Camera Makers of Seattle Unite!

[highpeak]

Wish I can join you guys.

 

[barryjyoung]

Safety tips for upcoming machining operations

Seattle Camera Makers

Machine Tool Safety Briefing


​

After much consideration I realized that people in our group who will be running machine tools in the very near future may not have run them before. I could give a big long speech that nobody wants to hear, and worse, some may not listen to. Instead I have written these simple but essential ideas down so that I do not forget any of them and so that you can refer to them at any time before and during the machining of the parts of your camera.



Despite the stories you may have read in the newspaper, machine tools can be very safe to operate if you follow a few simple rules. These are the rules I insist on in my shop.

• THINK BEFORE YOU MOVE. If everyone did this one little thing there would be very few industrial accidents. Envision clearly in your head what it is you are about to do. Know what the machine is going to do before you flip a switch or start a spindle turning. Go over in your head exactly what your hands will be doing during the operation. Walk through it with me if you are not completely clear about what will be happening during the operation.
• Before anyone operates a machine, be absolutely certain YOU KNOW HOW TO SHUT THEIR MACHINE OFF. This is not for you, it is for the person running the machine in case of emergency.
• The only machines in the shop that can kill you are the metal lathe and the bench grinder. The worst that can happen with all the others is nothing compared to what these two seemingly innocent machines can do, the rest of the machines are kind and gentle. The lathe can throw a chuck key into your stomach or into your head if you forget to remove the chuck key before starting the spindle. The grinding wheel on the bench grinder can explode sending aluminum oxide dust into the skin of your stomach. You don’t die from the dust, you die from the infection because the doctors cannot get all the dust out of you. It is a painful and horrible way to go. The rules here are NEVER LEAVE A CHUCK KEY IN A CHUCK and STAND TO THE SIDE OF THE WHEEL WHEN STARTING A GRINDER.
• DO NOT WEAR GLOVES AROUND MACHINERY. The most awful accidents I have seen in machine shops have all been caused one thing. People wearing gloves around machinery. The glove gets caught on a part of the machine or the part you are making and sucks your hand in. This same rule applies to long sleeves, wear a shirt with short sleeves. Never wear gloves in my shop. I will yell at you.
• WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES. Every other machine in the shop can hurt you, but not kill you. If you wear your safety glasses and keep your hands where they should be, the worst that can happen is a finger cut. Whenever you are in the shop you should have safety glasses covering your eyes. If you don’t, I will yell at you and probably taunt you as well. Please bring your own safety glasses, I do not have enough for everyone. Boeing Surplus sells them for a dollar and so does a guy at the swap meet. You will not be allowed to enter the shop without safety glasses.
• WEAR HEARING PROTECTON WHENEVER YOU ARE AROUND NOISEY MACHINES. Hearing loss is cumulative. You won’t notice the damage you have done until later in life. If you are running a Router, Table Saw, Sander, Dremel Rotary Tool, Electric Drill, Jointer or Thickness Planer, you must wear hearing protection. You only need hearing protection with the lathe if the cut you are making is loud (rarely). Again, bring your own hearing protection. Ear plugs are far more effective than ear muffs.
• DO NOT STARTLE ANYONE RUNNING A MACHINE. Try very hard to avoid scaring or startling anybody running a machine. If they jerk when you scare them, their hands could go into the works. Avoid walking behind people who are running a machine for the same reason.
• DO NOT RUN IN THE SHOP. At all times and in all circumstances you can get there in plenty of time by walking. There are things sticking out all over the shop just waiting to stab you as you zoom by.
• IF YOU HAVE LONG HAIR, TIE IT BACK. You hair can get wrapped up in a turning spindle and pull your head into it. Usually the head is pulled toward the machine mount so fast that the scalp tears away just as the head is slammed into the machine mount.
• BE CERTAIN OF YOUR FOOTING. Make sure there is no junk under your feet and that you are not in an awkward opposition while operating a machine. Do not back up. Turn and walk forward. If you slip, you could get very hurt very fast.
• NEVER TALK TRASH TO THE GUY TEACHING YOU HOW TO DO A MACHINE OPERATION. He has a mean streak and you will definitely lose the debate.

That about covers it. If you wear your safety glasses, listen to instruction and do not commit the sin of horseplay, everyone will have a wonderful time and go home in one piece.



Barry Young

8-29-05

 

[barryjyoung]

Hardware costs

One other thing, I have sourced all of the hardware and the costs for everything for each camera will be right around $100 not counting bellows, wood. ground glass or the brass pieces. This includes the racks and pinions. There will also be a small amount for shipping.

Someone (someone whose name does not begin with B) needs to be in charge of collecting everyone's money and ordering the hardware. I did the spreadsheet work. Everything is ready to go.

I will be making three cameras. One for me, one for Deb and a third as the basis for a horizontal enlarger.

All of the machines are now in my shop. Just have some organizing to do and we will be ready to procede on this end. I pick up Debs Purpleheart (LOL) on Friday. I have plenty of Mahogany and Cherry for my two.

Please get your wood, safety glasses, hearing protection and money in order. I am going to start making parts the week after Labor Day. You probably don't want to miss this bus.

Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

Hello Art:

Please let me know what you are drawing. I am very interested.

Thank you

Barry Young

That's a fantastic website! I'm just starting to complete my CAD drawings.

Art.

 

[barryjyoung]

Who is coming to do woodworking Saturday?

I have everything usable if not ready at my place. John and Andrew are coming here to make the baseboards to their cameras. Anybody else coming?


Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

Saturday at Seattle Cameramakers North

I was unable to make it to the woodcutting meeting at Steve's house on Saturday. I had to wait for my houseguests from North Carolina to show up. So while waiting Deborah and I did some work on the 8x10 we are building with the Seattle Camera Makers.

A week ago 9-3-05 we had jointed and resawn a bunch of mahogany and purpleheart into o/s (oversize) 1/4 inch thick boards of various widths. After putting them through the thickness planer to get them to .250 +/- .005 thickness, we ran them through the tablesaw to rip the second thin edge parallet to the jointed edge. We then crosscut the boards to 11 3/4 in length. This is where the horrible screw up happened. The miter gage was off and I had not checked it for square this session. We did not notice until we were gluing up the panels for the baseboards. By then it was too late. So we finished gluing up the panels anyaway. Those two panels will have to go on 5x7 or 4x5 cameras which we are also building.

This last Saturday 9-10-05 we did the same thing while waiting for our houseguests. This time though, we checked the squareness of the miter gauge every so often and crosscut our strips longer to 13 inches. This is more than enogh to make an 11.625 baseboard no matter what happens.

I hope the pictures show this time.

Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

I hope the pictures show this time.

Barry Young[/QUOTE]

Cool! they posted.

The first pic is of the baseboards in the clamps on my back porch away from the sawdust in the shop.

The second shows a strip of mahogany on two strips of purpleheart just for clarity. This is how the baseboard is built up.

The third shows the two wasted baseboards from last week.

The pic in this message shows the two good baseboards before trimming on the tablesaw in front of the two bad baseboards from last week, as you can see, we are taking no chances this time making them way oversize.

Have a great week.

Barry Young

 

[eric]

This is where the horrible screw up happened.

I knew it!! Too many joints in one weekend. Take it easy on those.

Nice wood. I had to google purpleheart to see what it was and the pictures are much better than some of the web decriptions. That's a nice color! Its got that Taro root color.

 

[barryjyoung]

I had to google purpleheart to see what it was and the pictures are much better than some of the web decriptions. That's a nice color! Its got that Taro root color.

She is going to make white bellows for it. This will definitely be a unique camera and I am sure it will draw a lot of attention from passersby when she uses it.

Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

Seattle Camera Makers Meeting

Hello. We will be meeting at Steves house at 4PM on Saturday, It is Pot Luck. Bring wood for planing and jointing. There will be some semi-finished baseboards to look at as well as some plans I whipped up. Hope to see you all there.

Barry Young

 

[colrehogan]

I knew it!! Too many joints in one weekend. Take it easy on those.

Nice wood. I had to google purpleheart to see what it was and the pictures are much better than some of the web decriptions. That's a nice color! Its got that Taro root color.

The fellow who has drilled some of my lensboards locally has used this purpleheart wood. It has an interesting look to it.

 

[barryjyoung]

Purpleheart is beautiful, so brilliantly purple, though it does turn brown with age.

 

[SchwinnParamount]

Saturday evening was productive for my son Andrew and I. We have a couple of cameras in the works and are just getting started in production. The previous week, we made rough cuts from our 8'x6.6"x1" cherry planks. The result of the first session was about 20 smaller pieces of wood in various lengths and widths. Last night, we planed the wood we had cut before to the exact thickness needed for the cameras. Next, we made final cuts to produce actual camera parts. Nope, not all the cuts are done... but enough to get us on the road. We brought home the cherry we will be using to laminate the 13"x13"x.5" camera base. This base is where we will be adding the brass racks and the tripod plate. All of the rest of the camera will be built upon the base. Barry brought his and Deborah's bases which are made in Walnut and Purpleheart respectively. They are awfully sturdy! Steve has finished all of the cuts for his camera and we watched as he glued and clamped pieces of walnut for his base. Doug is at the same place as Andrew and I. We were all cringing as dollar bills flew out of the planer when we put our cherry and bubinga in. Yep, the money wound up on the garage floor in the form of little curls of cherry and bubinga. If we all ask Doug nicely, he'll scan prints from the 6x6 film he exposed last night to record all the fun! Those of you here in the Seattle area who didn't choose to join us... ( sad face )

 

[barryjyoung]

Please scan some of those pics Doug. Next time I am bringing a digital camera in a Zip Lock brand (sawdust proof) underwater housing. Didn't Steve make some digital images of your money spilling out of the thickness planer onto the floor? Where are the pics Steve? Can we see them please? Doug, Andrew and John....please look at your wood, see if it is still flat and straight. It may have warped a bit due to stresses being relieved during the planing. Steve's was already planed I think and had a chance to settle down. I am making my focus rails this afternoon. Woo Hooo! My second set of racks from McMaster-Carr showed up and one of them was also bent. I am glad I ordered them before I needed them.

Barry Young

 

[Dug]

I have the earlier 35mm B&W stuff developed but have to run through the rest of the 220 roll in the TLR. I will post some stuff hopefully by this weekend so the rest of the gang can see what we are up to.

Barry - I will volunteer for the hardware buying duties and start sorting out the $$$ collecting, ordering, and other details. Kudos to you and Steve for the organizational and workshop efforts you have supplied. I will don the eyeshade for parts procurement.

 

[Jim Chinn]

You might want to try MSC Industrial Supply Co.http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm

for hardware as well as McMaster-Carr. Both are good companies. I have never had a gear rack arrive bent or damaged from MSC and there customer service is excellent.

I should have suggested it earlier but you can get delrin and nylon gear racks from CNC Ploymers. Dead Link Removed

You have to order something like 12 feet to make it cost effective, but you might be in the ball park with the number of cameras. I think they are located in Washington State.

 

[barryjyoung]

Great idea Doug, you are the coolest!

 

[barryjyoung]

Hi Jim:

Thanks for the links. I have bought a lot of tools from MSC over the years, never even thought of them for fasteners and such. As to CNC Polymers, the finest racks they make are 20 diametral pitch and we have a need for 48 pitch, but you never know when something like that will come in handy.

Thanks again

Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

New photos uploaded to technical section of gallery

Today John and Andrew Austin came to Edmonds to work on the baseboards of the 8x10 field cameras they are building from scratch with the Seattle Camera Makers. Starting with rough lumber that had been jointed on one side and resawn on a table saw at Steve Allen's house, they had glued up flat panels for the baseboards when they left this afternoon. There are pics of the process the wood went through in the APUG Technical Gallery Nice work you guys.

Barry Young

 

[barryjyoung]

Next meeting time and place

Hi SCM Doods!

The next meeting will be held at my house in Edmonds. We will meet at 10AM and work till 6PM. Email me for directions to the house and anybody who wants to show up that is not making a camera is also more than welcome. There will be an optional breakfast meeting at 9AM at Family Pancake House at 23725 Highway 99, Edmonds, 98026 - (425) 775-6300 for those of us who require fuel to work like demons.

Thank you

Barry Young
cameramaker.com

 

[barryjyoung]

Report on Sunday's activities

John and Andrew Austin came to my place Sunday and thickness planed all of the Walnut for a third camera. It was way easier with a clean workshop. Next time we will build the front focus rails and cut the racks to length and hopefully get to the sides of the back carriage if everyone has their brass. The 5% discount (I know it isn't much) at onlinemetals.com runs out on 10-19-05.

Barry Young
cameramaker.com

 

[SchwinnParamount]

I must say that Barry is a very fine host. Andrew and I were very much at home in Barry's shop. He has all the power and hand tools needed to build these cameras. At my home shop, I'm missing a planer and band saw which are necessary to build a camera from a 6"x 120"x1" cherry board.

With Barry's machinist tools, we were able to exactly measure and cut 90 degree angles for Andrews base board. Barry told us it was so perfect, it was quite as good as it could be done with metal in a professional machinist shop! I goofed on trimming my baseboard so one of my corners was 89.5 degreees and the opposite was 90.5. To square the board, we had to cut it .25" smaller than spec. Fortunately Barry has a milling machine so we cut a groove around the board then rabbited some sticks to create a very nice edge band to bring it back to size

Deborah fed us a super dinner after we had been working in the shop all day.

 

[barryjyoung]

Possible new member

We may have a new member. Mike from Bellevue has expressed a real desire to join our group in a recent email. Just a note to let you folks know.

Barry Young
cameramaker.com

 

[magic823]

Excellent. I'll be off-line starting Friday evening since I'm headed to Per's workshop in California.

Steve

 

[barryjyoung]

Have an excellent trip Steve.