Adapting Omega D2/DII for making larger prints

[tkamiya]

Let's see..... where should I start....

I have two Omega D2V enlargers. One is D2V and the other is DIIV. (the difference is push/pull column and geared column) With either, with 35mm negative and 40mm lens, I can barely cover 16x20 with little cropping. With 6x7 and 80mm (which is the shortest I can use with coverage), situation is about the same. Ideally, I'd like to be able to do 20x24 with some cropping. I'd like little larger also but that may be impractical.

I've been looking for XL column (which is longer) for a while but I haven't found one. It has to be local so shipping isn't astronomical.

I have a project that resulting image is much larger. I do not want to rotate the head and project an image on my floor. The way my darkroom is set up, it's just not practical.

My options are.... make a stand with lumber and do like drop table where I can remove the baseboard and project it to a second and lower baseboard. OR... wall mount this thing and use a table. OR... buy some aluminum stock and extend the column. Since I have two, I can dedicate one for larger prints.

My intent on posting this on APUG is that someone here on APUG land must have done something like this. If you have a success or failure story, I'd like to hear them (if you are willing to share that is....) before embarking on time/money consuming project. Positive/negative, don't do THIS, THIS works, I think.... kind of advise will be great.

Thanks.

 

[CJBo001]

Thinking out of the box - could you cut off the top of the column from enlarger 1, making it suitable only for, perhaps, 8x10 and attach it to the top of the column of enlarger 2 making it suitable for the larger prints. Assuming, of course, that the two columns are identical.

Chuck

 

[tkamiya]

Assuming, of course, that the two columns are identical.

Chuck

Thank you for your idea.... NO, they aren't. D2 has much thicker and geared column than DII which has thinner and non-geared column.

 

[mike c]

tkamiya, I have the d2v also with the sorter column and have bolted the column (took off the original baseboard) to to a table I made for it, the top is made of 1" ply board, it still vibrates just as before and like yours its hard to get a 16x20 out of it. I have seen home made tables with drop down easels (which dummy me did not do.) and they work pretty good if the support table is stable enough.

Mike

 

[r-brian]

I'd go the drop table route; it should be the easiest way to achieve what you want to do. The taller the column, the more unstable the enlarger becomes and more prone to vibrations.

 

[MattKing]

Wall mount, including wall braces at both ends of the column.

A seperate table that:

1) permits dropping the baseboard; and
2) permits adjustments to ensure alignment.

When you set it up, you can pick working heights that suit you - ceiling height permitting. Personally, I prefer having the easel at a fairly high height when I am doing the majority of my printing (4x6 through 11x14).

Consider using a wall mount that moves the base away from the wall - in order to permit really large enlargements with the easel on the floor.

 

[Neal]

Dear tkamiya,

This is what I did. It will make a slightly cropped 20x30 on the baseboard. It is also handy when aligning the enlarger. The extensions are 3/8" threaded rod. I was going to make larger extensions but when I tried it the rods were more than stiff enough. One caveat. The bottom of the Omega column does not sit on the normal thin metal piece. When I got the enlarger it didn't come with one so I made one from 3/8" thick aluminum. This base probably contributes greatly to the rigidity.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

 

[Ian C]

A 40 mm lens requires about 22.4X to obtain a 21” wide projection of the 24mm minor dimension of the 35mm negative.

Consider the 40/4N EL Nikkor as an example. Its nodal distance is 7.7mm and requires a negative-to-print distance of about 985.5mm for a 21” x 31.6” projection of a 35mm negative. This is about the minimum size to enlarge a 35mm negative to fully cover a 20” x 24” sheet of enlarging paper without fuzzy falloff at the edges along the minor dimension (assuming a plain metal carrier).

If you use an 80/5.6N EL Nikkor for the 6 x 7cm format the required magnification and negative-to-print distance are 9.5X and 933.7mm.

The following link gives a good basic plan for an enlarging table. The plans can be altered as necessary to suit your requirements. The plans are on page 186 of the November 1960 edition of Popular Mechanics.

http://books.google.com/books?id=9t...E4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=enlarging table&f=false

I haven’t built this because my equipment provides sufficient projection distance.

 

[tkamiya]

A couple of concerns and questions:

1) For those people who attach enlarger to the wall and have separate tables:
How do you ensure the parallelism between enlarger itself and the shelf? I have carpeted floor in my darkroom.

2) For those people who has drop table:
Most designs have walls on both side of the table. That would mean the maximum size of print is limited by size of the structure. (right?) How do you work around this limitation?

3) Neal:
That's a D5 isn't it? How tall is your column? I had a similar idea except my version used a block of wood and rods going through it.

 

[Ian C]

2) For those people who has drop table:
Most designs have walls on both side of the table. That would mean the maximum size of print is limited by size of the structure. (right?) How do you work around this limitation?

Figure the largest print you might make and size the shelf area to suit.

 

[John Koehrer]

Would it be feasible to raise the entire column with solid lumber(4X4) or larger? If needed stack them.
For rigidity, cable braces from the top of the column to the wall. I think there are aluminum braces for squaring screen doors with turnbuckles,
loosen one, tighten the other for side to side leveling.

 

[Neal]

Der takamiy,

"That's a D5 isn't it? How tall is your column? I had a similar idea except my version used a block of wood and rods going through it. "

I'm pretty sure that is correct. Unfortunately I'm no expert on enlarger modes. What you see is an assembly of parts salvaged from 3 different enlargers (never pass up a good deal) picked up to upgrade the system each time. The dichroic head was a nice upgrade from the D2 (still in the attic). In any case, I'm sure that there are an infinite number of ways to accomplish the same thing successfully. Dead Link Removed when I'm not under the gun. A piece of 3/8"x8"x8" 6061 aluminum is $16.

Neal Wydra

 

[jon.oman]

I made a rolling cart where I can lower the baseboard:

This is a shot as I was setting up my darkroom....

 

[Bob Carnie]

Hi There

I wall mount at a very low position , brace the head with the omega arms. then build a level table just above floor height, I use a large
sheet of metal on wood as the base.. Then laser enlarge the head , neg stage to the base.

I make 30 x 40 murals from this setup from 35mm and 2.25

regards

Bob.

I can send a pic next week if you wish.

 

[JW PHOTO]

Hi There

I wall mount at a very low position , brace the head with the omega arms. then build a level table just above floor height, I use a large
sheet of metal on wood as the base.. Then laser enlarge the head , neg stage to the base.

I make 30 x 40 murals from this setup from 35mm and 2.25

regards

Bob.

I can send a pic next week if you wish.

Hey Bobby, I'd love to see a picture also. I'm doing a little revamping in my darkroom also and want to make my Omega D3V a little more stable with the ability to go 30x40 too. John W

 

[Will S]

I have this mirror thingy for the D2 that enables it to be used wall mounted to get larger enlargements. I've never quite figured out how to use it though My darkroom is too small for it now too. CAT 429-070 Wall Proj Att Anyone ever used one?

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Why not mount horizontally somehow and project onto a wall?

 

[tkamiya]

I can't do horizontal with V2/II series enlargers. All kinds of things will fall off....

I *think* there was an attachment with a front side mirror to project horizontally, but I don't have it and haven't actually seen one.

 

[ic-racer]

1) For those people who attach enlarger to the wall and have separate tables:
How do you ensure the parallelism between enlarger itself and the shelf? .

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)