"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid,
and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision"
Nick, Yes, I am always trying to "re invent the wheel" I have finally come to methods that lend themselves to lower weight, increased rigidity, etc.etc. I hate to sound negative, but you are not going to perfect it on the first try. When I started doing images, tintypes, I could not afford a camera or lens for that matter, so I made my own, and made my own lens with PVC pipe and a surplus acromat lens. Then, as soon, as I was finished with that one, I looked at it and began drawing how I would do it on the next one.
Another note, I/we have no idea of what you want in a camera. Or what time period you would like to make the camera appear, as this has a lot to do with design. Every decade in the 19th century had obvious camera designs for that period. On historical cameras, adding movements adds size and weight. However, if making similar to a Wisner, then things can be different. I use web photos a LOT to look at designs.
"How do I learn to speak timber merchant language to get what I'm after ?" .... just make sure you are familiar with lumber thickness dimensions such as 6/4, 8/4, 4/4. I use mostly 5/4 and on my bandsaw resaw it in half and then I have two pieces of 3/8" thick for the cameras I do.
I made my 8 x 20 out of Makore. It looks somewhat like a cross between Mahagony and Cherry but when finished is more like mahagony in color (red). Not overly hard so fairly easy to work with. Boards are easily available on Ebay for reasonable prices or you might be able to find it at a local hardwood store.
Look at what's been used in the past, well seasoned Cherry or Mahogany and some Oak. They machine easily and the first two have very tight grain making it easier to do fine joints. Cherry and Mahogany are nice looking woods also. There is no reason that you can't use about any species, some will be costly on the carbide though and some will fight you all the way. Ever joined Teak?
If you are going to get picky then you will need a moisture meter too.
Everytime I find a film or paper that I like, they discontinue it. - Paul Strand - Aperture monograph on Strand
Nick, can you get access to reasonable amounts of Kauri or Totara? Both are native and quite resistant to rot of any kind.
Yup - I'm working with Kauri right now, just pulled off a 18mm square, metre long section (I live in the metric universe), routed a groove right down its middle along the complete length, going to leave it for a while and see how it sits - have made chairs with it in the past
Ty, I'm no slave to period design - just taking classic elements of older cameras which might be easier to make (tailboard vs. the newer field camera type double extension) - and then combining newer design but only if I can see a way to make it effectively with the tools I have here ... Track saw, router/router table, mill, meagre hand tools - I really need a band saw, drop saw, table saw and a proper work bench and a CNC machine with laser cutter and a metal bender thingy a metal bandsaw, a kitted out lathe, an indexed head for the mill, a thingy I don't know the name of but I know what it does etc...
Yes I see a constant improvement cycle coming about - like me with bellows, I often decide I've come to a point where my process is rock solid, but then I try to build a different shape or there is a consideration or material issue I have not yet encountered and have to work completely inside out or otherwise - part of the fun for sure
As for the look of it, I might go for a complete anachronism and give it art deco styling (hopefully not too cliché, goal is that it would sit well in the background of the film Gattaca) - more black and silver than brass - the tone of Kauri sits well there also, but I'm not against staining it darker - we'll see...
Cleared the bowel problem, working on the consonants...
Nick I made the small one in the foreground when I was a student way, way, way back when I hadn't even seen one like that. I had a picture out of a catalog and a lens and film holder. I used the film holder to design the camera around. The t-depth and all was scaled up from that film holder. The camera was made in the evening in an apartment on a coffee table with a sheet of plywood to work on. I had a small table saw, the very small type and a 4 inch joiner. The rest was done with hand tools. Hand drills, files, hand saws, the type jewellers use, simple tools and a lot of patients. I used Cherry wood from a hobby shop and I got the brass there too. To slot I drilled a series of holes along a line that was punched and then enlarged them with first a small round file then a flat file. These were techniques I learned in Junior High School. Now I have a full shop with all of the custom equipment but still the best tools are the hand tools and the knowledge to use them. Put a piece of brass in a vise wrapped in a rag and with the eye of a perfectionist you can sculpt some fine work. I have a large buffer now, then I had to lap the brass and bring it to a finish in steps.
I made the bellow by simply trying to see how a pleated bellow could be made. I layered out some Kraft paper and over and over until I finally got it. Then I worked on a tapered one, I made the first layer out of Kraft paper, then a layer of aluminum foil and over it went a layer of cloth. On the inside went another layer of thinner cloth, all cloth in black. I used contact cement to glue it all together. Even today after sitting for decades it doesn't leak. I would never make one that way today but back then it worked. Rise, Fall, Shift, Tilt, and it folds up like a wood field camera should. At the time it was quite an accomplishment for me.
Many apologies for the old digital photo image here but you will get the idea.
Everytime I find a film or paper that I like, they discontinue it. - Paul Strand - Aperture monograph on Strand
Sounds so very interesting, can't wait to see what you come up with. We could all use a CNC machine, those things are amazing.
Heh heh, problem is I seem to be able to wait ! got a big chunk of work coming up also which will take me off the project - a lot of film in the freezer going off though (11x14" Provia) which is a good motivator... Maybe I didn't mention that it will be a 11x14" portrait only camera, rectangular bellows up to a point and then tapered, which should fold back into the rectangular section like my Sinar 8x10 bellows does - it'll be fun mating two bellows together cleanly, as will making a rectangle to square (lens end) tapered bellows, I have been getting my stiffener strips laser but recently and the guy has a 3 axis CNC machine also - I'd consider converting my mill but for the money and time maybe a new machine would make more sense...
There is a amazing machine up the road, actually very near to where Sean (APUG Sean) lives which has a gazillion axes, but in saying 'wow!' and all that I can't see where where it'd be useful for cameras considering the scale it works on (carving test boat hulls out of polystyrene for the Americas Cup teams for instance) but that is just a lack of imagination at play :rolleyes:
Cleared the bowel problem, working on the consonants...
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Originally Posted by clayne
