a plane/rasp thing?

[Ralph Barker]

. . . Does anyone have a sensible way for shaving off 6mm off a mahagony lensboard? . . .


A lot depends on what you have in the way of woodworking tools. Assuming just hand tools, I'd first carefully scribe the cut lines with a marking knife (or, a sharp utility knife) to minimize tear-out at the edge of the cut. Then, use the finest-tooth saw you have (a miter saw or Japanese dozuki would be great), cutting just outside the scribe line. Then, file and sand to finish size.