Simple, Portable, Personal DIY book scanner

[Ann]

Just as I thought - you used a picture frame - great idea. So, I could use a bigger picture frame to custom make my own cradle/platen, although Dan's idea of using old election signs is perfect for reduced weight - I have a bunch of those in the garage. I was thinking of attaching them with a hinge so that they'd fold up - same with the platen and the base - I see that your base is two pieced attached and that's a better idea than my hinge. If I can take all of your guy's best ideas and combine them, this just might work! Thanks so much!

[daniel_reetz]

This is soooo what I need! The cradle is a little small for my purposes, but the portability is perfect. I need to take the scanner into different National Archives repositories around the country and into historical societies to digitize primary historical documents - some bound, some not. But, this simple design is perfect, although on a smaller scale that I need. Wow. So cool!

Are there any official size restrictions on what you can bring in? I have a design which is 11x11x22" folded, and I'm just wondering if there's any technical reason it couldn't be used at such sites.

[Ann]

Hey Dan - firstly, thanks for starting this whole thing - just might save 4 projects I want to do! As for size and the National Archives - good question. I have permission to digitize records in Kansas City and Washington, DC - in Kansas they are going to give me a room to lock up my equipment every day if I need/want it. I haven't made such arrangements for Washington yet. An archivist there has been my contact and has answered all of my questions, but equipment questions are handled by someone else, and I haven't contacted them yet. They will make arrangements for equipment - with advanced warning - because they have to. The shipping records I need to digitize were produced by the Navy, the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, the Coast Guard, and the US Customs Service - all part of the public record. Since they are public documents, they have to let people scan them. There may be the possibility of being set up in a private room, but that's up to the archive you're dealing with. So, I don't think there is a size restriction really, you just have to tell them in advance what you need to bring in.

[daniel_reetz]

Hey, no problem. I've gotten more help and more opportunities than I rightly deserve out of this; so no thanks necessary. Why don't you start an "Ann's Build Thread" over in Hardware and we can talk about all the specific extensions of our scanners that should suit your projects? In particular, I'm thinking that photographing maps might be in your plans, and for that you probably should have some kind of copystand if you don't already...

[Ann]

Hey Dan - well, maps, not so much - but ship plans. There are dozens of nautical architecture plans of Minnesota-built vessels in Kansas City - their size is yet to be determined, but I suspect 3-4 feet. These I would want to scan flat, of course, so you are right - I will need to be able to mount a camera in the middle of whatever I make and make the whole thing supportable on a table instead of the base in order to fit the plans - I suspect. Something to think about and thanks for bringing it up! I will start a "build" page when we get going on this - soon. My head is about to fall off my shoulders with a cold right now (I hope it's only a cold, since we are among those 50M uninsured...), and why I'm at our favorite cafe drinking hot chocolate and typing this is beyond me. I should be boozed up and unconscious....

I mean this is so cool - a shelf we didn't use in some furniture we purchase a few years ago was sitting in our storeroom and then I used it last week and just left it leaning in the hallway - I looked at it yesterday and it is our base - we have to cut it, but it's perfect and slippery. And, my husband's step-dad, who is a hobby carpenter with a bit of cash, gave us a ton of quality wood pieces for our archaeology projects, to build sift screens and whatever we need - small bits, big bits - I wish everyone that is trying to build a scanner could make their way to St Paul and take some of our wood - we have plenty for dozens of projects.

[daniel_reetz]

Awesome.

[univurshul]

This is a great build. I keep looking at this build, inspired to work on my next build. Thanks for the detailed review and photos.

Have you made any updates or tweaks to this design? Still scanning with it? Have you scanned thicker books on this angle of platen?

[smartechs]

Here is a drawer slide with a hinge built on it:

http://www.siquar.com/bs53.htm