Cutting a hole in a blank lens board?

[Hamish Gill]

I've been looking for a Copal 0 lens board for the MPP I'm borrowing for a long time now.
Id all but given up when I spotted this guy selling blanks on eBay
aquafloat | eBay

so I bought one!

I'm now left with the "top hat" type board that came with the camera as borrowed and a blank board
the board its self is perfectly cut and fits a dream to the camera, I'm not sure if its original or a copy or what ... but it even seems the same material!

Anyway, here they are - excuse the lazy photos

so how to cut the hole?

and what size hole size for Copal 0?
I've found quite a few different resources for what the size should be, but no definitive answer ...

I'm hoping Tom might volunteer to cut the hole, but I'm still interested in the process ... ie, how is it to be done?

 

[Thomas brookes]

Hole not a problem. Are those 3 tapped holes or doweled holes I can see. I presume they fix the top hat? Is the hole dead centre??

 

[Hamish Gill]

The hole is dead centre ...
You are right about the three things fixing the top hat bit ...
there is also a slight recess for the ring that holds the lens in place outside of the back of the hole ... Is that doable?
This seems to be the fairly reliable in terms of hole size
Lensboard Hole Sizes
So how do you cut a hole to such an exact size?

Also, it's not metal ... I think it might be bacolite or similar ... ???

 

[Pete Askew]

Hamish, 34.6 mm is correct for Copal / Compur 0. No rebate is necessary and a straight hole bored centrally is fine. I'm pretty sure Tom will have a boring machine that will do the job with ease. The fixing ring that locks the lens to the panel from the back does have a rebate and this fits into the housing around the collar of the lens (if that makes sense). The easiest way to fit them is using a lens key. These are quite cheap and have 'pins' for each size of shutter. Linos (Rodenstock) make one and you can get them from either Linhof Studio (Linhof & Studio Ltd. - Specialists in Large Format and Medium Format Cameras -) or Teamwork Photo (Photo Digital Camera Equipment). Linhof have an eBay store. A lot less risky than slipping with a screwdriver!!

LENS KEY by Rodenstock/Linos for Large Format Lenses | eBay

This shows an Ebony/Linhof lensboard (note, these are off-centre whereas, as you say, MPP are central) for Copal 0 along with a Nikkor-SW 90mm f1:4.5 removed to illustrate the components (and a lens key). The screw collar is face down.

LF Lens Components

Panel in Position (Without Collar showing Gap)

Detail of Collar (Underside)

Fitting the Collar Using a Key

Rear Element Screwed Back On

Fitted Lens on Board

All shot with Ricoh GR Digital III. PP in LR.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Cheers or that Pete
i have to admit to just tightening and loosening this lens by hand ...
I guess the material the board is made of will be ok to drill ... I suppose they wouldn't make it with this material uunless it was?

 

[Pete Askew]

I guess a hole saw would be best. Aside from my DIY camera, I have never cut a board of my own. I've either bought them pre-cut (or with the lens) or had Teamwork or Linhof cut them.

Just to make it clear, the Ebony board above is actually metal but has a veneer of ebony applied to it to match the camera.

I'm not sure if the MPP boards are straight Bakerlite, I think they are a urea-formaldehyde-based fibre board. Similar but a bit stronger.