How do you convert Koni-Omega shutter to large format boards?

[landstrykere]

Here is how I have done it, very simply.
Materials: 3mm MDF board, aluminium sheet in 0,5mm and 1mm, glue, a small computer screw, cardboard paper
Tools: small vice, small metal file, snips, screwdriver

as reminder the Koni-Omega Rapid is a 6x7 camera, with Konica-Hexanon lenses in a custom mount:



some time I bought the 58mm, in order to try and compare with the 67mm Topcor of the Horseman 6x9. The lens came with its shutter, I just unscrew the cells and screws them on a Seiko 0 shutter on Horseman board. Only tweak was to print speeds scale to glue on the outer of the shutter and put a point of red paint as a mark. This:





so I was left with the Koni-Omega shutter. No plans to use it on a Koni-Omega camera. It is a regular size 0, and probably was a Seiko or a Copal, a japanese one anyway.
The mount to camera body is easy to remove:





well i had to file a bit of metal in order to set the cocking lever free, yet it's non-critical in case of reassembly, but as said I don't plan to reuse it. There is certainly a way to do this cleanly but I had no time to find out:



this is the front of the shutter, the wide body of the Konica-Hexanon does cover it when screwed on. Here there's the tiny front cell of an Aristostigmat 100mm in it:




the point with this shutter is the trigger it can't be reached and activated when mounted on a lens board. And there is no cable release socket, as this was provided on the camera body.



The idea I had was of course to make a small fork to slide there. I cut a little bit of 1mm aluminium sheet and filed the shape, then the required little bend.





a short video about the idea and "prototyping":





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as there's a limit in pictures by comment, next step in next post.

[landstrykere]

so it's very simple.
Instead of tinkering with drilling small holes and set holder for the trigger on the shutter body, I opted for using the lens board.

In this case I cut off a Graflex sized board in 3mm MDF, and by test and try stacked couple layers MDF, a layer of passe-partout and a layer of aluminium sheet, to have a platform where the fork will slide straight, with a little bit of play but not enough in order to be derailed. I cut the length of the arm so it's closer to the trigger, and I find the correct bend, so the effect of the cable release will push in the alignment of the arm, and not push off up or down. Then with a thiny screwdriver I find the ideal point where to set a small screw that works as a guide and retainer (arm will not slip laterally): So it gaves this:



the mark and pointer for aperture could be set on the lens board but it would be under the lens body not much readable so I opted for a pointer over the rim of the lens.
Cut this is 0,5mm aluminium:



assembly is done with a tiny screw from some hard disk mount, cyanoacrylate glue, and a bend with small pliers:
the edges of the slot work as thread for a tiny screw. Then glue and pliers to bend the base of the arrow against the assembly.





then adjust the pointer so it comes over the shutter rim



I cover the front of the shutter with a cut of black cardboard (~150/180 gr.). I use a bit of patafix glue pad, so no risk for liquid running toward the hole, easy no remove and non damaging to the metal:



I glue a small block of MDF with a line on the side as marker for the speeds. And that's it:



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for aperture scale I take a shot of the shutter that has the lens I want to mount there (the Aristostigmat of the pictures in this case), open it real size in graphic manipulation software, cut the scale, do inversions, marks, etc, scale to the Ø of the Koni Omega, print if and glue it on this cardboard on the front.

For cable socket I took the trigger of a Smena:



At work:

[landstrykere]

btw I bought the Konica-Hexanon 58mm in its Koni shutter on Yahoo Japan for 13.000 JPY (plus small Tenso fee). Not bad, I got the lens for the Horseman 6x9, and now a nice working size 0 shutter for 4x5 and 5x7.
It was listed not as Koni Omega but as Konica Hexanon Press.