10x8 neg collodion enlarger

hi there,
i am planning to build a 10x8 enlarger (cant get hold of one here in poland) and was planning 3 interchangeable heads, a condenser head, a diffusor head and a led head. now, my questions are: where can i get some condensers that would cover 10x8, can you have some machined? i am planning to make prints from collodion negatives, so is led light unsuitable for an archaic 'feel' of the prints?
thanks,
mark

oh, and one more thing. are there any new developments in LED technology that are better than previous light sources? is it viable to construct a 10x8 light head from normal hardware leds? i recently bought a 200w led lamp as a ceiling light and it gives an awesomely strong even light.

To get a set of condensers machined & ground would be extremely expensive - Best bet is to search for a set from (as an example) a Durst L184. These turn up fairly regularly on ebay at varying prices.

i would be very careful enlarging collodion negatives.
collodion is flammable ... its the pre-curser to celluloid
so think movie house fire ...
at the cleveland clinic a light bulb
was left on near a pile of X-rays and they went up in flames
as a result kodak released safety film...

so if you are going to enlarge collodion negatives, you might look into
non-heat-emoting-light-sources rather than the old standby light bulbs...

Are collodion plates still highly flammable after they dry and the ether has evaporated?

Greg Davis said:

Some people do it successfully, though, such as Sally Mann. She uses a Saltzman enlarger to print her plates on Ilford paper.

Click to expand...

extremely brave lady !

BobMarvin said:

Are collodion plates still highly flammable after they dry and the ether has evaporated?

Click to expand...

YES !!

collodion ( nitricellulose ) is interesting stuff
i used to dry out sheets of it and draw on it
and print it ...
when i was done i would sometimes take small pieces
and lite them on fire .. bright flames ( like the sun bright ) and thick black smoke ( not good for you, poisonous ... i used a canister vapor mask )

in the munitions industry dried nitrocellulose is used as an explosive as well as a propellent charge ...
it has always amazed me that nitrocellulose is used for so many different things ( and still is )

from fingernail polish and "new skin" ( what it was used for in the civil war too ) to lacquer plates ( blanks in the record industry )
to photography, to the munitions industry ... certainly is interesting stuff !

hmm.ok , so i will be careful with the collodion. has anyone actually tried this - making a print onto paper with an enlarger and a collodion negative?
mark

As I understand current practice, some photographers enlarge onto collodion plates. Others are probably enlarging by projection onto silver-gelatin papers though no one specifically comes to mind. The heat from the enlarger bulb might be able to set off dried collodion negatives, but I've never heard of this happening in modern times. The heat from a movie projector lighting up nitrate films is documented for movies historically and caused the switch to safety films.

Having a wet collodion plate under the enlarger is probably no more dangerous than other situations where an open flame or radiant heat source might be present, so some caution is advised. However, collodion plates were historically poured and developed in darkrooms lit by a candle for a safelight set some distance away. If there is an open flame and some minor ether fumes are introduced, combustion of the fumes will occur. It becomes a hazard when there are already concentrated fumes in a room and a candle is lit. So, having a concentration of fumes in the room and then lighting something (e.g. candle, cigarette, etc.) , having a spark occur (e.g., from a regular refrigerator fan) , or having some radiant source about causes the explosion scenario.

I would think most collodion negatives today are either contact-printed under glass or scanned and printed from digital files. Both of those processes would tend to minimize any heat the collodion film might be subjected to. I've never heard of an ambrotype or tintype spontaneously flaming on so I don't think there would be any concern storing cased images or even stacks of tintypes as might be found in antique shops. (Or guitars or anything that has been treated with a nitrocellulose lacquer.) However, if you intentionally tried to light a dried collodion plate, you might get a very rapid combustion. Peeling a collodion film from a plate produces a thin layer that will go up in a flash under a flame. It's actually fascinating to watch how quickly it combusts.

hi greg

i don't doubt that she does enlarge her collodion plates.
much braver than i am ..

i lived in an old brick 2 story factory building in the 1990s
and always had a quart or more of collodion in my darkroom
to play with ( par the course since about 1986 ) . it wasn't spiked for wet plate use
but bottles of the good stuff got from my local pharma
back when they still were allowed to sell it ...
it used to scare the daylights out of me when i stuck them under the bulb.
i didn't enlarge them if they were long exposures and stuck to contact printing.
one summer it was so hot the bricks were about 140F ( or so it seemed )
and the inside of my place was like a sweat lodge. i ran out of collodion that summer and never bought it again
out of fear it would self combust and there would be nothing left of where i lived...

for work around the same time ... i documented a collodion factory
( nitrocellulose plant ) that was used in to make munitions and propellent for ordinance/missles.
i have a huge respect for people who make and use collodion ... but it still wigs me out a little bit
thinking about that hot light bulb so close to an explosive.

I don't believe enlarging collodion negatives via a conventional enlarger light source represents a high fire risk.

Motion picture projectors are an entirely different beast than an enlarger light bulb. Motion picture projectors used a carbon-arc lamp as the light source. Similar to striking an arc with a welding rig; or a searchlight. Think of how many lumens would be necessary to light a huge movie theatre screen. Lots of heat building up, along with a blindingly-bright carbon arc.

An incandescent lamp in an enlarger head? Not so much.

~Joe

thanks for the advice. the more i read threads about home made 10x8 enlargers the simpler it seems. i will try and build one in my barn.
mark