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Old February 21st, 2006, 08:05 PM   #1
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Worm gear for focusing - where oh where?

Anybody come across decent worms/mitre gears? I have tried in Canada and can't seem to find them anywhere!
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Old February 21st, 2006, 09:53 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo Mandy
Anybody come across decent worms/mitre gears? I have tried in Canada and can't seem to find them anywhere!

Go to ---- http://www.mcmaster.com

Type "worm gears" into the search window!

One of the greatest places on Earth.

Mike
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Old February 22nd, 2006, 09:59 AM   #3
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Another source is Stock Drive Products:
www.sdp-si.com

Good luck,

Arthur
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Old February 22nd, 2006, 04:31 PM   #4
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Stock Drive Products was great, but I am still wishing for the miter box, alas I guess I will have to do without. Does anyone have the size needed in the miter gears to create a follow-focus system - there are several on the Stock Drive Products and they are cheap!
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Old February 23rd, 2006, 02:30 AM   #5
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I bought my Bevelled Gearbox from Maplin.co.uk - enter "Bevelled Gearbox" in search panel.
It only cost about 19GBP including tax and posting - although your post might be a bit more...
see also: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....9&postcount=75

Robin
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Old February 23rd, 2006, 04:07 PM   #6
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Is it to build a follow focus?

If yes, I bought the parts of my follow focus on www.conrad.com , including a bevel gear. You can see some pictures and part numbers at http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=7575

cheers
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Old February 23rd, 2006, 09:52 PM   #7
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Jelle,

Do you have any breakdowns of the unit? I saw the pics on Panauser, but they don't show how the unit is attached to the rods and how it is all held in place.
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Old February 26th, 2006, 07:42 PM   #8
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What kind of Pitch and number of teeth would one need for a FF gear box? I have found some myself, but can't determine what would be the best fit. Any ideas?
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Old February 27th, 2006, 06:51 AM   #9
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A quick question: when searching gear boxes, am I looking for Low Torque or high torque?
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Old February 27th, 2006, 07:03 AM   #10
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David, I'm not sure if you want worm gears...I believe mitre gears with a 1:1 ratio would be more appropriate. I stand to be corrected on this, but I guess the question is this:

How many turns of an FF knob are normally associated with a 35mm lens focus ring? To my mind, one FF knob rotation should be at least one 35mm lens rotation?? Can anyone comment on a commercial version out there?
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Old February 27th, 2006, 10:37 AM   #11
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im looking for the best solution to make my own as well.. a DIY guide and parts list from someone who has made one of these would be awesome. I have a gear for my lenses now (from dan diancu) and would love to get a follow focus on the go.

what canadian parts source would be good?
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Old February 27th, 2006, 04:38 PM   #12
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I think the worm gear would be ok, but the part that attaches to the lens would have to be larger to accomodate the smaller turning ratio of the gear. I have a semi-working version at home, but the torque is too much for it.
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Old February 27th, 2006, 05:40 PM   #13
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If a worm gear is too slow (which is pretty likely) you can also try to find some other 'ready made' gears to use..
I've posted this before, but I still haven't tried it in the mean time:
A 90 deg. screwdriver gear. Or another 90 deg. accessories for things like Dremel precision tools or something.
Another idea I had is to use a flexible shaft. You could bend it in any direction you want. If you got a large flexible shaft for a drill, you can put the knob (you use to turn the lens) on a tripod for instance so the chance of shaking the camera when focusing is reduced. But you could also use a short flexible shaft and put the wheel next to the lens like a normal FF.
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Old February 27th, 2006, 05:49 PM   #14
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That's sound like a good idea, but the problem is the cost. I am trying to keep the cost down. It seems to me that the major challenge in all of this is the gear box. After some testing, I think I can make one pretty simply, but I need the bevel gears at a cheap enough price to make it worth it.
Having a dremel part is about $39.00+ tax. But the RedRock and the IndieFocus guys have found a suppliers, so it has to be out there somewhere. It is just a matter of finding it. My friend in Toronto said there is a place on Queen Street that supposedly sells loads of gears and equipment like that...
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