Building 4x5 camera

[Old-N-Feeble]

Steve... VERY interesting. Birds-eye maple is VERY SEXY!!

[matthew001]

So the poll leaned toward cherry and mohogany. I think I will use primarilly Cherry, which was traditionally used in wooden cameras, with accents of other woods. Thanks for your votes -- I will post some pictures when I make my first cuts. I plan to document the whole process for anyone who wants to build one too.

[matthew001]

These are my final designs -- I may tweak them slightly here and there.




Let me know if you want to see different views. I'd be willing to export some images of specific areas exploded.

[Steve Smith]

Looks good but there's only so much you can do with CAD. Start cutting up some wood!

Some people like to get every little detail of a design sorted out before they start work. I don't! I make one piece then make the next piece fit to it, and so on tweaking the design (in my head usually) as I go on.

e.g. Although I have made the front and rear standards and temporarily fitted the bellows, I still don't quite know how I'm going to do the focusing rack. I have a few ideas in my head. I will probably have to try them out firs, possibly with some MDF before I cut up some more oak.


Steve.

[matthew001]

e.g. Although I have made the front and rear standards and temporarily fitted the bellows, I still don't quite know how I'm going to do the focusing rack. I have a few ideas in my head. I will probably have to try them out firs, possibly with some MDF before I cut up some more oak.
Steve.

Are you planning on friction-focus or gears/knobs? I'm going the simple route - friction no gears or knobs to complicate the design. I think once I finish this camera I will start a larger 8x10 and have some sort of gear focusing system or something. That's all in my head for now since I have no experience with such things.

[tim k]

I think you've just invented the Bender.

[k_jupiter]

I think you've just invented the Bender.

Now be nice.

Admirable you doing it without power tools.

I'll just start on mine using power tools. Much to be said about machining wood to the thousandths. And because I have built many things by hand, I have nothing to prove.

As for your question, all are OK choices of wood, Cherry is one of the lightest with stability. And dang does it clean up well and take a nice finish.

tim in san jose (funny nobody took walnut)

[matthew001]

I think you've just invented the Bender.

I don't know what that means.

[Steve Smith]

Are you planning on friction-focus or gears/knobs?

I do have a small rack and pinion which I'm going to try to incorporate. I will take it to work today to measure it and draw it.

I don't know what that means.

It means something else in England!


Steve.

[LJH]

I don't know what that means.

http://www.jaybender.com/BPH/4x5.htm