I just pruchased an older lens and before I buy a new lensboard and have it cust om drilled, I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with making their own len sboards - even something temporary?
I'd like to know if this lens is going to perform up to expectations before I sp end a bunch of money on a lensboard and drilling...
Thanks in advance for all thoughts and comments...
It really depends on the camera. I have had a machinist friend of mine make my Linhof Tech III boards and have no problems.
I made recessed lens boards for my old Calumet. I made them out of 1/8" brass fo r the front frame, thin sheet brass for the sides of the box, and copper clad printed circuit material for the back. I used a coping saw, file, and nibbler to cut the parts, and soldered the whole together. The Calumet has a ridge on the back of the board for a light tra p, I soldered copper wire in place. Then I painted the front white, the back flat black. For a flat board, simply cutting and stacking copper clad up to the required thickness would be easy. Copper clad is great for many constructions: it cuts easily, solders easily, and is strong and light.
Finding a decent retired machinist who still tinkers is a wonderful thing. I restore cars and found one that way. I tell him what I need and he makes it. When I bought an Ikeda camera I didn't want to buy another batch of lens boards so I drew him a sketch and they cost about $9 each. You can make your own but the problem is that the stock you buy that is still thin enough for an average non-machinist to cut with shears is a little on the thin side. It does depend on the camera, the Ikeda works well with flat boards, no bevels needed. he can make anything fancy out of metal but the cost goes up. If there are multiples of the same item the cost goes down. If you're local (Southern California) let me know and I'll give you the his name. Getting back to your question, if you're just trying to see if the lens is any good, go to a real hardware store which has some sheet metal stock, cut yourself some stock in a square and gaffers tape it (is that a verb?) on the camera. Ugly is OK as long as the lens in straight in the lens board and the boards is flat in the front standard.
Temporary quickie lens boards can be made from almost any rigid flat material like cardboard, matt board, foam board, etc. Glue multiple sheets together to get the right thickness. Cut the opening with utility knife, coping saw, or power equipment. You can paint the back black or use black masking tape. Here is a link to some notes on attaching lenses without retainers or flanges:
Or, based on the above, you could just hire Jeff!
Guess the link failed, sorry, try this:
http://users.erols.com/cwdean/Boards.htm
Craig, I needed some additional boards for my old Zone VI, and didn't feel like paying the stiff tariff for the factory ones. I made mine from thin plexiglass, gluing layers together for stiffness, and glued a layer of model airplane plywood on the front for looks and to lightproof them. I then spraypainted the backsides flat black and they've been in use for years with no problems whatsoever.
The nice part about using plexiglass instead of wood is that without grain, you can make whatever bevels, holes or the like that you need without chipping or cracking. Some people have an odd reaction at the idea of plexiglass lens boards, but they work just fine.
Craig -
I?ve had very good luck making lensboards aout of ?? plywood. I use a table saw to mill the edges down to the right thickness (you usually have to remove about 1/16?).
Follow this link for a picture.
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~qtluong/photography/lf/burke- james/restore8x10.html
If you promise not to cut your fingers off, I?ll give you more details. It?s really quite simple.
I have made a bunch of temporary lens boards using plywood bought at a local hobby store. It is about 1/8" thick and either 4 or 8 ply (used in modeling). I cut two boards, one the correct size, one just slightly smaller and glue them together. Paint them black, cut the lens hole with a coping saw, and mount the lens ring on the front with really tiny screws. I should note that these temporary boards are still in use, the oldest about 10 years, the newest a couple of months.
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