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J Rollinger
23-Aug-2009, 08:36
I have decided to build a lens board for a Calumet 4x5 that i bought at a recent garage sale. My question is, which wood would be the best? I would prefer something that would not warp over time.

Thanks
Jim

Jim Michael
23-Aug-2009, 08:57
There is a lens board making thread going on right now you might want to take a look at. Not sure what dimensions of wood you need but the one I built for my Kodak 2D was fabricated from 1/8" mahogany in two layers glued orthogonally to each other. It hasn't warped in 20 years, so seems like a good way to make them. Some great ideas in that other thread, such as gluing a wood layer to a metal layer.

J Rollinger
23-Aug-2009, 09:06
There is a lens board making thread going on right now you might want to take a look at. Not sure what dimensions of wood you need but the one I built for my Kodak 2D was fabricated from 1/8" mahogany in two layers glued orthogonally to each other. It hasn't warped in 20 years, so seems like a good way to make them. Some great ideas in that other thread, such as gluing a wood layer to a metal layer.

Thank you for your reply Jim! I will search for that thread. Mahogany sounds great. Can i find it at a local Home Depot or a similar home improvement center?


Jim

Jim Michael
23-Aug-2009, 09:30
I think I found mine at a hobby store, but it should be easily found online. The stuff I've seen at HD is 1/4" or more in thickness, so probably wouldn't work.

mark anderson
23-Aug-2009, 09:34
look up and understand the meaning of quater sawn lumber and how to spot it. it will make a huge differance in the stability of any speicies of lumber.

Roger Thoms
23-Aug-2009, 09:53
I recently bought an Calumet CC-400 4x5 off Craigslist. It came with an original aluminum board and two plywood boards that the previous owner had made. He used 1/8 inch plywood that he purchased at a model shop. The plywood boards work quite nicely.

Roger

Jon Shiu
23-Aug-2009, 09:56
If your calumet is like the cc400 (long skinny round rail), rather than the Cambo/Calumet camera, it might be hard to find wood thin enough to fit in the slot. You might try some black acrylic.

Jon

J Rollinger
23-Aug-2009, 10:51
Thank you everyone for all your help!

Jon, I dont know what model it is. I bought it at a garage sale for $20. I actually didnt buy it, she gave it to me for free so i gave her a $20 tip. John, would you know what model it is and how thick the new board should be?

Thanks Jim

brian mcweeney
23-Aug-2009, 11:43
You could buy some Cambo lens boards from KEH or 'bay ... but they'll cost more than what you paid, er tipped for the entire camera. Around $30.

Jon Shiu
23-Aug-2009, 15:50
That's a Cambo made one, which I believe can take a thicker board than the older cc400. Note that you would need to make some small notches in the top to work with the sliding catch.

Jon

Kirk Fry
23-Aug-2009, 16:05
I use black polycarbonate plastic sheeting I get from Tap Plastics. It comes in any thickness from 1/16 to 1/2 inch or so. They will cut to size and probably drill a hole for you. CHEAP. I cut lens holes with a hole saw on my drill. They come in all sizes usually close enough. I have made lens boards for everything from a Calumet CC401 to an Arca Swiss and Ansco 8X10. KFry

verney
24-Aug-2009, 00:36
Cambo (also sold under name Calumet) lens boards have nothing in common with the old CC400-series Calumet lens boards. Cambo lens boards are with rounded corners. You are probably looking for 6.41" size lens boards. They are cheap and plentiful at the (in)famous auction site.

Please see:
http://www.skgrimes.com/lensboards/index.htm

Vick Vickery
24-Aug-2009, 16:30
Thats definately a Cambo rebadged to Calumet; I have bought many Cambo boards on eBay for $15 to $20 dollars. The boards are about 6 3/8" square and have a 1/8" groove cut into the back of the board about 11/16" in from the edge...this groove will be very hard to duplicate unless you have a router table available to use. Even if you want to make wooden ones, you would be smart to get one original aluminum one as a pattern.

Kuzano
24-Aug-2009, 19:34
I have a couple of new Calumet Cadet metal lens boards, if that's what you are looking for.

Vick Vickery
24-Aug-2009, 19:51
The Cadet lensboards are smaller that the ones that Jim's camera takes; Cambo 45 series cameras are 6.41" square with rounded corners according to Grimes' list while the Cadet boards are 4.85" square with 45 degree cut corners.

verney
24-Aug-2009, 23:22
When buying online be aware that 6x9cm Cambo used smaller lens boards (4.86") that look otherwise the same. They are rare but show up sometimes in auctions.