[LargeFormat] Ground glass or etched
Philip J. McCourt
largeformat@f32.net
Tue Dec 24 09:14:59 2002
Philip,
Why not just make your own? I have made a few of them now and they have
turned out very nice. The powder that I use is simply 600 grit. Making
a ground glass should take about 20 minutes of your time. I simply buy a
cheap picture frame for the glass. The quality of the finished product
will amaze you, the image is bright enough to see in daylight without a
dark cloth.
The powder can be found at lapidary supply stores. (rock polishing
compound) I have talked to people that have used fine rubbing compound
used for rubbing out auto finishes. The stuff I use is a 600 grit
aluminum oxide. Just put a little bit of powder and a tiny bit of water
between 2 pieces of glass and start moving the glass in a circular
motion for about ten minutes. Wash it off and then check to see if the
glass is done yet. This method will give a very fine surface for the
image and is a joy to use and focus the camera. Also it is cheap enough
to carry a spare with you in your kit.
I have used acid etched glass and sandblasted glass and this homemade
glass is by far the best yet.
If there is enough interest I will put together a "how to" page on my
web site for making ground glass.
http://www.philsan.com
Philip McCourt
philip.lambert wrote:
>I am having difficulty getting a replacement focussing screen in the UK for
>a Speed Graphic and a Century Graphic. Mr Cad has kindly offered to sell me
>an old screen to cut down but old glass is brittle and tricky to cut, even
>though it involves only straight line cuts here. The alternative is to
>import a Boss screen which would work nicely when eventually received but
>glass is cheaper, when you can get it. The only possibility I have heard of
>is 2mm sandblasted, an example of which looked very white and I can imagine
>how dim an image would result.
> Does anybody know a source of new glass in the UK? Thanks a lot. Philip
>
>
>
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