CV Finders- Broken Feet?

[drewbarb]

I have broken the feet off of two out of three of my CV plastic viewfinders, and rather than pony up $150 for new ones, I decided to seek an alternate solution. I asked a friend with a machine shop if he could make some new ones out of metal. I pulled a finder apart with a jeweler's screwdriver, showed him the parts and explained the situation, and asked what he could do. After a few weeks, he showed me one which works pretty well. I screwed the finder back together with the new brass foot, and I'm delighted. He is working on one which is offset to put the finder more directly over the lens mount- think the CV 21mm finder vs. the 15mm one. He tells me he can make them out of brass or aluminum, or probably just about any other metal. He then asked me how many I wanted.

So my question is this: Are any of you interested in such a thing? I'm sure a few of you have some of these plastic finders with broken feet- how much would you pay for a new foot? Would you prefer brass, aluminum, or some other metal? I'd like to get an idea of how to proceed, now that I've had him make the first prototypes. I will try to get some pictures up soon, but I need to know how much interest there is, so PM me if you might want one. Thanks all!

 

[mifo2000]

Hi,
very good idea!!!
My 25mm finder is broken too. Therefore I would be glad, if there would be an inexpensive solution.
Please tell me when it's possible to order this stuff!!
Greetings
Michael

 

[peter_n]

I have a number of CV VFs and haven't broken any feet (yet) but this does sound like a good idea. I would have your friend do a survey of current RF cameras before he decides on an offset; they are almost certainly all different.

 

[gcsk76]

1 25mm here from Taipei.

But, shipping to and back might add up to a brand new VF :bang:

 

[Bryan Lee]

Alluminum is pretty easy to work with and after you finish you can put it in a mason jar with a electrode to harden it and give it about any color you want. Brass is pretty much to heavy for most people I would think. If you want some detailed info about the color changing and hardening just send a PM and I will dig up some for you, its fairly simple.

 

[Palaeoboy]

Aluminium ones would be great. Black ones to blend even better. Offering an offset and non-offset version would be great too. My 40mm finder has an offset foot but I just want a non-offset foot for it. So if your friend made a batch Im sure there is a market for them. Most people like the Voigtlander finders and dont mind the plastic casings either, its just the plastic feet and them breaking thats the problem. I think if you get a batch of them made they will sell.