Those are the M65 focusing helicoids from AliExpress, and they are pretty good, there's a little bit of wobble but not much, they work smooth and the focusing through is OK, maybe a bit long, especially on the 25-55 which I use for the 150mm (the 58 has 17-31).
There's certainly the joy of tinkering, but also, a lot more understanding about optics now (currently building a reflex viewer). Initially, the idea was to also be able to use this without a tripod, so zone focused. And I have actually done that, no groundglass needed. Pretty light and compact also, or, well, it's comparative, innit?
I also liked the idea of easy to find Graflok accessories.
4x5 Crowns are difficult to come by overhere, you do find Horsemans now again, but that's 900 euro's easily. The idea was to make this cost effective (didn't manage that, I recently did the math, and it's north of 2k). So, well, maybe I should have sprung for a Linhof Technorama (also easier to find over here, naturally), but then, each and every extra lens is a lot of money, and I recently bought a Nikkor W 135mm for 50 euros.
Will say, rise/fall/shift is pretty helpful sometimes, so I am thinking of designing a camera which can do that. But ultimately, I found that a lot of the more compact camera's had tradeoffs I did not like (Horseman Convertible, Alpa, Linhof Technorama, Cambo Wide, Silvestri), so that is the main reason for designing my own. Only later did I came across Alvandi, which would make sense from a cost/functionality standpoint, but they are in Iran, so that's also a complication (certainly now).
) does any body know a place where I can buy nice transparant darkroom safe red plexiglas ? to build a camera that works, AND is PRETTY to look at?
I use it with two lenses, a Schneider Kreuznach 58mm XL and Apo Sironar 150mm, I bought a few 6x9 backs, but also the (very expensive) Horseman 6x12 back.
