From this mess comes the 11x14!

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Well, the 8x20 is done and works fine. Yes it has some quirks but that is the beauty of hand built cameras. You know exactly what to expect! So with the left over walnut that I had I started the 11x14. I have pieces sanded and finished and pieces marked for cutting. This time I'm cheating a little because I bought an 11x14 Deardorff back to use or use as a template for the new back out of walnut. I will keep everyone up to date of my progress but remember the 8x20 took a year and a half! This time I don't have to build the tripod so hopefully it will go quicker. I must say that the 11x14 back is huge!


Jim

 

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Sorry, I forgot to post the picture!

Jim

 

[PVia]

Wow! You are unbelievable!

How did your 8x20 negs from Per's workshop turn out?

Paul

 

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Paul, I've got some that came out great. One or two in particular are very, very nice. My Bristlecone pine root is hard to print and I'm still working on it. I had one holder that had a light leak and ruined two great images. I may be able to use about an 7x12 portion to print. Great to have a huge neg. I was very surprised that the camera worked! After all I had never built a camera before, let alone an 8x20. I guess the thing I was most concerned about was getting the ground glass and film registration down right. I measured and measured and measured until I believed I had it right and then put the back together. I couldn't pass up the Deardorff back and it should speed things along on the 11x14.

Jim

 

[Curt]

Bump:

How is the work on the 11x14 going Jim, I stopped working on mine for now, need to catch up on the others in maintenance and refinishing. I was working on a Kodak 2D 8x10 and wanted to ask you how you used the rear hardware on your 8x20. I can see that it would separate for a wider frame if a new shaft is added and the bearings moved over to the new shaft. Or the shaft can be cut and extensions added to each side. Does this change lose any of the rear movements?

I think building an entirely new 11x14 camera would be better than converting a 2D. They are kinda chunky and heavy yet they used small brass screws on the hardware. I find that most of the screws are lose, it's the number of screws that keeps the camera together.

If I had a back I would go ahead with the project too, good luck on yours, it's going to be nice when you get it done.

Curt

 

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Curt, I stopped for the time being on the 11x14. I have many negs to print from the Per Volquartz work shop in the eastern Sierra in October. I'm glad that I got the back because it will speed things up greatly. I like to shoot at this time of year and will more than likely get serious in the summer. I'm going to try some different ideas that I have for this camera. It will be modeled around my Zone VI 4x5. I'm going to use as much Walnut as I can instead of brass in some areas. May make it lighter but wont compromise strength. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks.

jim