3D Printed film transport that fits in a tea tin?

[Donald Qualls]

As a tea drinker, I have accumulated a bunch of Harney & Sons 8 ounce size tins from my Darjeeling loose leaf. I've kept them because they're big enough to make "load a bunch" 4x5 pinhole cameras. It occurred to me the other day, though, that one could probably make a 6x6 on 120 film transport that would mount to the lid and drop into the tin after loading (light seals and clips added as needed), which might be usable either for pinhole or with a lens and shutter salvaged off a simple camera (I was thinking Speedex Jr., which are nice and sharp but usually have cracked bakelite body or leaky bellows and aren't worth putting money into fixing up -- I've got two in that condition).

I could refresh my 3D CAD skills, but it's clearly more efficient if I can find a design already extant to either buy a printed unit or print my own from files.

Has anyone seen something like this?

 

[loccdor]

I was thinking something like a Mamiya 645 120 film insert might be useful, as they're cheaply available.

 

[grahamp]

There's a 6x12 back design on Thingiverse (I have made it). Since 6x12 uses every other frame number from the 6x6 sequence, it could be masked down to get 6x6. But your tins may not be big enough for a 4x5 back? The big issues, after fitting the thing together, is getting the film plane where you want it, and bringing the film advance outside the tin. You could skip the dark slide if you wait to finish the roll before unloading.

As another tea drinker, I'll be interested in seeing your solution.

 

[Donald Qualls]

But your tins may not be big enough for a 4x5 back?

One might be able to permanently close the tin and have enough back area for a 4x5 spring back, or even a Graflok equivalent -- but for 4x5 I had been planning to put film rails inside the tin for wide angle pinhole. I'd really rather have the whole insert inside the tin, so it just looks like a tea tin (albeit with a shutter and/or lens on one side and the framing number window on the other).

I had in mind to treat it like a box camera -- load, shoot the whole roll, then unload -- rather than like a roll film back on a modular camera. If the latter, I'd probably build a 2x3 Graflok mount and use it with my RB67 and Graflex roll backs.

I think I can put the rolls (supply and takeup) alongside the baffle cone and route the film around the back, as in the Brownie Hawkeye Flash, and still get 75-80 mm of flange distance without much if any extension on the front of the tin -- and have the film insert mounted to the tin lid so it all goes in and comes out as a unit.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I was thinking something like a Mamiya 645 120 film insert might be useful, as they're cheaply available.

Maybe, but don't those depend on gearing from the camera body to drive the advance, and have the film path recessed in a way that isn't compatible with red window framing?

 

[loccdor]

Yes, counting turns would probably be required for that one. It should be possible to connect some kind of rotating rod to the gears or spool but I don't know how involved it is.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I think I'd have better luck pulling the film transport out of a 6x6 box camera, if I can find one that's too beat up to use and doesn't cost far more than it's worth. Maybe a Duaflex (the whole transport comes out with the bottom plate) if I can make it work with 120...

Edit: 'D'oh! Duaflex isn't what I was thinking of, and the ones I was (Starmite and so forth) are 127... More searching...

Further Edit: Okay, the Twin 20 and Reflex 20 have the bottom load transport (whole transport system and baffle box comes out of the bottom of the camera). It's 620, but it should be fairly simple to convert to 120 since I can have it out of the camera to work on it. As a bonus, there's also a wire frame viewfinder on the bottom of the transport unit, at least on the Reflex 20, which avoids having to improvise a viewfinder...