Mounting an Ilex #5 to a 4.5" square board

Jeremy · Apr 16, 2006

My goal is to figure out a way to mount an Ilex #5 to a 4.5" square board so that I can use the 9" verito and 16" magic lantern lens on 4x5 and 5x7. The holes in the flange for the screws all fit on the 4.5" board, but the circular areas of the flange extend past the edges of the board. Will I be doing any (or too much) structural damage to the flange if I cut two of the curved edges of the flange so that they don't block the mounting hardware on the camera (5x7 Deardorff).

Thoughts suggestions insights?

Charles Webb · Apr 16, 2006

Use a spacer on top of the lensboard with a a notch to allow the normal attachment fixtures to be used. Mine is 1/4 in thick and was simply glued on top of the lensboard. Then drilled (in my case lathe cut) to accept the lens and flange. The standard slide fixture attaches the modified board via the notch cut in the bottom of the top board spacer board. Sounds complex but is simply the standard lens board with a spacer board the same size or 1/4 inch smaller than the original Lens board glued together then drilled to match the lens diameter. The 1/4 inch cut out at the top and bottom or a simple undercut on the spacer board will allow the standard slide fittings to work.

Charlie........................

JG Motamedi · Apr 16, 2006

Jeremy,

I have seen many early lenses with cut flanges to fit on smaller lensboards. It seems to be a fairly normal thing to do. Charlie's suggestion should also work without the violence to your flange, although make sure that you have enough tooth in the wood for your screws. Mounting a 16" portrait lens on a "tiny" Deardorff will really stress the front standard, so you may want to consider a way of supporting the lens; I have watched these big portrait lenses slowly pull (cantilever) themselves out of their lensboards, so perhaps a small clamp on the front of the lens or something of the sort...

Charles Webb · Apr 16, 2006

Well I guess I don't know how to upload a sketch of what I was trying to say.
Seems to have failed and is listed as an edit. Oh well I have seen others do it, but I guess I can't.[

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Charlie.....................

Jeremy · Apr 16, 2006

JG Motamedi said:
Jeremy,

I have seen many early lenses with cut flanges to fit on smaller lensboards. It seems to be a fairly normal thing to do. Charlie's suggestion should also work without the violence to your flange, although make sure that you have enough tooth in the wood for your screws. Mounting a 16" portrait lens on a "tiny" Deardorff will really stress the front standard, so you may want to consider a way of supporting the lens; I have watched these big portrait lenses slowly pull (cantilever) themselves out of their lensboards, so perhaps a small clamp on the front of the lens or something of the sort...

Jason,

the 16" lens is an ~f/7 lens from an old projector and is actually quite light having been made of a VERY thin metal. I'm guessing that's it's 16" as it says F=16" on the barrel of the lens. Maybe this could mean that it's max F-Stop is f/16, but that's doesn't make sense with the (focal length/aperture size). 16"/~2.3" does make sense and I remember racking the 8x10 out pretty damn far to get in head-and-shoulders range.

clay · Apr 16, 2006

Jeremy - I have a SK grimes adapter that is basically a small toyo field board with a "top hat" flange on it that accepts #5 shutter. I was going to ebay the thing, but since you are a texan, I can make you a good deal. :^)

MattCarey · Apr 16, 2006

Jeremy,

my 9" Verito/Ilex #5 is on a 4.75" board. It just barely fits, so I know what you are up against. I looked at putting it on a 4" board for my B&J. What I figured I'd do is mount the flange on the front of the board. It may take some shim to get it so that it the pieces that hold the board to the standard can still move (i.e. glue a smaller board to the front of the lensboard and then mount the flange on the front).

Matt

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 16, 2006

It's not too unusual to see flanges squared off to fit on small boards, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just be sure that the shutter will clear everything it needs to clear on the front standard of the camera before applying the hacksaw.

Another method is to mount the lens with a two part flange that uses the rear filter threads of the lens. S. K. Grimes can make one of these. Here's a photo of my 11.5" Verito on a Technika board using this type of flange, which I posted recently in another thread--

Jeremy · Apr 17, 2006

clay said:
Jeremy - I have a SK grimes adapter that is basically a small toyo field board with a "top hat" flange on it that accepts #5 shutter. I was going to ebay the thing, but since you are a texan, I can make you a good deal. :^)

Clay, I'm not sure what a Toyo lensboard looks like so will it be like going around my elbow to get to my thumb to then adapt this board to a Deardorff board? This would be a good thing, though, as I could keep my #5 flange drilled into a board for the 8x10 and only move the shutter when going back and forth. I'm planning on building an adaptor to use the 4.5" boards on the 6" deardorff, but I think putting the heavy Ilex #5 with a heavy 19" artar onto a 4.5" board into an adaptor to use it on the 8x10 is testing the limits of stability more than need be. I'll send you a PM because I should be able to work something out to use this regardless.

Jeremy · Apr 17, 2006

David A. Goldfarb said:
Another method is to mount the lens with a two part flange that uses the rear filter threads of the lens. S. K. Grimes can make one of these.

David, I actually lucked out and when I bought my #5 it came with an adaptor that the rear of my Verito actually screws into. Matter of fact, I think the flange I have for the Verito uses the rear filter threads, too. So I have a flange for the lens, but the studio shutter is shot (aperture still works, though) and since I can screw it into my working #5 with flash sync...

Mounting an Ilex #5 to a 4.5" square board

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