Custom Flanges

[Two23]

I see a lot of nice old lenses being sold without a flange. How much would it cost for me to get a flange fabricated? Surely any of my local machine shops could fabricate one? I once had a John Deere dealership machine shop make a camera repair for me. They did great! :)


Kent in SD

[Brian C. Miller]

SK Grimes does it. I saw it on the website, but I don't remember what they charge for making a custom flange.

[eddie]

i found my local machine shop ends up charging me about what grimes wouod charge me....only difference is i get it the next day with my local guy.

all i ever made was a threaded 8x8 lens board for a pair of 25 inch petzval lenses. i have never made a flange for smaller lenses (and never a flange as we know it).

it all comes down to time and material. my shop is a major shop so i pay the going rate.

best to keep an eye out for a universal iris clamp.....for medium or small lenses.

eddie

[Ramiro Elena]

I once asked for one and got a quote of $150 and one of $200, so I still don't have one.

Recently saw one of those iris clamps for $200 at a local store.

[Two23]

I once asked for one and got a quote of $150 and one of $200, so I still don't have one.



Dang, that's a lot of money for a small piece of steel. I'll ask around I guess.


Kent in SD

[Jan Pedersen]

The price for a Custom flange depends on the size. I recently had S.K. Grimes make a small flange for an 8" Cooke VIIb and i believe it was 65$
150$ to 200$ must be for a very large flange?

[Ramiro Elena]

56mm flange actually, but here in Spain. It wasn't a photography machinist. I've often come to think if it wouldn't be easier to buy the CNC machine.

[goamules]

I've also contacted a few machinists in my city. One mills complex aluminum devices for the military. Of course they were high, over $175. The problem is the setup and figuring out the thread pitch. Once that were done, and if you were making several dozen, the price would go down. But most of us only need one, so the price is high. I still have several premium lenses, like a CC Harrison, that need flanges....

[aduncanson]

I found that SK Grimes keeps a stock (http://www.skgrimes.com/flanges/indexm.htm)of common, and perhaps not so common, flanges. And the cost is far more reasonable than their quote for a custom flange. I got a 58mm flange for something like $35 plus reasonable (and fast) shipping.

[ic-racer]

You can cut screw theads on an inexpensive CNC desktop lathe, not sure about bolt threads, though.

http://www.imsrv.com/deskcnc/lathe/desktopcncthreading.pdf

[Len Middleton]

ic,

Typically external threads get rolled, as it moves the material rather than cuts it. Much stronger threads and no swarf debris, but lots of oil and pressue.

Len

[Two23]

Here's what I'm trying to do. I'm having trouble find a Petzval lens that covers 4x5 AND the flange will fit on my small Shen Hao lensboards. Have found one that might work, but the flange is just a tad too big. It will interfere with the sliding lensboard lock. I do not have the heart to start cutting on a 150 yr. old flange! I would cut a newer one to fit though, and just save the older one.

Here's another thought I had. What if I took a standard Shen Hao lensboard and attached a one inch long piece of thick plastic pipe to it? Pipe would be ~4 inch diameter. In effect it would be a short extension tube. I could then attach a flat piece of wood, brass, whatever to the open end of the tube and attach the lens to that with no problem. I think it would work. Might look just a bit Mickey Mouse, but what the heck. I'm trying to figure out if my best bet is to have a custom flange made, do the plastic extension tube thing, or just keep looking for a lens that won't need this kind monkeying around.


Kent in SD

[eddie]

Yes.

Attach the regular flange to a "spacer" piece just cut an indent so your lock levers hold the board.

I have been begging chamonix to put a larger front lens board on the 45N cameras. It would then be perfect for wet plate and fast portrait film shooters. Chamonix are you listening?

[Steven Tribe]

Squaring up the flange is an old art - several of the lens I own have these signs of previous use. I wouldn't consider it detrimental to the "value". The only exception are some German makers who insisted on copperplate with vital information on their flanges. Some of the original flanges are not original, either!

Spacers are good idea with lens like the Heliar and Petzvals with lots of "behind the flange" barrel.

[Ernest Purdum]

One cost factor is the material. It is very difficult to find an appropriate piece of brass from which to make one flange. Aluminum alloy is not a problem,