[LargeFormat] Wasted weekend and profitable afternoon

[rstein]

Dear Friends,

    Draw nigh and read the words of the Venerable Uncle Dick for it will
profit you vastly and save you from the toils of the Serpent of Stupidity.
He should know all about it- the Serpent has been living in his darkroom for
the last 8 months and has made itself extremely comfortable.

    8 months ago Uncle Dick decided that the lensboards that united a pair
of old rapid rectilinears and Beck symmetricals to his ratty old Nagaoka had
to go. They were old dinged up Technikas and homemade cardboard affairs, and
while they did work, did nothing for the external historical image. He got a
piece of woodgrain Laminex from the builders merchant and doubled them up
for thin but strong lensboards.

    The yearly trip to Taminick was a bit of a bust as the FP4Plus negatives
were flat, overexposed, and muddy, but he put it down to reading the U.S.
diaphragm stops on the old rapid rectilinear as f. stops and getting a wrong
exposure thereby.

    The yearly trip to Toodyay was a complete bust as all 20 of the
negatives were flat, overexposed, and muddy. The edges of the film under the
loading rails was fine and clear, however. It was fresh film and developer.
All 10 holders were used....

    Today's reality check of careful test shots taken on the front lawn  - 2
meters agreeing with each other - careful check of filter factors,
comparison of shutter speeds on the new Nikkor W 135mm lens with the old
reliable Schneider Symmar S led to....

     Overexposed flat miserable rotten chuck it all negatives.

    And here is where the Serpent of Stupidity was lurking all the time. I
wrapped my head up in a focussing cloth and looked through the back of the
camera while revolving it in front of a strong light. The bellows are fine.
The lensboards pass light through the Laminex.....All the time I was out
there in the sun with the darkslide drawn they were glowing away like little
5-bar radiators in the dark, toasting the film.

    I repaired to the local hobby shop, purchased .64 K&S Aluminium sheet,
and cut a new lensboard - I glued the spiffy Laminex to the front of it for
appearance and matte-blackened the rear face. And there is NO light leaking
into the camera. And the Serpent of Stupidity can hiss off....for the time
being

    Venerable Uncle Dick