How to make your own Ground Glass....

I just thought that some people might be interested in this! Someone should give it a try, and post to let us know how it comes out!

Ryan McIntosh




Making A Ground
Glass For Your Camera


Why Make Your Own Glass?
First the simple answer, it is quick and easy! Also it is a great feeling while showing off your camera to say, I made it myself. Most importantly I have found the finished product to be of a very high quality compared to say an acid etched glass. The ones I have made provide a very bright image as compared to the acid etched glass. I find it extremely easy to focus while looking at it with a loupe. Also once you have the needed materials, making a couple spares for your kit costs almost nothing.



What You Will Need
At least two pieces of glass, I have found that cheap picture frames are a good source. The glass is already the right size and the only thing you have to cut is the corners if needed. I prefer to use a larger piece of glass for the bottom piece while grinding the glass. (Explanation Later)




Some abrasive compound to grind the glass with. 600 grit aluminum oxide works very well. You can find these kinds of items at a lapidary supply store. ( rock grinding and tumbling ) I have heard of people using automotive valve grinding compound.




A place to work that can withstand getting dirty. I do this in my basement on a workbench. I put down a piece of cardboard on the bench to make clean up easier.




I wear some rubber gloves while doing the grinding. This grinding process can get rather messy. Also the rubber gloves help in moving the glass around to grind it.




Let's Make A Ground Glass
Your work surface should be flat since glass does bend. Take the large piece of glass that I mentioned earlier and place it on the work surface. Take a little grinding compound, about a spoonful ( a little goes a long way ) and sprinkle it on the glass. Add a very little bit of water to the compound.

I have found that covering one side of the glass that will be your ground glass with masking tape helps you grip the glass to move it around. Also it keeps the non-ground side from getting scratched.

Take your glass and set it on top of the glass with the grinding compound and water with the masking tape side up. Start moving the glass around in a circular motion. It may be hard to get it going at first, add a little more water if needed. Continue moving the glass in random circular motions. If the glass sticks together and becomes to hard to move slide it off the bottom glass and add a few more drops of water if needed. Keep at it for about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not be in a hurry, the more complete grind that you do the brighter the ground glass will be.

When you feel like you have been at it long enough, find a sink and wash the compound off. Remove the masking tape and let the glass dry off. When the glass is dry you should see a nice piece of ground glass. If it is not done yet simply return to your work area and continue.

Pretty simple process and the best of all it is almost free to make your own ground glass.

Ryan, Did you write this or did someone else? If someone else, I suggest that you give the author proper credit by including the link to his web site.

BTW: I have tried it and it works.

Makes $10 for a 4X5 Satin Snow sound like a good idea! Once I get done paying for my ER visit it will be a lot more expensive!

Yeah, I agree. It's not worth the trouble to make your own.

Yes, Jay is correct. I built myself a Bender 8x10 camera, and now I am going to make a few replacement ground glass just to have them on hand. Who knows...they might turn out better quality then a store bought one!

Making your own stuff is great fun, and its makes you have more pride in your own photography. We live in a digital/computer age, where everyone has become the "Motor Driven photographer", using only store bought cameras, then printing stuff out on computers. Its nice to go back in time and do things the traditional way.

I guess I am just a traditionalist when it comes to photography.

Ryan McIntosh

I do as much of the do it myself stuff already without expanding in yet another direction. While interesting to read, it seems I have read it before somewhere. 50 years of reading Rangefinder magazine and now feel like I have read most everything I read today, sometime before. I thank you for taking time to post, but I think I will let Dave at Satin Snow worry whether the glass is ground enough or not. I rather enjoy waiting for the postman to come to my door bearing gifts. I wonder what can be made out of the rest of the frame? Seems a shame to rob the glass and just toss a perfectly good frame. I too claim to be one of them Tradishionalists, but I am going to register with the other party next election.

jdef said:

Many people, myself included, enjoy making things with our hands

Jay

Click to expand...

So very true, Jay.

I made a ground glass out of plexi. Cutting is a dime and grinding can be done with 360 grinding paper.
The projected image is sufficiently clear.

Orf course, a Satin Snow ground glass will be waaaaaaaaaaaay better!

G

Personally I will buy a satin snow glass and concentrate on shooting then messing with that. No thanks!

I have used one of my old folding 9x12cm plate cameras for a while with a piece of frosted plexi from a picture frame as a makeshift GG. It works, but isn't ideal. So now I've ordered new GG from Satin Snow; for that and a few other cameras.

Reads like something I read on Photo Net about restoring old cameras. Could be wrong, wouldn't be the first itme. While I believe that one should do anything that gives pleasure and doesn't harm anybody else, I'll stick to Satin Snow. Just the best quality and the best price. Now if you can come up with Fresnel screens, I could be very interested.

Ryan, did you take any shots with it last weekend? Did you get the film holder slot milled out properly and did it work? tim

GaussianNoise said:

Ryan, Did you write this or did someone else? If someone else, I suggest that you give the author proper credit by including the link to his web site.

Click to expand...

I agree, I'm fairly certain I've read this article before.

While I agree that SatinSnow is a great deal for a great product, don't be so quick to dismiss this. I've used this same method several times with excellent results. In 20 minutes I can make 2 pieces of 4x5 glass that are generally as good or better quality than the original manufacturer's glass. Cheap and fast.

The one Plexiglass version I've ever seen was awful, just use cheap picture frame replacement glass - it's thinner than standard window glass. An 8x10 piece runs $3 or less and if you buy it at one of the large hobby stores that does picture framing they'll often cut it for free.

Again, you can't beat the price and quality of SatinSnow.

Nathan

noseoil said:

Ryan, did you take any shots with it last weekend? Did you get the film holder slot milled out properly and did it work? tim

Click to expand...

Tim, I have ran into more problems with this camera then you would believe! I did get the slot milled out right, so the film holder sits better...but I had to build a tripod mount, make a better way to hold the lens board on, and various other little things.

I think it is ready to shoot, but I need to find a place here in Tucson that will drill the lens board for me. Know of anywhere? I have always taken my stuff to Tempe Camera in Phoenix, but I dont have the time to drive up there.

Ryan

If you're starting with an undrilled lensboard, then you can just use an inexpensivecircle cutter from your neighborhood hardware store.
I use it in a drill press with perfect results. Before I had the drill press I used a little rig from Sears that mounted an electric drill like a drill press, worked fine.
I have only used this on wood, but they're advertised to work on metal as well. You'd probably want to run it at a slower speed though.
Nathan

Ryan,
You could also use hole saws of the correct diameter. They can be used handheld with a common electric drill. They're not as flexible as the circle cutter though.

Ryan, give me a call. tim

I've made 8x10 gg and cut it down to 4x5. I used silicon carbide, either 400 or 600 grit. I purchased a lifetime supply from Kingsley North, I believe.. Cost was around $12.

Automotive valve grinding compound will work as well but the 'medium' grade was much too coarse. Sears carries a valve grinding compound that works a bit better but was still too coarse.. The fine grit silicon carbide was the answer, for me atleast.

For $18 bucks why not just buy one from Dave at Satin Snow? It'll save you all that grinding time.

It reminds of those old Bob and Ray sketches where they would do a comical DIY show with topics like, "How to make your own golfballs" (First, start saving all of your old broken rubber bands)

I would say that ryan, you need to credit The person with this artcle you have posted as this is copyrighted material, that is only available for sale on the web now.

Making ground glass is a process that is fun, there are many different methods to make ground glass, but I can tell you by the time you purchase all the materials to do it and also the time to actually learn the correct way to do it, you will have more invested that it takes to purchase one from me, as we are a commercial manufacture, and before anyone says anything about me posting, no need to go there, the manufacture of ground glass is not a secret, but there are secrets within the trade to produce a good quality product at a reasonable price.

The reason I am posting, is because the material you have posted here is copyrighted material and does open the owner of this message system up to liability, you need to credit the author of the article correctly in order to ensure no harm comes to him or the message system.

Have fun if you decide to grind your own screen, if this is something you choose not to do, we will be happy to produce a high quality screen for you at a reasonable price.

Dave Parker
Satin Snow Ground Glass

Dave, you hit the nail straight to the point. Don't just copy text without giving credit to the author.

I must say it is fun to make a camera completely by yourself. In fact, I had to stop sawing and drilling about an hour ago because the neighbours could complain about the noise.
Especially in the experimental fase, it is great fun to grind your own groundglass. I can skip all those days waiting for a shipment from (e.g.) Satin Snow to Euroland.

I promise I will make a command for one of your ground glasses when my camera is in the finishing stage.
There's nothing like a professionally finished product!

G

I have ground several using two pieces of 4x5 clear glass with valve grinding compound because I was curious. It takes 15 minutes or more and it is rather difficult to get a uniform appearance. The glass has to be washed and dried several times to determine the progress, if any, and to see which areas require some additional work. It certainly is not worth the time and effort unless you need to a replace a broken ground glass immediately and cannot wait to order one. Satin Snow has received such rave reviews from users of their product that I think that it is better to have a few extras on hand. You never know when the glass might break.

Here's the article, "How To Ground Your Own Glass" by Dick Dokas, that appeared in Photo Techniques in May/June 2003.

http://www.dokasphotos.com/techniques/ground_glass/

Thanks to Mongo we know where Ryan lifted the article from.

Notice how skillfully Ryan avoids answering the questions about whether he wrote the article himself or copied it from somewhere?