"Daniel: I know almost nothing about the Norma shutter. I looked around a bit online, but I'm wondering if you could point me to a good place to learn more. What I've found so far has been confusing because it's been threads between folks who already know something about it. "
Hi Paul,
Buy a copy of the original instruction book. Here's a decent deal
https://www.ebay.com/itm/31395769502...Bk9SR5iShK_oYA
Flikr Photos Here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
― Mark Twain
Thanks, Gord! Yes, the ground glass was not hard at all. I'm sort of puzzled, too, as to why pretty much all of the sources I found on making it yourself tell you to use a thicker scrap piece of glass to do the grinding. Using two sheets of the proper size gives you a spare for no more effort. As long as the two sheets are supported well on a flat surface, they grind very well. I made sure to rinse off the grit periodically, in order to see progress, and where the low spots were that still needed leveling/blurring. Plate glass is not optically flat, of course, but it's close enough that not much needs to be removed for this purpose. It actually looks better, to my eye, than ground glass I've purchased. It gives very bright, smooth viewing.
I've got just a couple of images left of the camera. This one shows a more attractive view of the ground glass protector in place. I made the brass handle out of roughed up chunks. I don't mind blemishes and patina on things; it means I don't have to worry about keeping things spotless.
Finally, here's the piece i made to hold the camera on the tripod. It's based on a telescope 'dovetail' mount. There is a rail on the camera that it locks onto, which allows me to slide the camera a bit to improve balance.
Here, just to finish up, but a little off-topic, is a photo of my 1954 Montgomery Wards 24-inch metal lathe, made by the Logan mfg company. So, it's about the age of some of the photo equipment I own.
This machine was in almost working condition when I bought it. So, after some modifications to get it moving again, I left it with its 'patina', too.
And here's an image of my 1960 Clausing 8520 milling machine, taken completely to bits. I put more work into this machine than any job I've ever done; replacing every bearing, stripping every surface down to the metal and then re-painting it a more pleasing color.
Here's the after photo. I've since added digital read outs on all three axes. Between them, these two machines were what made this camera possible.
I've made some plans for the bigger camera, most of which are still in my head, and this project has really helped me see just where I need to make things more stable/supported. For one thing, the huge back will need triangular truss support of some kind on the edges. And, rather than the too-flexible aluminum plate, I think I'll be using extruded linear rail. It's amazingly inexpensive! So are the parts that connect these types of things together. I need to do a lot of thinking and drawing, which is one of my favorite things to do! I already have one 14x17 film back (which I hope to use to build a couple/few more), and bellows that could be used to make a 16x20 camera. I'll make the camera body big enough for that (why not?), but cannot see myself ever paying the $40 per sheet that it costs (at least in my quick online search just now).
Daniel at post #31: Thanks for the link! Before spending any money, I'll do some more looking around. I don't think it's something I'll actually get around to pursuing; I have plenty on my plate already!
I retired a few months ago. I'm the same age as my milling machine. It's taking time to realize that, for the most part, I get to choose my own schedule now. But I'm getting used to it, and liking it very much. I've never had a paying job wherein I made things with my hands, but now I spend much of my time doing just that, and it's so rewarding.
That is a great restoration job that you did on the milling machine.
Thanks, Gord! It took months, but I've used it enough now that I don't notice every scratch I put onto it. It's completely opened my mind to the things I can now consider making.
It os a wonderful invention. Patentable for sure
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