I got my "new" Lentar enlarger refurbished and put back together, but what are these two small diameter, round handles on either side of the enlarger's head w/ a 90 degree bend? There wasn't any sort of manual or info online. The handles have knurled nuts on them where they attach to the enlarger head, but as far as I can see they just screw in to blind holes. The chrome horizontal bar on the front is for the neg carrier, it doesn't have anything to do w/ those two....whatever they are.
They may be designed to hold a film away from the enlarger body and easel below, if you are printing the entire roll - one frame at a time - before cutting the roll into strips.
They look like film supports. Both should point backwards and take the weight of the strip of negatives to aid positioning. My first enlarger, a cheap affair that was part of a kit had them.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks very much. Yes, the Lentar is definitely a cheap enlarger, but compared to my old, deceased Federals, it's a step up. The Beseler HD 50 2.8 lens should be an upgrade over the old one too. This will be good for up to 8x10. Anything bigger than that and it would need the post extended, or it would have to be set on top of something.
That is a good lens - a rebadged Componon (I think). I'd be surprised if you can't do an 11x14 from it - can the post be rotated to allow floor projection?
The pics of Lentar I've seen show a large knob to the rear, out of sight in moms image that I thought allowed the head to be turned to shoot to the wall. Looking closer not so sure, seems that the lever on the
on the base of the arm that allows the unit to be raised and lowered allows the enlarger to be turned to shoot to the floor.