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The first step was to make the frames for the lens board and film holder.
My Dad had cut some cherry trees years ago on the farm and had them sawn into planks, then stacked
them in the barn for drying. I thought that might make nice stock for the frames. I cut it to size, and
planed the sticks. From there, I milled the ends to make fitted joints to hold the corners of the frames.
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Once the frames were glued up, the next step was to mill recesses around the
inner perimeter to hold various components.
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In this case, the notch will hold the spring loaded frame that holds the
ground glass.
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Speaking of ground glass... it starts out as ordinary window glass
that's purchased at the local hardware store. With a little bit of grinding compound, a flat piece of metal
to act as a grinding surface, and a lot of elbow grease, you end up with a roughened surface on the glass
which, when mounted in the camera, can be used to view the image projected by the lens.
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Here's the view screen (ground glass) mounted in it's spring loaded frame.
The reason it's spring loaded is to allow the film holder to be placed in front of the glass once the image is focused.
It simply springs out of the way, and then the tension of the springs also holds the film holder in place on the
back of the camera.
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To help show what I mean, here's the film holder slipped beneath the
ground glass view screen. Just to the left of the view screen, you'll also notice the frame for the
lens board. This is where the lens will be held.
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After a little more work, the two ends of the camera are complete and
can be seen here on the right as they're mounted on the camera's rail. The next step is to construct
a set of bellows which will join the lens board to the frame that holds the film. The board on the floor
is where I'll lay out the pattern for the bellows.
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Here, the fabric is cut to size. Notice that it's not rectangular.
This is because I'll be making a tapered bellows (narrower on the lens board end and larger on the film
holder end).
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Ah, yes...the excitement of folding bellows...
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The folding process actually starts with laying out the fold lines and then ironing
the creases into the fabric. It's also useful to crease the diagonal lines that will form the corner folds. Once this is done
the fabric can be rolled into a cone and the seam sealed. Once that's done, the tedious process of folding the bellows can begin.
A good supply of binder clips is handy to have too...
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Once the bellows are done, then it's time to see if the actually fit
on the frames. Believe it or not, this one actually does!
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The only piece that's missing at this stage is the lens and iris assembly.
The lens is a single element with a focal length about equal to the diagonal of the film format being used.
The holder for the lens was made by first rummageing through the old parts bins in the basement of the hardware
store looking for a brass pipe fitting of about the right size. This was then turned down on the lathe
to make a serviceable (and stylish!) tube to hold the lens. Threads were turned on the inner surfaces of the tube
to minimize reflections. In this photo, the lens barrel is setting on the left while the lens board is being machined to
fit the barrel.
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Once the hole was drilled in the lens board, the edges were rounded to form a light seal
when it's fitted to the front frame of the camera.
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Here's the lens board and front frame in position, along with the sliding
clamps that will hold it in place and allow for quick and easy changes.
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The iris will be replaced by a series of flat plates, each with
a hole drilled in it that corresponds to standard f/stops. The light will be metered to determine
the proper exposure, then one of the f/stop plates will be inserted in front of the lens. In this photo, one of
the apertures is being drilled to size.
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And here's the finished camera from the back.
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And from the front.
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And a quick Cyanotype image of the first negative which was
taken with the camera.
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