Difficulty of mounting lens to shutter to lens board

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TSSPro

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Greetings all-

After years of borrowing and renting cameras I took the plunge and invested in a Sinar F2 and various other accessories. In the past I have always had the luxury of having lenses and shutters already mounted to the lens boards. As I expand my collection of lenses it may be necessary to have lenses and shutters mounted. So my question is two fold-

---- One: Is it possible to learn to do so? What resources for learning this information, in the form of books, online tutorials, videos, or other resources, are available?

----Two: If it is too complicated to learn and do properly without either damaging equipment or taking years of practice and repetition, can anyone recommend reliable services for having lenses and shutters mounted to lensboards?

I travel between IL and SC frequently and shops or individuals in nearer proximity to those states could be helpful in having less postage or time in transit, but are not essential.

I thought that I would post the question here instead of going and searching the forum archives because some services and shops that may have been mentioned in older threads may no longer be available.

Thanks again all,
 
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It's not very difficult.

Normal mounting of lens to lensboard:

The lens has a shutter that has threaded cylinder (barrel) that fits through a hole in the lensboard. It is secured by a retaining ring which screws to the threads on the shutter barrel. Usually the rear element of the lens is removed before mounting and then screwed back in after the retaining ring has been tightened. You need to have a lensboard that has a hole that has the same diameter as the shutter barrel you have. Identify your shutter and search on the Internet for the size. Or just get a lensboard that is made for your shutter. Often lensboards are designated "Copal 0" or "Copal 1" etc. when they are made to a standard size. For older shutters you need to have the hole custom-cut by a machinist, or, if you are the DYI-type, you can get the next smaller size and carefully file it out yourself. Many make their own lensboards, but Sinar boards are a bit complicated with light baffles, etc. so it's usually better just to bite the bullet and buy them.

Sinar DB lensboards:

Sinar has a system in which the lensboard contains the shutter and the lens elements then mount separately onto the board, without shutter. This allows one to use the same shutter for a number of lenses. It is, however, a proprietary system and you need to get Sinar parts. I am not that familiar with the DB system, so if that is what you have, you need to do some research on your own.

Hope this helps get you started,

Doremus

www.DoremusScudder.com
 

Ian Grant

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As Doremus says it's straightforward and very easy to mount your shutters to new lens boards. It's just common sense and requires almost no skill and the bare minumum of resources.

Ian
 
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TSSPro

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Thanks for the info- I am guessed that it wasnt like performing rocket-surgery, but I am often wrong, so I wanted to get some input. Thanks a bunch and all the best-
 

keithwms

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Mounting lenses is easy. I make my own lensboards with delrin and a hole saw.

There is one major thing to be careful about: be extra careful not to cross-thread the lens in the shutter. Just work on a flat table and "find" the threads for the first revolution or so by applying very little pressure.
 
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TSSPro

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Wow- I always assumed that there was some mystic skill that was involved in mounting a lens to a board since I have been so wary of doing it myself.

Thanks again everyone.
 
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