Wood Ground Glass Protectors

[Michael Graves]

There used to be someone who sold ground glass protectors made from wood. I've done a web search and cannot find such a product anywhere. Is such a thing still made and does anyone know where to find them?

[Paul Bujak]

Andrew Glover (dagor77) used to sell these on eBay. I just checked and he does not list any right now.

[Michael Graves]

I had a chance to try the Wisner, and it did not work well. Bummer about Andrew not selling them any more.

[vinny]

If someone could post a pic or two of one I could always use another project in the shop.

[Michael Graves]

Here is what I currently use for my 4x5. I have a plexiglass one for my 5x7 that is broken. If the cost wasn't prohibitive, I would buy one for each camera. But two parallel sheets of thin wood, connected at one side would do. The part that goes into the inside of the ground glass should be smoothed, and if possible slightly rounded. The exposed side is the only one that would have to be finished, although if you were going to make several of these with the intent of offering them here (wink, wink...nod, nod) you'd probably want to standardize the process so all panels could be made at once and then fitted together.

[vinny]

I have a plastic one similar to that for my 4x5. I'll make some next week and post pix here.

[Drew Wiley]

I prefer polycarbonate. The point is to have something stiff, which won't flex or be easily
punctured. If you use wood, what works well is hobby plywood - lots of thin laminations to
keep it good and stiff. But when I wanted something cool looking for the 8x10, I took a 12x12 sheet of copper-plated printed circuit board (thin, ligthwt, but nice and stiff with a fiberglass/phenolic core), a did a wild verdigris job on it - sort of tie dye on metal, for those of you familiar with verdigris technique. Final polish and a bit of clear acrylic lacquer
and velcro corner tabs, and a bit of creative fun!

[E. von Hoegh]

I prefer polycarbonate. The point is to have something stiff, which won't flex or be easily
punctured. If you use wood, what works well is hobby plywood - lots of thin laminations to
keep it good and stiff. But when I wanted something cool looking for the 8x10, I took a 12x12 sheet of copper-plated printed circuit board (thin, ligthwt, but nice and stiff with a fiberglass/phenolic core), a did a wild verdigris job on it - sort of tie dye on metal, for those of you familiar with verdigris technique. Final polish and a bit of clear acrylic lacquer
and velcro corner tabs, and a bit of creative fun!

You could mask and etch most anything you like on the copper side of the PCB. Great idea!

[Reinhold Schable]

I've been making these things for years.

Here's one to fit a Canham 8x20, and one to fit a Tachihara 4x5.
The Tachi GGGuard is the width of a 4x5 film holder, the gap is 11.5mm (7/6").

The 8x20 Canham GGGuard is made a bit different.
The gap is 15mm (9/16").
The 9-1/2'' wide tongue is the width of the film holder.
But the cover is 8-1/2" wide to fit nicely into the recess on the Canham's back.

Filmholder widths are common dimensions, but the thickness and width of spring backs is not so common.
Notice the enlarged end on Michael's photo... It's designed to fit spring backs of varying thickness.
I avoid hard materials; wood doesn't scuff and scratch wood cameras and is a good shock absorber.
If you punch a hole thru a wood cover, you'll need to do a bit of work on the camera too...
If you accidenly step on a wood one it can be re-glued (sort of like an honorable battle scar).

Reinhold
www.Re-inventedPhotoEquip.com

[Brian Ellis]

I've used Wisner and Chamonix wood protectors, the black "plastic" ones sold by Calumet, and a heavier, clear "plastic" one sold by Canham.

The Wisner didn't fit very well, IIRC it was slightly too large and was a pain to get on and off. The Chamonix was also a pain because it was difficult to get it on properly. The black one sold by Calumet was seriously ugly and seemed too thin to provide much protection though I never had a broken ground glass while using it. The one from Canham was better looking and had less of a "cheap" feel than the Calumet but I'm not sure how much protection it really gave. I had the Canham on an 8x10 Deardorff in my backpack and the backpack was in the trunk of the car with the camera back facing up. I hit a bump in the road, the car went up and down and so did whatever was on top of backpack. The protector broke and so did the ground glass. After that I made my own out of heavy cardboard. There's not a lot to it, just cut two pieces of cardboard and hinge them at the top with tape.

I realize you weren't asking about the non-wood kind but I thought this experience might be useful to others.

[Michael Graves]

I've used Wisner and Chamonix wood protectors, the black "plastic" ones sold by Calumet, and a heavier, clear "plastic" one sold by Canham.

The Wisner didn't fit very well, IIRC it was slightly too large and was a pain to get on and off. The Chamonix was also a pain because it was difficult to get it on properly. The black one sold by Calumet was seriously ugly and seemed too thin to provide much protection though I never had a broken ground glass while using it. The one from Canham was better looking and had less of a "cheap" feel than the Calumet but I'm not sure how much protection it really gave. I had the Canham on an 8x10 Deardorff in my backpack and the backpack was in the trunk of the car with the camera back facing up. I hit a bump in the road, the car went up and down and so did whatever was on top of backpack. The protector broke and so did the ground glass. After that I made my own out of heavy cardboard. There's not a lot to it, just cut two pieces of cardboard and hinge them at the top with tape.

I realize you weren't asking about the non-wood kind but I thought this experience might be useful to others.

My experience is very similar to yours. My Chamonix 4x5 is in a drawer, having been replaced by the one in the picture I posted. Too much of a PIA. The Canham is the 5x7 one that is broken. I have it super-glued together so that I have something protecting the glass, but your idea of ugly would change seriously if you saw this arrangement. I just figured if I had to spend money anyway, why not get something aesthetically pleasing? Apparently that isn't going to work. I looked on Reinhold's site and found nothing similar to what he showed in his response.

[Reinhold Schable]

We all have variable levels of skill, tooling and opportunity to solve a problem.
Brian solved his in a rough and tumble way, and it satisfies him.
I posted my photo as brain food for someone looking for a project.
Some folks don't have the space or tools to make something a bit snazzier.

I don't put some things on my site because of their potential variablility (such as GG Protectors).
But that dosen't mean that I won't (or can't) make a nice product to fit a need.
Right now I'm on a project for a custom front standard hood like the one seen on my other website here:
[http://www.classicbwphoto.com/classicBWphoto/Welcome.html

Reinhold
www.re-inventedphotoequip.com