Easy to store 4x5 enlarger for a small place?

John Koehrer · Jul 2, 2016

The D5 is about as easy to take apart as you can get with a more modern enlarger.
Once the condensers or color head are removed and the carriage at it's lowest it's leverage,
not weight that gets it apart. I've done it from the front, loosen the bolts, rest the
column on your shoulder & remove the bolts. It is awkward but no big deal.

Maris · Jul 2, 2016

For years I had my enlargers mounted on my dining table. I ate off the baseboards. When they were not used I just wound the heads to the top of the columns so I wouldn't hit my noggin on them.

jvo · Jul 3, 2016

i have a d2 - finally in a permanent location.... prior to that i would de-closet it and print.

attached to the baseboard is a large cone with a large bolt holding the enlarger column. remove the lensboard, condensers and negative carrier, that large bolt and it all fit back in the closet... heavy, but easy and quick.

jvo

seezee · Jul 3, 2016

+1 for the LPL. I wouldn't remove the baseboard for the alignment reasons already mentioned, but the head comes off fairly easily & if you put it on a wheeled cart, or even a moving dolly, you can move it in & out of storage easily enough.

My bathroom is too small to accommodate the darned thing, so I'm setting it up in a permanent location in my breezeway, which doubles as a laundry room. Working on making blackout panels so I don't have to develop at night, & the electricals need upgrading — well, there's lots of stuff I need to do before I can use the room, but I'm making progress.

If you buy the LPL, make sure it has the power supply and a 4×5 carrier. I bought one for $100 USD on FleaBay, but then spent $300 USD more on shipping, parts & accessories. You can get spare parts from KHB.

Mick Fagan · Jul 4, 2016

The LPL 7451 is the first LPL 4x5 enlarger, and is, by a reasonable margin, smaller than all models after it. The 7451 was pretty much an upscaled LPL 7700. The LPL 7700 and the LPL 7451 use the same wall mounting kit, I know as I used the same kit to mount both enlargers onto the same wall.

A sturdy table under the wall mounted enlarger will work perfectly well, I did this for years. I then made up a special drop table where I had the base board sliding on three sets of rails. One set of rails at the top, another about 250mm lower and a third set of rails about 500mm below the top setting. Worked a treat.

Once you have aligned up your moveable table under your wall mounted enlarger, you just need to ensure you do everything as per the original set-up each time. Took me about 30 seconds.

Mick.

4season · Jul 4, 2016

Mick Fagan said:
The LPL 7451 is the first LPL 4x5 enlarger

Did you actually mean 7450?
http://www.khbphotografix.com/LPL/LPL7450.htm
Never seen a one in person but specs suggest it's the lightest of the 4x5 LPL enlargers, and it appears to be designed for easy disassembly, maybe perfect for the OP's application.

Kawaiithulhu · Jul 4, 2016

I'm certainly learning a lot about enlarger models as I go
From khb: "In the USA the LPL 7451 was previously marketed as the Saunders/LPL 4500-II, and is currently sold as the Omega/LPL 4500-II." khb also lists the 7450 as the first, but less sturdy version that was made beefy for school/industrial users.

LPL are kind of pricey and harder to find than Omega models, but I've never read a bad word about them here or at LFF.

4season · Jul 4, 2016

seezee said:
4×5 carrier

I was lazy and used the 4x5 anti-newton glass carrier for everything, and relied on my 4-bladed easel for masking. Great for perfectionist handling of a few images or printing beyond the image area, maybe less so if you've got a lot of images to print.

Kawaiithulhu · Jul 4, 2016

Now to clean up some space and wait patiently for an appropriate enlarger to show up at a reasonable price.

Luis-F-S · Jul 4, 2016

tedr1 said:
The LPL4500 II is the smallest 4x5 LPL, I think, and the head comes off really easily, but it is a big enlarger, measurements and weights and all the details at the website of KHB in Canada http://store.khbphotografix.com/LPL-Enlargers/ these models are often available at bargain prices because people want the bigger model the 4550XLG which is 6 inches higher and has a bigger baseboard and larger maximum print size.

Funny thing, I love my 4500 II, the XLG is storage! I don't think any 4x5 enlarger is easy to store, but the 4500 II is probably the lightest. Maybe the OP could keep it out and hang his wash from it, or some other use. Anyone need an XLG?

Mick Fagan · Jul 4, 2016

4season said:
Did you actually mean 7450?
http://www.khbphotografix.com/LPL/LPL7450.htm
Never seen a one in person but specs suggest it's the lightest of the 4x5 LPL enlargers, and it appears to be designed for easy disassembly, maybe perfect for the OP's application.

Umm, yes I actually meant the 7450 enlarger. I replaced my LPL 7700 enlarger with the 7450 one. I used the same wall mount as I had for my 7700 enlarger. Essentially it is an overgrown 7700 enlarger. The later models were all larger and certainly heavier than the original 7450, with the 7452 (if my memory is correct) being different because it stuck out 50mm further away from the enlarger column to allow greater enlargement before the image started to head to the enlarger column.

Mick.

Besk · Jul 10, 2016

I second the Federal 450 or 470. I have a Federal 450. And an Omega D2. The Federal is definitely easier to take down and store.

Kawaiithulhu · Jul 21, 2016

Update: I found an Omega D5 in great shape with the shorter column and am having a smaller baseboard made at 22x24 that will fit nicely into my space, even if it does poke out a bit. I guess that the short column was way less popular than the D5XL versions because it was hard to find, and I had to have a baseboard custom cut. At least I was able to keep to the original D5 baseboard size so it's less of an oddity I guess. All the other options were way too expensive for me.

Good news is that it comes with a super chromega d dichoric II head and power, so that's a bonus.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 21, 2016

MattKing said:
Beseler 67C on a microwave cart:

View attachment 159978 View attachment 159979

You might be able to do something similar with an Omega D5 and a bit heavier cart. Something like this:? http://www.rubbermaidcommercial.com...ial_handling_heavy_duty_utility_carts_4500-88

I used to do this with a Beseler 23C and a wire cart when I was running a bathroom darkroom. I could fit pretty much my entire darkroom on the cart - enlarger on top, print processor and wash tray down below. I had (still have) a Nova vertical slot processor that would let me print up to 16x20 in an apartment bathroom. Doesn't help you with the 4x5 enlarger, but the concept is certainly valid. You MIGHT be able to find a cart substantial enough to mount a Beseler 45 M-series chassis on top, and then have a mobile darkroom. But that would still be a rather large to-do. There are short column Omega D2's and D3's out there that might be workable.

Kawaiithulhu · Jul 21, 2016

TheFlyingCamera said:
entire darkroom on the cart

I'm definitely considering putting everything on a short cart now that i found a short-column D5 (43" more or less) to work with. I'll have to see how much weight total and what I need to keep it from tipping over before getting to that part.

Easy to store 4x5 enlarger for a small place?

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