Non-binding-breaking Book scanners (Was: Looking for PDP handbook

[Fred Cisin]

>>>> http://www.diybookscanner.org/ :)
>>> Ooh, that's pretty cool.
>> Yes, but, . . .
>> I've participated in building a few similar devices.
> So download the CAD files and get cracking.

If that's the way that you WANT to do it.
It's mostly plywood, framing, and some pipe work.
We did one with slotted angle iron, one with unistrut, and a few with 
scrap 2x4s.

You can take a shortcut and use some old enlargers or photographic copy 
stands for the camera brackets, and posts for them to slide on.
For one quick and dirty one, we used plumbing pipe and a pair of 
clamp-pods.   (common photographic clamps with 1/4"x20tpi mounting thread)
A "slide-rail" positioner is helpful to be able to make minor front-back 
adjustments of camera position, particularly since a relatively long focal 
length lens is going to require increasing the camera to work distance.
For this use, you'll want them coming down from a 
superstructure ABOVE, rather than rising from the base.

The big part is a trough made of two pieces of plywood resting on a V 
shaped frame.  (You'll remember that I recommended NOT having them meet at 
the bottom.)  Draw some lines on it at the midpoint, and at "calibrated" 
distances out from the midpoint, plus some holes at most common positions 
for bench-dogs or fence attachment.

There will still be occasional times when you will want to press glass on 
the work to flatten it.

Most people consider most "modern" lenses to produce reults that they can 
tolerate.  You may need to use a shorter focal length than you might be 
comfortable with.


With a "standard" camera mount, it is easy to switch cameras around until 
you find what you like.


Throw together a quick and dirty one, and decide for yourself what changes 
you need.