I love my cambo sc but its just not as portable as i would like. I want to chop the monorail up then rig some way to put it back together. Sounds great but how? who? and how much$$$? My dad offered some great ideas but none that either of us with our limited machining knowledge could carry out.My question is this has anyone done anything similar? Did you do it your self? if not how much $$? how did you do it? and any other info that you can offer.thanx -J

-- josh (devil_music@usa.net), June 27, 2000

Answers

I did chop a short Cambo monorail down from 11" to about 8" several years ago for better portability, but never tried to reconnect the severed piece. If you're using lenses 150mm or shorter at infinity, the 8" rail is sufficient. I needed a longer rail for the 210mm.

If your rail has a plastic insert at each end, it's likely held by a spring loaded pin. Just push the pin in with a small nail and pull the insert out. Use a carbide tipped metal cutting blade or equivalent to make a clean cut, drill a small hole on the side for the retaining pin and reassemble.

If you need a longer rail, it's possible to insert a machined peice of bar stock into both sections and anchor it in place with countersunk screws or threaded bolts (preferred). Two inches of bar should be plenty. Leave the bar attached to one section and add the other as needed...or you could buy an ARCA-Swiss with folding rail...

Good Luck.

-- Jim Blecha (jbphoto@home.com), June 28, 2000.