Recommended Lens Board for old Calumet 4x5" Camera?

<p>I bought an old 1960s era, painted gray 4x5" Calumet rail camera from eBay without lens or a lens board. Camera is in good condition and all seems to work well.</p>

<p>What Lens Board do you recommend that I use with this camera?</p>

<p>Thank You.</p>

<p> </p>

<p><a href="http://www.skgrimes.com/lensboards/index.htm">This</a> may help. Check to see the Calumet lensboard description matches the measurements of your camera.</p>

<p>The lens board will require different sized holes to fit the lens/shutter combo you will use......I had a shop make mine from sheet steel and drill the openings as needed, then paint both sides flat black......PVC works well as well, provided the thickness isn't a problem...regards, Bob</p>

<p>The old Calumet View (like the B&J and Kodak series of the same model) uses, IIRC, 4" square boards. These are often available on eBay and at retailers like KEH, etc. Avoid the 6 3/8" square boards ;with two notches on one or more edges and marked Calumet as these are for the current Calumet branded Cambo cameras. As Bob mentioned, these are drilled with specific sized openings which must match the needs of the lens you want to put onto them unless you are willing to alter them by drilling larger holes, etc. These boards are very easy to make with normal shop tools if you are handy and have one to go by.</p>

<p>If you can't find a pre-fitted lens board, and you are reasonably handy with tools, you could make your own boards with model airplane plywood. This plywood is available from hobby shops. It's quite rigid and light. I've made several boards with this material, including some pinhole boards and it works very well. Measure the size of the shutter mount get a hole saw of the right size, and there you have it. </p>

<p>Had the 21-23" black model in the 70's. It took the 4x4 lensboards. They are easy to make out of the birch plywood for model planes and such.</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I started to build my own lens board, but I find the notches, channels and groves challenging. Any particular secret to doing these?</p>

<p>To add to Jack's, if you do go the diy route, I recommend using a "template" where you draw the lensboard and hole sized and located where you want, and then spray adhesive or rubber cement the template to the ply to cut out. I used autocad, you could draw with straightedge and compass. The hole size is not a problem if you have a scroll saw.</p>

<p>If you do go the homemade route, forget about getting the small ply at lowes or home depot, I get my thin plywood for scroll sawing from these guys http://www.sloanswoodshop.com/plywoods.htm</p>

<p>I will say that I tried some 80mm Horseman board on the DIY route, and ended up picking up a used board from KEH. It was a pain and the results weren't what I wanted. I am better at ripping 1x boards on the table saw than cutting lensboards on a scroll saw, not that much patience lol. I even tried making one out of phenolic/plastic, results were worse.</p>

<p>Agree with W T. The best places to buy the plywood you want are the Radio Control model shops, Hobby Lobby and Michaels. The Douglas fir Ply that Home Depot and Lowes have are for building houses. Not good enough for what you want. About the groves.They can be made with a Dremel tool that has a router fence . The Dremel tool acts as a router and the fence enable a person to make a straight channel or Dado.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone!</p>

<p>Really sorry to have bothered you with a question like this. I originally posted it in Casual Conversations but it seems to have been re-posted here.</p>

<p>Again, Thank You.</p>

<p>Attn: Paul Ong</p>

<p>Ignore the ridges. Use thin strips of closed cell black foam rubber material around the edges of a flat aluminum lens board. Aluminum of about 1/16" thickness will be sufficiently stiff for most lenses. Taper the ends of the foam tape to go past each other so that you don't get a light leak.</p>