Building film holders

[ronlamarsh]

I am getting the bug to create my own 7X17 camera and would like to make my own film holders. I am stuck on the light seal aspect though. Commercial holders use a brass finger stock for this but I cannot find a source for it. Does anyone know of a source, or an alternative method of creating a light seal for the darkslide? I plan on making single sided holders for simplicity.

 

[bill schwab]

Maybe this will help... http://www.tech-etch.com/shield/fsgaskets.html

 

[ronlamarsh]

Wow

I never would have guessed this source even though I deal with EMI all the time!!!!!. thanks

 

[vickersdc]

This is something that I'm seriously thinking about doing as well (particularly as finding plate holders for my FKD camera is particularly difficult).

I was under the impression that as long as you have a 'U' shaped channel that the darkslide can slide into, it'll be OK (as light cannot bend round corners). So that would be three sides taken care of, the side where you would slide the DS in and out, would have a strip of velvet running across it to stop light entering on that side.

I was thinking about using a wooden frame, but have bent metal over it to make the U channel. It's the only simple way I could come up with to create a relatively tight fit for the dark slide.

Perhaps, I'll put a drawing together to explain that!

Cheers,
David.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

Believe it or not, I went to my local Ace Hardware and they have all manner of brass strips. I believe they have everything from 1/16" strips on up to around 1/8" inch thick, and various widths. They even have some sizes down to 1/64th" as well!! The brand name they sell is K&S Engineering Chicago, IL. There are tubes, channels, even ovals! I used a 1/8" stainless steel tube for the light trap on a wet plate holder I am making. Also check out places like Hobby Town USA where you can buy materials for making model planes etc.

 

[unclemack]

For thin sheet materials for darkslides etc. try searching "buy brass or stainless or plastic shim stock" - lots of results, lots of choice.
I was looking for material from which to cut shutter blades and found exactly what I needed.

 

[bill schwab]

Grainger's has shim stock as well. For a spring, you're going to need a pretty narrow gauge. I've been using .005

 

[Colin Graham]

I could never find any fingertock the right size, so I just used overexposed film cut into strips and creased into the necessary profile, with a piece of adhesive felt stuck to the side the darkslide passes over. Works perfectly, and has held its spring for several years now.