Sinar lens boards, can they be DIY?

**sdean7855** · 15-Mar-2015, 11:47

I'm used to making my own lens boards of 1/4" or 1/8" masonite...and have the hole saws, table saw and drill press to do it well.
Can you DIY make Sinar lens boards for the F/C/P...of wood or metal? I don't mind if some the the super duper cleverness (remote lens setting, if such is possible) doesn't work. Alternately, is there a source of the OEM boards on the cheap?

Stewart Dean
http://imagovitae.com

**Oren Grad** · 15-Mar-2015, 12:09

Depends what camera you want to use them on. For the board to fit a Sinar camera at all, it needs a profile that pretty closely matches the branded metal original. OTOH, many wooden field cameras that are specified as taking Sinar boards are much less picky, and can work fine with a simple wooden board with more or less the same edge thickness and overall size.

How cheap do you need them to be? How much is your time worth? Second-hand and/or off-brand Sinar-fit boards can sometimes be had relatively inexpensively - $20 or less.

**fishbulb** · 15-Mar-2015, 12:13

Making a Sinar board out of wood would be quite a challenge. They have a complex design, with a groove around the edge to trap light and are fairly thin. But I think it could be done, although a wood board would not be nearly as strong as a metal board due to the thinness. You may want to read this thread for some other thoughts: http://www.apug.org/forums/forum44/1...ns-please.html

You can't get new OEM boards any more (that I know of) but you can get aftermarket blank boards, or pre-drilled aftermarket or OEM Sinar boards on eBay very easily. I bought a lot of four OEM Sinar boards on eBay in three copal sizes (0,0,1,3) for around $100 recently. Horseman also made boards that fit Sinar, and there are some companies in China making aftermarket boards new that have pretty good reviews.

**Tin Can** · 15-Mar-2015, 13:54

I have a few aluminum sheet Sinar copies, which were obviously milled, but they are NG, as they fit loose.

Look great however and do not have identifying marks. Gaff tape helps.

There are so many used Sinar/Horserman lens boards available as low as $16, I cannot see why anybody would make copies in wood or any material.

The right wood and a good worker can do it.

**Jeff Keller** · 15-Mar-2015, 14:42

Rather than making a Sinar board, you could turn a Sinar board into an adapter to fit whatever type of boards you have been using. Sinar to Technika adapters are common and often used so that lenses can be mounted on smaller boards. Sinar to Canham/Toyo are also available.
-jeff