Building a 4x5 camera from scratch

[antonroland]

Hello all you wonderful LF people

I do not see such a thread recently and I would like to give it a go.

Anyone tried it lately?

Any advice?

Surely it can be done?

Cheers all!

[Tim Meisburger]

There are not many decent plans available. I've been thinking lately we should do a Wiki design of a nice field camera, which would include a parts list from McMaster Carr or similar for the metal parts. If I had a good design and could order the tracks and wheels, I would be up for building a nice 8x10.

[Jim Jones]

Go to http://home.online.no/~gjon/camerabuilders.htm and follow the links for much information.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Find a design you like and copy it.... but make it your own.

[IanG]

I'm about to embark on making a couple of cameras, thanks to Miguel in Paris - I bought a box of Graflex parts from him. I'm using the focus rails/track from a Graflex with a Super Graphic front standard to build a camera that will have a 5x4 and also a 6x17 back. I need it to be easy to use hand held, longest lens I'll use is a 210mm, widest a 65mm (5x4) or 75mm (6x17).

Go to http://home.online.no/~gjon/camerabuilders.htm and follow the links for much information.

Thanks Jim, Jon Grepstad has added some new links and there's some much better cameras than last time I looked.

Ian

[DonJ]

Have you gone through this thread:

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...hlight=pinhole

[antonroland]

Thanks for the responses folks.

Great info to work through...will make some decisions.

[antonroland]

Find a design you like and copy it.... but make it your own.

Jim, I was thinking of doing exactly that with the old Joshua Billcliff I just finished restoring. It is simple, elegant and reasonably easy to copy...but then I thought, ahh hell, why not do 8x10...

Problem is, there are very few hard-core film shooters in S.A. and the closest will probably be in Cape Town nearly 500 miles away...

Thank goodness for the web and sites like this forum!

[Tim Meisburger]

Are you in Bloemfontein?

[antonroland]

Are you in Bloemfontein?

No, Port Elizabeth.

Do you know of any serious film shooters in Bloem?