wood film holder + film sheath question

Hi everyone, just heard about this site and thought maybe you could help out with my new LF issues. I just got handed a 6.5x8.5 Improved Seneca and a couple wooden DDS style film holders. If film wasn't so hard to find then I wouldn't have a problem, but also I got some Kodak no.3 5x7 film sheaths along with it, and 5x7 film would be a lot easier to acquire.
So I have to immediate questions. How do I use this wooden film holder? Maybe it's obvious but I cant seem to find anything direct about their use, I've used new film holders and I expect that these wooden holder's bottoms are suppose to pop off to load the film? Or is that a bad idea?

Basically, how do I operate these film sheaths along with the wooden film holders? Loading them, shooting with them, etc.

Here are a few images:
5x7 Film Sheath:


Back(?):


The sheath seems like its meant to fit in the holder somehow?


Thanks everyone for your time.

Starting with picture 2, this appears to be an adapter with the external dimensions of a whole plate (6 1/2 x 8 1/2") which incorporates a metal holder for 5x7" sheet film. It will probably be easier (but is not essential) to remove the metal adapter for loading by turning the two latches at left and right through 90 degrees. Having loaded a sheet of film into the holder (in the dark, of course, emulsion side up as witnessed by film notches at top right) and replaced the metal holder in the adapter, it should be possible to open the wooden holder (picture 3) by pushing back a catch and pulling out the sliding cover (variously known as the sheath or darkslide), whereupon you should be able to drop the film adapter you have previously loaded into the film holder (probably there are a couple more rotating latches in the film holder to retain the adapter). Then close the darkslide (working throughout up to this point in the dark) and you should be ready to take a picture!

Regards,

David

Well thats the problem, the sheath doesn't drop into the film holder. It has a lip on either side, and is about 1/2 inch longer then the holder's inside dimensions, I think the lip is meant to slip under the film holder on the inside. But there's another issue, there's wood things meant for holding the actual 6.5x8.5 film down which I'm pretty sure is stopping the film sheath from going in. Here's some pics of them:



I'm thinking that it's going to come down to popping those things off the wood, they look like someone added them anyway. It' would kind of limit me to using the holders with sheaths, but 6.5x8.5 film isn't going down in price anytime soon I think? Your thoughts? Thanks

Before I can make a further suggestion - does the wooden holder have hinges (at the bottom) and retaining clips at the side? Or a hinged flap at the bottom?

Regards,

David

Those wood thingys look like they've been added later; I agree.

You've got the sheath the wrong way in the first pictures: The side with the writing on it is the back, and the front should be resting on the little corner tabs - at least that's the way it is in all of mine.

I agree that the wooden blocks were added later. On most wooden plate holders (which is what you have) there is no flip-down loading flap. Instead, there is a flat spring in the bottom of the holder. (behind where the loading flap is n modern holders) You push the plate or sheath down into the spring untill its top fits at the top of the holder, then the spring pushes it back up into the top recess. Hope that makes sense.

Yeah i understand. But my holders don't have the springs or a flap. I'm thinking the holders are maybe modified glass plate holders?

Well I think I'll just do some custom work to it. Pop off the wooden clip things to fit in the sheaths and see how that works out.

It could be that they've been modified for some purpose that makes them no longer useful for what you want to do.

On the plate holders that I have (5x7" Graflex), the plate or film sheath or plate adapter (I have 5x7" film sheaths for them as well as 5x7->4x5" plate adapters with 4x5" film sheaths) goes under a wooden lip at the darkslide end of the holder, and then there are two metal tabs on the bottom of the holder that slide over the corners of the plate (or film sheath or adapter) to hold it in place.

On your holder it looks like if there were tabs, they've been removed, and those wooden blocks are a replacement of some sort, but I don't quite see how they would work.