George Anderson built this camera in 1968. He writes:

“The monorail is aluminum 1 inch tubing with plastic end caps. The sliders are hardwood (poplar) with T nut and a recessed loose steel plate to apply even pressure on the tubing without damage. This results in a very secure fit. The standards are 1/8″ x 1 1/4″ steel and the texture paint is made by Rustoleum. The camera extends to about 12 inches for normal lens ( 190mm ). When I built the camera I did not have any experience using a view camera. A slotted front standard would have made it easier to use, no doubt. I always set up with the rail slightly tilted for the architectural subjects, knowing from experience about how much angle I will need before I make the final adjustments. I am now in the process of adding a fine focus feature to the camera.

I also want to construct a 4×5 camera specifically for architectural use with a bag bellows of very little extension and fixed rear standard. The front will have rise and shift only and a focus mechanism. I plan to use the removable rear panel from my existing camera. I probably will use either cherry or walnut for the wooden pieces because I have some pieces of both on hand.”

If you want to contact George his email address is: george@danze-davis.com.

In a recent email George writes:

“Here are the pictures of the fine focus mechanism I added to my home built view camera yesterday. The first shows the basic components to be used and the second the completed assembly.

A 1/4″ threaded rod is used with the front end in a threaded cross post set into the rear slider. The other end is through a steel sleeve inserted into a rear fixed wood support securely attached to the monorail square tube. Washers and double nuts eliminate any looseness. Rotation of the rod causes movement at the slider. The 20 threads per inch means that one full turn will result in forward or rear movement at the slider of 1/20″ (or very slightly over 1 mm). The basic focus is set at the front slider and with the rear slider tightened slightly, fine tuned at the rear using the focus knob then locked in place. I used silicone grease at the steel sleeve.”

Last updated 7 October 2003.