This one looks a lot like a Deardorrf-derived design and has detailed diagrams and instructions.
http://web.archive.org/web/200409140...ail/camera.htm
This one looks a lot like a Deardorrf-derived design and has detailed diagrams and instructions.
http://web.archive.org/web/200409140...ail/camera.htm
Asking as someone who is all thumbs, and was a total klutz in machine shop as an undergraduate many moons ago: is there a systematic difference in likely ease of construction between, say, a classic flip-down focusing rail design like an Eastman No. 2, a design with collapsing front standard like the Ikeda or Nagaoka, or a Phillips-style design with detachable front standard? Which parts might be useful across different design types?
Simplest, I think, would be a flip down like the Eastman, or maybe a straight copy of the Burke and James (which is a remarkably capable design, and relatively light). I am most interested in a lightweight design like the Nagaoka, but either style could probably be built with the same racks and gears.
FWIW, I have been making tentative plans to start an 8x10 folder and was going to more or less copy the rear focus B&J design - for lightness, simplicity, and ability to focus short lenses without having to tilt the bed down and angle the front standard struts backward or some other silliness.
Its a good design, and it might make sense to start off with a model that more people could reasonably expect to be able to make with the tools they have available. If we get enough people interested we can do a poll and see what style most prefer and start with that. Once that is done, there is no reason we cannot add additional styles.
I agree.
The B&J is not the "prettiest" of LF camera designs, but it seems that if you are looking at "bang for your buck" it is pretty hard to beat.
I envision something along the lines of this design, maybe slimmed down a bit here and there: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...7-Field-Camera
For ultimate simplicity, could even be done with friction-focusing of the rear standard. I've never tried it but I'm told that it actually works quite well.
A poll to see what others actually want to build is an excellent idea btw
The rack and pinion are perhaps the most difficult items to improvise in a DIY camera. However, there are alternates for fine focusing. Lead screw focusing is used on well-regarded new and less regarded older cameras. The Noba camera used a V-belt, although fine braided wire under tension might be more practical. Some early Polaroids used a lever to provide precision focusing over a small range.
Bookmarks