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Old 30th April 2015, 09:42 AM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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Default Home-made Technika III lens board

I am thinking of making a Technika III lens board for a Copal 0 lens rather than pay £30 plus.
What materials have people used for making lens' boards that are readily available at home diy level - for example, is birch plywood (0.8 or 1.5mm thick) a suitable material ?
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Old 30th April 2015, 10:59 AM
paulc paulc is offline
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The last Linhof style board I made was with 3mm aluminium sheet. More recently, I've used birch ply from a local model shop. Although not the cheapest source, Hobby Craft stock a small selection of sizes.

The other alternative is to get hold of a Wista/Linhof board and cut it down to suit the slightly smaller Technika III front stand - If you want to go that route, I have a couple of spare boards.
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Old 30th April 2015, 12:21 PM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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I remember you saying in a previous thread you could cut down another board to fit, but I would not want to change a perfectly good lens board and, Sod's law states you will need the original after cutting it down !

I will try hobby craft. Is the 0.6mm a snug fit or is there any wobble? The 3mm aluminium board seems pretty thick to my approx 1mm boards, but I have no way of accurately measuring the thickness of my existing boards.

Thanks, david
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Old 30th April 2015, 02:51 PM
paulc paulc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidgc View Post
The 3mm aluminium board seems pretty thick
I have the advantage of a reasonably well equipped workshop, so cutting aluminium to size is not a problem. Attached, a couple of boards I've made. The MPP board was machined from a lump of 5mm aluminium, and the Wista from 3mm.

With limited hand tools, using birch ply is probably an easier task for most people. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with plywood - It is a material that has been used since the dawn of photography for mounting lenses.
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Old 30th April 2015, 04:09 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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1.5mm birch plywood from model shops is an excellent and high quality material. I've incorporated it a lot in the construction of wooden cameras. Two pieces glued together, with grain oriented 90 degrees should make an excellent lens board.

Alan
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Old 30th April 2015, 08:45 PM
Rob Hale Rob Hale is offline
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Hi
I use 1.2 mm ally, cut to shape, smooth the edges, cut the lens hole in a small lathe ( this size just fits ) buy an "O" ring that fit the front stand just nicely ( i.e. it feels that it might be nearly over size ). Put the "O" ring in place mount the new lens board and when happy that it is all in the correct places glue the "O" ring to board with CA glue by taking the ground off for access. When happy that it all works and tested brush paint with modeler's mat black paint.

Regards

Rob
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Old 30th April 2015, 10:36 PM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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I have a 32mm hole saw on order and intend to centre the hole based on my existing two lens boards I received with the camera. I am hoping that the positioning of the two lens boards above the plywood will enable me to locate the centre for my 75mm lens.
I am working on the assumption that the focal length of the lens does not require any different centring on the lens board, based on the 'hole' on my other lens boards.

If the 0.6mm board can be doubled up at 90 deg then hopefully this should fit the groove and be sturdy enough to support the lens.
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Old 30th April 2015, 10:38 PM
Rob Hale Rob Hale is offline
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Hi,

Sorry, my previous reply was a bit light on the CA glueing.
First only glue the inside edge of the “O” ring, once set remove the board then glue the outside of the “O” ring.
Second for who don’t use CA a lot there are several types and some of the “thin” CAs will wick along the join so if you are this type use it sparingly “ tiny little drops first “ and watch it wick under the “O” ring or use thick again on the inside first then remove the board and reinforce the outside.

Regards

Rob.
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Old 1st May 2015, 07:39 AM
davidgc davidgc is offline
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Rob, thanks for this. Could you post a picture showing the set up?

David
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Old 1st May 2015, 11:38 AM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davidgc View Post
I have a 32mm hole saw on order and intend to centre the hole based on my existing two lens boards I received with the camera. I am hoping that the positioning of the two lens boards above the plywood will enable me to locate the centre for my 75mm lens.
I am working on the assumption that the focal length of the lens does not require any different centring on the lens board, based on the 'hole' on my other lens boards.

If the 0.6mm board can be doubled up at 90 deg then hopefully this should fit the groove and be sturdy enough to support the lens.
David, if you are not too confident about drilling the hole in the exact centre of th board, you could always initially make the board a bit too big. This will give you a bit of wiggle room so that, after drilling you could trim the board down to size ensuring the hole is centered.

Alan
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