Replicatiing the lensboard for a Perken, Son & Rayment camera

This thread is the sequel to the thread where I ask for measurements of the lensboard of a Rayments patent camera (see here: https://www.largeformatphotography.i...-some-measures). Since I got all the measures from fellow member andrewch59, I thought it would be more convenient to share with you my experience on building the actual board in a separate thread.

So - after a silent period - here is a first update of the work in progress (before I could commence this work I had to overcome a sudden lung disease and had further time spent restoring the Eastman full plate which is shown in another thread). The below pictures show the wooden piece of mahogany that I acquired from a UK source. Further the pictures show how the piece is sawn - fortunately I could saw the pieces for the board as I had in mind, so with a centre panel and two breadboards, as well as a second lenspanel in one single piece.


This was the board as I got in the mail from the UK...
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/1.jpg

Since this could be considered all mini woodworking, the scribelines had to be made with a thin knife instead with a pencil.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/2.jpg

Sawing should be done such that the breadboards have their grain direction perpendicular to the grain direction of the centre board.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/3.jpg

Here the 2 lens boards are shown that could be derived from this piece of wood: the composite board, which has to become the replication of an original board, and - as a bonus - I could saw a one piece lensboard
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/4.jpg

I first had the edges of the one piece lens board recessed so I could make it fit into the front panel of the camera and
therefore could become a reference for the other - composite - lens board.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/5.jpg

Here's a test fit of the one piece lens board into the frontpanel of the camera.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/6.jpg

These are the pieces of the composite board together with the splines which are made from beech wood.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/7.jpg

The different parts of the composite board with slots for the splines prior to gluing.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/8.jpg

Next step will be gluing the different parts, and further shaping both panels....to be continued

On second thought, just before gluing the board, I wasn't convinced the long grain splines made from beech would be strong enough to hold the joint - not that a lensboard has to endure much force as such, but it would have to stand up against 'seasonal influences' :-)
Therefore I made a new set of splines from teak wood and now cross cut....
Since they are so thin...I found them not easy to make....

..cross cut splines must be treated gently since they can break quite easily - although once glued into a slot they provide the required strength...
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/9.jpg

a test fit....getting a spline into a sawn slot of a breadboard...
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/10.jpg

Since the composite board is build from 5 pieces (a centre board, 2 breadboards and 2 splines), one has to use quite a few glue clamps. Not only to squeeze the parts together, but also - doing that - to keep the board straight....

https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/11.jpg

https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/12.jpg

Out of the clamps, the boards edges are sanded....since the lensboard is a tiny piece, a shooting board comes in handy...

https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/13.jpg

Very attractive. I am doing similar thin strip work with aged double book holders _ where the edges that are on the dark slide (not much more than a mm wide!) have to be renewed to maintain light tightness.
I have had many breakages across the grain - but installing in sections provides just as secure a repair.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steven Tribe

Very attractive. I am doing similar thin strip work with aged double book holders _ where the edges that are on the dark slide (not much more than a mm wide!) have to be renewed to maintain light tightness.
I have had many breakages across the grain - but installing in sections provides just as secure a repair.

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Thanks and yes they break easily, but as said, once glued they provide a strong fit. Mine are about 1,4mm - I had 'to shave' the wood to the right thickness with a mini routerbit on a dremel (have the dremel fastened in a selfmade kind of routertable)

https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Rayment%20camera/14.jpg

Very interesting - I want to make a similar board for a triple Victo, could you share a photo of your Dremel jig? Did you cut the slots with a Dremel or a handsaw?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pjd

Very interesting - I want to make a similar board for a triple Victo, could you share a photo of your Dremel jig? Did you cut the slots with a Dremel or a handsaw?

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Hello Peter, the pieces are so small that you can only cut them with a handsaw or with a dremel ; I've cut the slots with a little saw in a dremel. Here are some pictures of the self built routertable:

https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Raym...dremel%202.jpg

Important feature is that the dremel can be set perfectly vertical at the correct hight.
https://kpmg0072.home.xs4all.nl/Raym...dremel%201.jpg

Thanks for posting those photos Ron, I bought a Dremel but have used it very little. I'm not even sure if the pack I bought came with a router bit. Your setup has given me some ideas.