Wednesday, March 11, 2009

No! Not Another Copy Stand In Progress


Yep! I am building a heavy duty copy stand using cold rolled steel and I thought some readers might like to see the work in progress. I am using a piece of 1" cold rolled steel for the vertical and the other parts are also being machined from cold rolled steel. Please click on the following link to see the parts: http://www.flickr.com/ As I indicated the vertical rod is a 1" piece of shafting material I picked up at the local foundry. It is very heavy and very sturdy.


You will also see the bottom flange that has been machined. It will be bolted to the copy stand surface. I have two set screws in this piece to make it even more sturdy. In another photograph you will see the sliding sleeve that will be used to raise and lower the camera. I can feel no "play" in the sleeve at all. It is machined to 0003. tolerance. I think that is the way I am supposed to write 3/thousandths.


I will have a vertical arm attached to this piece and it will be used to hold the camera. I will be replacing the hex-head bolt with the thumb bolt. I am considering a few different ways to attach the camera but I think I have pretty much settled on one device. I will share photos of the finished product. Thank you for viewing and if you have questions, I will be happy to answer.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Monday, March 9, 2009

I Finished My Latest Copy Stand


Well I have finished my latest copy stand with the exception of painting the head. I plan to spray the head with flat black paint. I am sharing the unit with my readers with the intent of turning someone else on to building a copy stand. I used a simple point and shoot camera so my photos could have been better but I think you will get the idea. I used an old Beseler enlarger and stripped away the head and other non-essential parts.


I constructed the new head using wood and aluminum. I am pleased at how strong the unit is. I was also able to fabricate the head in such a way as to keep it parallel to the copy stand base and of course this is very important. Please take a look at my photos and I think you will get a good idea as to how I constructed the unit: http://www.flickr.com/ I will be happy to answer any and all questions about the copy stand. Thank you for looking and God Bless.. Jerry..


Thursday, March 5, 2009

Photos Created Using The Sterilite Light Tent


I am sharing a couple of photos made using my Sterilite light tent. The more I use the unit the happier I am. The light distribution is wonderful and I am using two 60 watt GE incandescent bulbs. I will add that these are the first photos made using my new photo copy stand I made from and old Beseler enlarger.


The copy stand is working really well and I feel really good about it. Back to the coin photo. The Sterilite plastic light tent I wrote about in an earlier article is even better than I thought. I have run the gamut of coin photos and the light distribution really makes for good photos. I will remind you that I bought my container from a Dollar Store for either $2 or $2.50.


I saw the same container at WalMart for $2.17. If interested in creating the unit please refer back to my earlier article where I provide a step by step process for creating the tent. See the photos on the left and let me know what you think. We have a Coin Photography group and I know some of the members are beginning to use the unit. If you need more information about the unit you can write me and I will be happy to respond.. God Bless.. Jerry..