4-in-1 and 6-in-1 Easel - Useful?

[baumgrenze]

About 30 years ago I had access to a darkroom and enlarger at work. I had learned about Cibachrome printing and built an adjustable easel for dividing 8x10 sheets of paper into six 4" x 3 3/8" or four 5" x 4" individual prints. The dividing easels were light tight enough for use with Cibachrome, which requires total darkness when handling the paper. Each dividing easel has a matching focusing board.

The unit consists of a base that was designed to fit tightly on the enlarger baseboard. It has an all-thread driven table that can be driven from driven in one direction with a knob. The table is bored to allow the focusing board and then the dividing easel in precisely the same location in turn.

I used the setup to make smaller prints to share with friends and family. I can see that it would be useful to test filter packs and other exposure parameters.

I posted it on my local (San Francisco) craigslist at $50 and elicited no interest. I had a similar experience with an Omega DII enlarger and eventually gave it to a local high school student.

1) Is such an apparatus of any interest/use to someone working in a darkroom?

2) Did I ask way too much for my handiwork?

3) Should I give up and consign it to the scrap heap?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[Sirius Glass]

I may rarely print a 4"x6" print any more. I usually go from contact print of the roll of film directly to 8"x10" or 11"x14" directly. Now I almost always print 11"x14". When I get larger trays, I will probably print 16"x20" much of the time. Therefore I would not be interested in you device.

I am sure that others will disagree with me so YMMV.

Steve

 

[Mick Fagan]

Brilliant little set of easels. If you were closer to home I could offload that very easily.

I have a commercial version called the Jobo Vario format easel. I use it extensively for doing various configurations of 8x10" paper.

With 135 format it is brilliant as a 5x8" which effectively takes a full frame 35mm film print. With 4x5" format I can do same size or slight enlargements.

I once had another metal version which had 6 plates like yours, somehow I lost it with one of my moves.

I do think you are probably wishing for a bit too much, something like $20-$25 seems to be more likely for a quick(ish) sale but given enough time you should be able to move it.

Mick.