Hi guys,

Sorry if this is a really dumb question but I need to get a lens board drilled for a new lens and various threads have advised to "take it to your local machine shop" (which suits me - I'm not a DIY guy). This is a metal lens board as it is for a Century Graphic.

I am in England and aren't sure exactly what "machine shop" translates to. Do they mean somewhere that fixes cars? If not, what would I look for (or better yet, can any of the board's UK users recommend a specific place in london where I could go?).

Thanks for any help you can offer. I'll try to ask a better question next time:)

A "machine shop" will be a workplace equipped with such metalworking tools as a drill press, a metal lathe and a milling machine.

There are several ways to drill suitable holes in metal lensboards, and the majority of them are most easily accomplished with a drill press.

My guess is that an average sheet metal shop also would have the necessary equipment. You certainly might ask around at any auto body repair shops in your area. If you find someone with a bit of imagination and an open mind, it would take him or her about a minute to drill the board.

Another option would be a place that makes ductwork for buildings. Since the lensboard is really a piece of sheet metal, they may have the right size punch to punch the hole rather than drilling it. With the right size punch it would take less than 3 minutes to set it up and punch it.

I just did a quick search on Yell.com and found these guys.

http://www.etmartin.co.uk/

The best results are with a lathe as it does not deform the flat face of the thin soft aluminum board. Very easy to destroy these. A large drill bit would probably be the worst; a whole saw would suffice but not so easy to find the exact fit. With the lathe one can take slight clean shaves and get an exact centered fit. Deburing is also important as any raised chip or bur will effect a nice snug fit of the shutter face on the front and the lock nut seating on the back.
Ever seen what a 1-1/4" drill bit can do to thin aluminum sheet when it grabs?

Only in Jr. High. Anybody that's operated a radial arm drill press for any length of time would sandwich the lensboard between plywood and have the sandwich secured with hold downs.

And while I know several people that prefer using a lathe to cut these, I always found a vertical mill with a boring head to be faster. It always took me for freakin' ever to zero out the 4 jaw chuck, while with the Bridgeport I could be there in a few seconds. Also with this thin metal the 4 jaw chuck would distort the board. In all cases I used a backer board.

Maybe so. I thought about the wood sandwich, but decided I like PB&J on sourdough a lot better. Just seemed to me that any attempt to bore the hole in one go on a mill or press etc would not be as gentle and accurate as the lathe. I just eyeballed the centering of the board in the chuck and gave it a spin, then adjusted accordingly. The nice thing with the lathe has been being able to take fine shaves to fit various shutters to my liking. A touch of deburing and it's as good a fit as I could ever want. I was initially worried about tweeking the boards in thejaws, but it hasn't been an issue, and doesn't take much pressure to hold one firmly. I've cut 4x5 and 2x3 boards. And as a side note, for bigger lenses I make stepped adapter washers to fit a couple boards that had big hacker holes gashed in them out of round etc. And after trueing things up, viola, put some junker stuff back in use.