Avoiding LF becuse it's too expensive?? (Oh NO. Another bottom feeder thread)

[Donald Qualls]

Back in the days before bowling alleys sprang up, 2 and 3 in every medium sized town and one even in a little burg, maple was common and inexpensive in much of America. Add to that the fact it's both easy to work and long wearing, with little tendency to split and almost no effect of grain on cutting tools (unlike some hardwoods and most softwoods) and you have a perfect wood for making stuff like cameras.

Then those bowling alleys came along (late 40s, early 50s), and between pins and aprons, sucked up literally millions of century-old maples over the course of a couple decades. Suddenly it was cheaper to use imported woods like mahogany, fast-growing (but less durable) species like poplar and birch, or even plywood.

[smieglitz]

I have a stripped and refinished 11x14 Burke and James and I believe it is maple. Nice light wood with red bellows. It's much more attractive than the battleship gray one I almost bought a few years ago.

These B&J view cameras are a real bargain IMO. In good shape 4x5s and 5x7s routinely fetch only $125-$200 on eBay. And, if you ever need parts, ones in need of reconditioning frequently come up on eBay as well. I've cannabalized a few of them to make a good camera out of a couple cheap broken ones.

Joe

[highpeak]

Wow, what a sweet deal, but I wouldn't try to get it (look at that rubble). Now, thanks for the tip, I might try to get a B&J too if the price is right.

[mark]

These B&J view cameras are a real bargain IMO. In good shape 4x5s and 5x7s routinely fetch only $125-$200 on eBay. And, if you ever need parts, ones in need of reconditioning frequently come up on eBay as well. I've cannabalized a few of them to make a good camera out of a couple cheap broken ones.

Joe

You can do this with Kodak 2Ds as well.

[jjstafford]

You can do this with Kodak 2Ds as well.

IF you can get beyond the incredibly messed up page here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7531334692

How did he do that?