Modified wooden plate holders

[Nas]

I had some wooden book form plate holders modified to fit a no-name half-plate camera I bought back in the summer. They're finally finished and the cabinet maker who did the work has posted a video about the project. Bearing in mind this is not the typical kind of work he does, the end result is fantastic and the holders fit really nicely now.

 

[Soulstar89]

Nas this was fascinating to watch. I’m surprised how much work goes into to these jobs.

5x7? Great find.

 

[AJD]

Love to watch craft people like this do the magic, especially to watch how they use those wonderful old tools

 

[Nas]

Nas this was fascinating to watch. I’m surprised how much work goes into to these jobs.

5x7? Great find.

Half-plate which is not quite 5x7.

 

[Soulstar89]

Half-plate which is not quite 5x7.

Oh I’ve not looked into this so it’s new. All I know is im very interested in exploring wet plate.

It’s fascinating how intricate the holder are.

 

[Ian Grant]

Nas this was fascinating to watch. I’m surprised how much work goes into to these jobs.

5x7? Great find.

To clear misconceptions.

Kodak Ltd here in the UK made Half Plate cameras before WWII that were almost identical to the US Eastman Kodak 7x5 cameras, and used plate and film holders that had the same outside dimensions. So you can use Kodak 7x5 holder in a Kodak Half Plate camera and vice versa,

After WWII the International Standards for most film/plate holders were based on Kodak holders outside dimensions. So a an 18x24cm Fidelity DDS has the same outside dimensions as a 10x7, a 5x4 the same as a 9x12cm.

When we get to 7x5, then modern Half Plate, and 13x18cm, holders have the same outside dimensions.

But many of us are using older equipment as well, and there were no standards in terms of plate holder fit here in the UK, pre WWII, only a fairly quick standardisation of plate sizes in the 870's.

Ian

 

[Alan Clark]

I acquired an old half plate mahogany and brass field camera for next to nothing some years ago, quite like the one in the video above. But I took an alternative step. I converted the camera back to take modern 7 x 5 film holders. This turned it into a very practical and easy to use camera.

 

[Nas]

I acquired an old half plate mahogany and brass field camera for next to nothing some years ago, quite like the one in the video above. But I took an alternative step. I converted the camera back to take modern 7 x 5 film holders. This turned it into a very practical and easy to use camera.

I've had the same done to a whole plate studio camera. The camera in the video above cost me £35. The work on the plate holders cost 10x that.

 

[HowLarge]

Watch out with the Fidelity 5x7 holders , I have a few that have the moulded 5x7 size in the name space but are actually half plate , that should be in white paint below the moulded name/size. - the paint rubs off on well used or aggressively cleaned holders. Luckily 1/2 plate Fomapan can be found for the same price as 5x4.

 

[Ian Grant]

Watch out with the Fidelity 5x7 holders , I have a few that have the moulded 5x7 size in the name space but are actually half plate , that should be in white paint below the moulded name/size. - the paint rubs off on well used or aggressively cleaned holders. Luckily 1/2 plate Fomapan can be found for the same price as 5x4.

It's the same with Fidelity 9x12 and 18x24 film holders, I posted a warning thread after noticing 2 eBay sellers selling Half Plate holders as 7x5. The problem is if the White paint markings have rubbed off.

Ian

 

[Soulstar89]

To clear misconceptions.

Kodak Ltd here in the UK made Half Plate cameras before WWII that were almost identical to the US Eastman Kodak 7x5 cameras, and used plate and film holders that had the same outside dimensions. So you can use Kodak 7x5 holder in a Kodak Half Plate camera and vice versa,

After WWII the International Standards for most film/plate holders were based on Kodak holders outside dimensions. So a an 18x24cm Fidelity DDS has the same outside dimensions as a 10x7, a 5x4 the same as a 9x12cm.

When we get to 7x5, then modern Half Plate, and 13x18cm, holders have the same outside dimensions.

But many of us are using older equipment as well, and there were no standards in terms of plate holder fit here in the UK, pre WWII, only a fairly quick standardisation of plate sizes in the 870's.

Ian

Appreciate you sharing the history. It’s rather interesting I must say.

 

[Soulstar89]

I've had the same done to a whole plate studio camera. The camera in the video above cost me £35. The work on the plate holders cost 10x that.

What?!?!! oh my gosh. I’m in shock

 

[Nas]

What?!?!! oh my gosh. I’m in shock

So was I when I received the final bill. We've all got to earn a living and I appreciate all the overheads etc to keep a workshop running but I'm just putting this out there in case anyone else has a similar project. The biggest problem was not being able to get an estimate before any work started.

 

[Soulstar89]

So was I when I received the final bill. We've all got to earn a living and I appreciate all the overheads etc to keep a workshop running but I'm just putting this out there in case anyone else has a similar project. The biggest problem was not being able to get an estimate before any work started.

I understand fully. Seemed like top work I must say.

 

[Ian Grant]

It is very difficult with repairs or modifications like this, The time involved adds up quite quickly, which makes it hard to price up, and often justify the final costs.

I had to repair three 12"x10" Plate holders last year, one had significant splits, in almost all cases the actual dark-slides had shrunk and no longer locked onto the end light trap.



A similar job to adding wood to make the Plate holders fit in the video.

Ian