I am in the midst of a camera construction project — a curved-platen, wide angle pinhole camera (6×17 cm) — and I needed a 180mm/7.08 inch circle. The focal length — 90 mm — is the radius of the two half-circles that will guide the film through the camera. But the tool to cut a circle that size is a — wait for it — circle cutter. Locally available at Hardwicks.
So far, so good. But a circle cutter is not something you use with a hand drill or power drill. It is designed for use with a drill press. So after much aggravation, I returned the circle cutter and tried to figure out some other way to do this. No success.
Then I saw this piece on TechShop, and dropped an email to the King of All Makers to see if he knew of a local equivalent here in Seattle. No, he didn’t but he did have a drill press he was willing to loan out. Jackpot!
<sigh> It only has a 3/8 inch chuck and I need a 1/2 inch for the shank of the circle cutter. Once again, stymied. Adapters usually go the other way, to fit small shanks in large chucks, not large shanks into smaller ones.
Did you know can get a 5-speed drill press on eBay for US$9.95 (w/o shipping)? So I’m back on track, as soon as it gets here. But what a circuitous path it’s been.
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