Linhof Technika RF cams...

Hello,

Has anyone here any experience in DIY linhof cams?

I am interested in making some RF cams for both a 6x9 Technika 70 and a 4x5 Technika IV that I am restoring...

Back when these cameras were sold in 1960 you would have the camera shop make a RF cam for your camera when you bought a new lens.

The cost for this service in the 1962 Kling USA price-list was $35 per lens and $8.95 per additional cam. (for comparison a 150mm Xenar was $164)

Today you can still buy a 150mm Xenar for $164, however if you can find a local camera shop they certainly can't make you a matched cam. Linhof service in Munich Germany can do it for $500 a lens. There are also a couple of specialty shops around the globe that can do it for $300-500.

So for most of us mortals having a cam made is not a reasonable proposition. Our options are either to DIY or buy a used cam and hope it will match our lens and camera. (It can be successful if you get one from the same model of lens, but it is hit and likely miss, and you could end up spending as much as a caming to find the perfect one.)

I am planning to attempt the DIY route.

The builder site SHAPEWAYS has both 6x9 and 4x5 size cams for sale in the raw state. So in theory all I will need to do is file them to match my lens and camera.
https://www.shapeways.com/marketplac...oduct&q=Linhof

I have attempted to contact the seller and ask for directions but it appears this causes a website error as Shapeways.

I would like to get a good idea of the tools and processes involved.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

It is an adventure I am willing to try. Though I am not advocating it is a better way or even a successful alternative to proper work...

-Chris

Hi Chris,
I'm pretty sure you can get Austin at LAFlex to grind you a linhof cam.
Eric

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EH21

Hi Chris,
I'm pretty sure you can get Austin at LAFlex to grind you a linhof cam.
Eric

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Bob Watkins at Precision is factory trained to grind cams.

I found the web site where the guy explains how to finish the cams by filing and sanding.

https://christiannicolas.net/camming-2/

Filing and sanding are easy. It is getting the profile that is the hard part.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharktooth

I found the web site where the guy explains how to finish the cams by filing and sanding.

https://christiannicolas.net/camming-2/

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Wow thats great! Looks to be from the same fellow who is making the blank cams.

Thank you EH21, Bob Salomon, & Havoc.

I live close to Bob Watkins in Fairfield but unfortunately he does not maintain a storefront so I cannot pop over for a chat or to convince him to sell me some parts.

Bob's Precision Camera, Austin's Laflex Service, & Nipon in NYC all offer camming service in the USA but none sell a blank cam. Unfortunately the cost of camming a single lens often exceeds the value of the lens alone.

It is assumed that this is due to the labor time it takes to do it precisely. At a minimum it will require verifying the GG zero position and shimming as required, the squaring of the bed and front standard, the shimming of the lens for proper infinity stop, and finally the calibration by grinding of the cam.

As far as my DIY project... Will I achieve results as precise as sending it out?.... Doubtfull... Will I achieve results that are suitable for my needs.... Possibly... but more importantly will I have fun working on this project? .... absolutely!

-Chris

I wonder why a cam couldn't be 3D printed. Now that I have a printer I'm starting to wonder why anything can't be printed - sort of the old "If you have a hammer everything looks like a nail." I actually got the printer to make enclosures for the sensor array cards I'm developing, but since I got it I've mainly been making lens caps and Waterhouse stops. Practice runs,so to speak. I think the next thing I'll make is a camera mount for my power wheelchair. I sort of decided to burn through one spool of filament as a learning exercise before getting serious. Printer does a good job and I'm rather surprised at how usefully strong the parts are, but it's SLOWWWWW. Almost as slow as my IQsmart scanner.

Jim Im sure you could print the cams but then you have us on a slippery slope... what next... cross head screws!

A few are building houses with these printers https://www.mymove.com/home-inspirat...-tomorrow-10k/

and demand is way up

what we need now is a disintegrator that takes apart old stuff and converts it to printable compounds

waste not want not