CharleyL Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
i'm a metal and wood worker as well as photographer, so I tend to make what I need for my studio.
All of my photo lights and strobes are Godox with Bowens mounts. I built boxes to my strobes each from 6 mm (1/4") & 12 mm (1/2") Baltic Birch plywood. I box jointed the corners, but just glued the tops and bottoms on, so the entire box is just glued together with Titebond II glue and no metal fasteners. All of the boxes have hinged lids, felt feet, and corner protectors. Some small boxes have a top carry handle. Larger heavy boxes have folding carry handles at each end. I designed the boxes to accept the strobes with either the 7" reflectors still attached, or just with the strobe/modeling bulb covers, plus pockets to accept the power cords and the barn doors, colored filters, and fabric diffusers. Small blocks of wood were also glued inside the boxes for a slightly loose fit, to position and hold the strobes in place and protect them.
If there is a woodworking shop in your school, maybe you can get them to make some similar storage boxes for your photo needs. Since they will be protecting school property I don't think you will have much problem getting the OK to have them made. Baltic Birch comes in 5' square sheets, is void free and holds up well with polyurethane finish. They can be painted too, if desired, but the polyurethane keeps them from splintering with knocks and abuse better than just paint. Unfortunately Baltic Birch plywood has about tripled in price since the beginning of this year due to the War, but maybe the shop has a stash of it or an acceptable alternative. It makes incredibly strong boxes. If the Styrofoam in the existing boxes is still good, you may want to have the new boxes made to include it.
I used a peel and stick felt to line the areas inside the boxes that had no other padding. It comes in many colors from Hobby Supply Stores. Make cardboard templates to fit well for the felt to fit well. Then cut the felt to match the template and then install it carefully, since the sticky backing allows no retries.
To test the strength of some of the "Apple Boxes" that I made using 6 mm sides and 12 mm tops and bottoms with three 12 mm partitions in each to transfer weight from top to bottom, I jacked up my 6,000 lb Jeep Grand Cherokee front end and set it on two of the 8" high Apple Boxes. They held the weight without even a click or crunch noise, so certain to hold anything or anyone in the studio.
Charley
|