using a linhof 4x5 dark slide with glass slides

Thanks to the help & advice here, I have purchased a 5x4 Linhof dark slide holder -

I am just looking to make sure I have got the procedure right for using this with glass plates ?

the slide holder has metal plates at the back of it which depress in- I am assuming this is so I can slide in a glass plate and/or film. So do I just take out the slide - the bottom section then spings up - and insert my glass plate - then put the dark slide back in ?. I am also assuming emulsion side forward on the plate toward the lens ?

There are two levers at the top of the slide - I am assuming these are to assist removal of the glass slides once exposed ?

Lastly can anyone give me the exact dimensions to which I must get the glass cut to correctly fit these slides ?

I am guessing I can use a 5x4 film sheet to get the correct length & width - but what thickness do I need for the glass plate to fit correctly ?

Thanks for any help.

You needn't pull the slide all the way out, but make sure it's the right way 'round.

The levers serve as a reminder -- if they move, the holder ain't loaded -- and as a way of pushing plates out (they're much less efficient at pushing film out).

Plates are extraordinarily thin, typically 1/16 inch/1.5mm or less, and I'm told (though I've not tried it) that modern plates are too thick for Linhof combined holders.

You may find it handy to look at some of the pictures and captions in 'How do I... Use cut film holders' in The Photo School at www.rogerandfrances.com.

Cheers,

R.

Standard 9x12cm plates seem to have been 1.2mm thick, and newer plates from Slavich are too thick to fit Linhof Universal holders. I know, because I've tried.

Plate sizes are nominal - that means than at 4x5" plate is REALLY 4 inches by 5 inches. Film sizes are smaller to fit in the film adapter sheaths, which then fit in plate (nominal) size holders. Yes, that's why film is "undersize".

The "Auswerfer" levers are great. Not that great for pushing film out, as Roger says. But really nice for finding out if there's film in the holder, and especially nice when there's ONE film in the holder (the 25th in the pack)!

well as some people have indicated its next to impossible to source 1.5mm thick glass in the UK !!! DOH - unless anyone can tell me otherwise - However I can get 1.25mm clear styrene - which I will try to see if I can coat with the same developing emulsion I was going to use for the glass slides. Just in case anyone asks why I am going to all this trouble & not using film,I want to try to do some art work with these slides - film wont work.