I'm in the process of making a 4x5, but don't have access to a ground glass. Would anyone out there know how to make a piece of ground glass??

stewart Churchill

-- Stewart Churchill (sdchurchill@hotmail.com), April 30, 1998

Answers

I've never made one, but I've bought several, in three different sizes, from Stephen Shuart in PA, who has a full-page ad toward the back of most Shutterbugs. SS sells some bizarro stuff (his business card lists "burglar tools" within his purview), but he does take Visa/MC/Discover, has a toll-free order line, seems reputable, and has come through for me. According to an ad in the year-old Shutterbug here in my office, he charged $16 for a 4x5 ground glass, $35 for a 4x5 w/10mm grid, and $129 for a 4x5 w/10mm grid and fresnel (all prices do not include shipping). You may want to check a more recent issue of S'bug...

Btw, 10mm may be a fairly fine, that is distracting, grid for some tastes, and Shuart uses it on his ground glasses all the way up through 11x14, where it would look like graph paper; I've often used a black ballpoint pen to draw a grid to my liking (on the rough--lens--side) of a plain ground glass).

Shuart's numbers: Orders: 800/458-6092 Inquiries: 814/837-7786 Fax: 814/837-2248 e-mail: shufly@penn.com

Good luck!

-- Bill Daily (WRDaily@aol.com), April 30, 1998.

24" x 24" ground glass, 3/32" thick (1/8" window glass), about $35 at my local glass shop. Also see: * Bronica 6x6 medium format: http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/bronica.html site * Medium Format Cameras: http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/index.html megasite

for related articles and links.

-- David F. Stein (DFStein@aol.com), May 13, 1998.

The best/cheapest source I've found is Steve Shuart (seconding previous reference); I've been buying replacement glass and misc. parts from him for ten years. His prices are good, the sizes are correct, and he ships quick. Birck

-- Birck Cox (birckcmi@philly.infi.net), June 17, 1998.