Can somebody recommend sources for new ground glass? Not Beatties or whatever, just traditional ground glass. Thanks. -jeff buckels (albuquerque)

-- Jeff Buckels (jeffbuck@swcp.com), May 03, 2001

Answers

For which camera?

-- Bob Salomon (bobsalomon@mindspring.com), May 03, 2001.

Stephen Shuart's site lists plain and lined ground glass in a variety of sizes. I beleive they even offer custom cutting. See:

http://www.stephenshuart.com/#grndglass

I've never ordered from him but someone else might have some experience. You can also get generic plain ground glass in 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 from Midwest photo. It is also possible to get plain ground or acid etched ("frosted") glass from local glass suppliers. And, if you are prone breaking glass on a regular basis, you can grind your own using grinding powders or a radom orbit sander on plexiglass. I hope this helps.

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-- Dave Willison (dwillisart@aol.com), May 03, 2001.

I've ordered from Steve Shuart. He's reliable and inexpensive.

-- Chad Jarvis (cjarvis@nas.edu), May 03, 2001.

I've ordered glass and camera parts from Steve, Very helpful

Bill

-- Bill Jefferson (jefferw@together.net), May 04, 2001.

Why buy GG? Just make it yourself. It takes about 10 minutes and costs practically nothing. You can have a piece of single-strength glass cut (and edges smoothed) at your local glass shop for about $1.50. You can buy #400 carbide at your local hardware store/glass shop for a few dollars. There are a number of sites on the web that go into the details of the process, but its really just a little manual labor.

-- Matt O. (mojo@moscow.com), May 06, 2001.

July 2000 Shutterbug had a piece about making one yourself that used plain glass and spray can diffusion stuff. Haven't tried it but it sounded reasonable and CHEAP.

-- Jim Galli (jimgalli@sierra.net), May 07, 2001.

I Just finished making a piece myself with valve grinding compound I picked up at the autoparts store. Works great. Very consistant finsh. The only down side I would is that the carbide is suspended in a grease so clean up was a little messy but other than that the results were worth it. Oh, and my total cost...4.50 for 3 4x5 pieces. And I have more than enough compound left over to do at least another 10.

-- Jim Cairns (cairnsj@mediaone.net), May 12, 2001.