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View Full Version : Who drills metal lens boards on the cheap?



Jeff Bannow
7-Nov-2008, 08:08
I have a whole slew of barrel lenses I would like to get boards cut for, but the only place that seems to do this is SK Grimes. I am looking for alternatives to paying $40 - $50 a board for this work. Some of the lenses have flanges, some retaining rings.

The boards are metal Linhof style from evilBay. I figured I could get a drill press and do them myself, but I really enjoy having all 10 fingers.

Anyone have a recommendation? I can provide the lens and board, I just need someone to provide the hole!

Greg Lockrey
7-Nov-2008, 08:42
To do them correctly you need a lathe and a cutting tool. A drill of that size you need will get caught on the burrs and make a mess of the job. Find one of your millwright or mechanic friends that have access to a lathe and give him a couple of Cokes to do the job. That's what I do. :)

Jeff Bannow
7-Nov-2008, 08:56
I need to find some metalworking friends I guess! :)

John Kasaian
7-Nov-2008, 08:59
Rough and cheap=G.I. can opener---.39 cents for a card of two at your local Army-Navy surplus store :D

Or pay a visit to your local high school metal shop teacher ;)

Ken Lee
7-Nov-2008, 09:22
For some tasks, I found a local machine shop. They did a fine job.

SK Grimes (http://www.skgrimes.com/) did an even better job. Their work is... sublime, and no more expensive than the local machine shop.

Even if it were, I'd go with them. They know exactly what you want, and what you get is perfect.

Jeffrey Sipress
7-Nov-2008, 09:52
How many do you need? Send them to me, I'll do it for less. My work is at least as good as Grimes, which is quite good.

Dave Aharonian
7-Nov-2008, 10:14
I found a local machine shop with a friendly machinist - he charges me $20.

Greg Lockrey
7-Nov-2008, 10:38
I need to find some metalworking friends I guess! :)

You being in Royal Oak, there has to be a ton of machine shops. I do keep friends with trades people since I always find some "Government" work for them to do. :) If you do have difficulty in finding a guy let me know since I have easy connections that owe me and we aren't that far apart.

Michael Jones
7-Nov-2008, 10:42
How many do you need? Send them to me, I'll do it for less. My work is at least as good as Grimes, which is quite good.

How much do you charge? Thanks.

Mike

Gene McCluney
7-Nov-2008, 12:07
I drill a series of small holes in a circle for the size of the finished hole as close together as I can get them. I then use "snips" to cut the remaining metal out, then I use a dremel tool with a grinding stone to smooth out the hole. I haven't lost any fingers yet.

GSX4
7-Nov-2008, 12:37
Jeff, why are you not making your own lens boards out of wood anyway? Way cheaper and can be drilled with a set of Forstner bits. I make my own linhof types out of Rosewood and Ebony :-) Basically 1/8" thick stock, saw/sand/shape it to size. For the backing I make a pinwheel jig using an old router bit with a 1/4" shank fixed into a piece of wood. and drill a 1/4" hole in a square of wood and clamp the jig to the
table and gradually mill down the wood to the right size. Then I glue the two pieces together with the grain opposing each other. Once dry, you just drill out the center to the correct size. For these petzval's I drilled all the way through as they are friction fit. For other lenses with a screw mount, I drill the correct hole for the correct shutter fit, then drill the back face out further to allow for the retaining ring....

A real simple and cheap process.

John Schneider
7-Nov-2008, 13:36
The absolute best way to bore lb's is using a boring head mounted in a big drill press (I use a Bridgeport). If you have a sturdy drill press, I would suggest looking for a used boring head (a good brand is Criterion) on eBay and doing it yourself.

David Lindquist
7-Nov-2008, 14:59
The absolute best way to bore lb's is using a boring head mounted in a big drill press (I use a Bridgeport). If you have a sturdy drill press, I would suggest looking for a used boring head (a good brand is Criterion) on eBay and doing it yourself.

Bridgeport="big drill press". OHHHH, that hurts. Though I'm sure that some of the machine tool snobs over on practicalmachinist.com with their Deckel FP2's and their Kearney & Trecker 2D rotary heads would agree with this description.
David
(Whose large format hobby somehow led to an even more out-of-control hobby, a home machine shop which includes a Bridgeport.)(And who will always lust after a Kearney & Trecker 2D.)

jenn wilson
7-Nov-2008, 19:41
i had two metal lensboards fully set up for $50 total at camera west in walnut creek, ca. they put the lenses in and everything. they even made sure the hardware was black - or painted black...not sure which. but they were finished lickety split! super nice guys, too!

eddie
9-Nov-2008, 14:55
i use the big hole saws from home depot. i mark the center and then i screw eight wood screws just on the outside of each corner of the board. this is to keep it from spinning when you are drilling it.

it has been working fine for me. i cut 5 sinar boards just recently. i finish them off with a rat file just to smooth it up. works perfect!

eddie

wfwhitaker
9-Nov-2008, 15:20
...the only place that seems to do this is SK Grimes. I am looking for alternatives to paying $40 - $50 a board for this work.... I can provide the lens and board, I just need someone to provide the hole!

The last time I checked, which was only last month, SK Grimes charged $30 to mount a lens in a metal lensboard. Have you actually asked them?

Eric Woodbury
9-Nov-2008, 15:51
I just drilled one yesterday. I used an adjustable hole cutter for wood. Sharpened it up like a razor and cut a hole in aluminum. I took it real slow, with the drill press on lowest speed. It works okay, altho it made a very high pitch noise.

OldBikerPete
11-Nov-2008, 23:02
You need a trepanning tool. This is a cutting bit on the end of a short arm which fastens into a post which in turn locks into the chuck of any small drill press. You DO need a press as the drill has to be held exactly vertical. The cutting bit describes a circle which cuts through wood and aluminium - I've even used mine on 3mm mild steel. The tool is available from your better hardware stores for less than $50.
When using this tool you rest your lensboard on a piece of wood and grip the lensboard with pliers with soft aluminium or cloth between the jaws and the lensboard to prevent scratching.
This saves the fingers if you feed a little too fast and the cutter sticks.

g.lancia
12-Nov-2008, 01:55
Sorry, English is not my language, therefore my definitions might look odd, but I have been doing this sort of things much cheaper.

Just get one of those drill circular saw bits (about $10), remove the (removable) unwanted blades (wrong size) and drill the hole. Then make it smoother by using a filing tool. If you need it black, just paint the inner side with non gloss black paint. Hole precision is not important, as edge will get covered by lenses.

By reading this thread you are making it sound like a job for NASA...

Greg Lockrey
12-Nov-2008, 02:04
By reading this thread you are making it sound like a job for NASA...

Why yes.... photography is like rocket science, isn't it? ;) :D

John Schneider
12-Nov-2008, 09:34
Bridgeport="big drill press". OHHHH, that hurts. Though I'm sure that some of the machine tool snobs over on practicalmachinist.com with their Deckel FP2's and their Kearney & Trecker 2D rotary heads would agree with this description.

I didn't mean to equate (and malign) a Bridgeport to a drill press. That would be blasphemy. What I meant is that for those unfortunate enough to lack access to a milling machine, you could probably do a decent job boring lensboads with a boring head mounted on a big heavy floor model drill press (assuming the spindle runout is minimal).

Jeffrey Sipress
12-Nov-2008, 11:33
Regarding boring on a drill press, the main issue is rigidity. Putting the shank of a boring head in a drillpress chuck is the worse thing you can do. Ideally, your boring head will have a morse taper shank that fits the spindle of the press once the chuck is removed. If all this talk is greek to you, then just find a precision machine shop. I've owned about ten Bridgeports and copies, although I'm down to two currently. I now have nine CNC machines that have certainly increased my production capacity over the manual machines. That's putting it lightly! They scream.