First off let me say that I do not have many plans for the cameras I build. To date I have built in order an 8 x 20, 11 x 14, 14 x 17, 8 x 10 and another 14 x 17- 20 x 24. Yes, two 14 x 17's. Each camera was a different design and the reason I built the second 14 x 17 was two fold. First someone gave me a bellows from a process camera so that helped and two I found that my tail board design 14 x 17 was a bit difficult to use in the field.
I used the Phillips/Chamonix design for this camera. Now I have to thank Tracy Storer for the idea to use 80/20 extruded aluminum. Tracy used some of it to build a stand for his 20 x 24 camera I believe and I never forgot about the stuff. My friend Vinny Walsh suggested I get a mini mill and it is a great tool so thank's Vinny. I'll talk more about the 80/20 as we go and how you can use it alone and not laminate the walnut to it.
I wish to thank Haas from Chamonix and Hugo for helping me get the focusing screw. It is really nice to have as my arms are not long enough to focus using a traditional front focus knob.
I'll list the dimensions at some point in this thread and I'll add to it as I get my head around the steps involved. I'll go into some detail and I hope the images will help explain a lot. It weights just under 30 lbs.
One thing you must have in building a camera is patience. You do not need a fancy shop full of tools although I do have one now. My 8 x 20 was built with very few tools but a lot of passion in my one bedroom apartment! Don't tell me you can't do it too!
So I'll start with some finished images and go from there.
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