Enlarging 6x6 negatives with 60mm Focotar on Focomat IIc

Jack Baty · Feb 27, 2022

I'm thinking about bringing the Focomat IIc out of storage and into my tiny bathroom/darkroom (I lost my real darkroom in a recent move). Currently, I'm using a V35 and can only enlarge 35mm negatives. I'd like to print some 6x6 negatives also.

The problem is that the IIc has been in storage because I am unable to mount the 100mm Focotar lens. The lens and helicoid assembly simply will not screw into the turret. I've spent hours trying, thinking I could get it to "catch" but no luck. There's no visible damage or anything. I just won't screw into it. I've written Kienzle about parts, so maybe they'll have a solution.

In the meantime, I'm wondering why I can't just use the 60mm lens. I only ever make 8x10 enlargements so it seems I could cover this with the 60mm, no? It may not be ideal, but I'm hoping it could at least let me print something, which is better than nothing for now. Any other advice?

Thanks

gone · Feb 27, 2022

If you put a 6x6 neg in it, raise the head as far as it goes and turn the light on, you can see if it will cover 8x10. Or, if you can turn the head around backwards, you could stack some boards or books and raise the enlarger head to make bigger prints. I had to do that on my 35mm enlarger to make 11x14's. This assumes that your enlarger is capable of printing 6x6, I'm not familiar w/ the specs on that one.

Hilo · Feb 28, 2022

In other words: also the helicoid was removed from the enlarger?

If that's so, are you trying to screw in both helicoid and lens together? I would start with the helicoid only.

There are two recepticals for the two lenses: the 60mm should be in the right, the 100mm in de left

I will have a look at my IIc to understand what happens when trying to use the 60mm for a 6x6 negative

Pieter12 · Feb 28, 2022

I don't think the 60 will cover a 6x6 negative. It will vignette in the corners.

Hilo · Feb 28, 2022

I checked and it only vignettes in the corners slightly. Not ideal though. Also, you're bringing down the enlarger very much for that format, which doesn't make burning and dodging any easier.

I would try again to get the helicoid in there and below I describe what I would do. But first you must clean the screw threads of the receptical and the helicoid. And you must grease it.

Buy some helicoid grease and a bottle of Naphtha (or something similar, that evaporates)

- take out the negative holder and put a piece of paper in there instead of it. This to make sure no liquid flies up into the condenser's glass

- take the lens out of the helicoid. Now it is easy to clean the helicoid's screw thread. Use an old toothbrush and a bit of Naphtha. Using your finger put very little helical grease on all of the screw thread

- then clean the screw thread of the receptical. I would use very little Naphtha on the toothbrush and go inside from below, repeat until nothing comes off anymore. Give the toothbrush a mark to understand the distance of the screw thread, so you don't touch the bellows above it. After the Naphtha evaporated, you can apply some helicoid grease in there, but really very little.

- take off any clip attached to the helicoid (before you unscrew the clip's tiny chrome screw look well to see a tiny clip hanging in there. Make sure you don't lose that and that you understand its position)

- Make yourself a nice tea, sit on a chair in front of this kind enlarger, lower the enlarger to the right height so you can put your elbows on the baseboard and carefully try to make the two threads catch.

Jack Baty · Feb 28, 2022

Hilo said:
I checked and it only vignettes in the corners slightly. Not ideal though. Also, you're bringing down the enlarger very much for that format, which doesn't make burning and dodging any easier.

I would try again to get the helicoid in there and below I describe what I would do. But first you must clean the screw threads of the receptical and the helicoid. And you must grease it.
[snip]
- Make yourself a nice tea, sit on a chair in front of this kind enlarger, lower the enlarger to the right height so you can put your elbows on the baseboard and carefully try to make the two threads catch.

Thank you very much for this. I am glad to hear that vignetting is minimal, as I find that my kind of photos can benefit from a little of it. However, I will try cleaning the threads as you suggest and see if I can't make the 100mm work. That would obviously be ideal.

Much appreciated!

Jack

Hilo · Feb 28, 2022

You are welcome! What I write is more like a guideline than specific instructions. You probably have your own ideas too.

I forgot to attach 2 pictures I took, showing the vignetting and the IIc's lowered position to do plus minus your small size . . .

Jack Baty · Mar 1, 2022

No luck getting the helicoid screwed into the turret. At least they're clean and lubed now, though
I got cocky and decided to try removing the turret so I could get a better look and angle. I got it off, and after spending half-hour picking up the surprise shower of bearings that rolled all over the darkroom, I was able to get a decent look at it. I suspect the threads are actually damaged. You can kind of see this in the photo here. I have 3 helicoids and none of them even come close to "catching" the threads.

I'll see about replacing either the receptacle or the entire turret assembly. And if I can find one, I'll see if I can figure out how to get all the bearings back where they belong. I may have bitten off more than I can chew here, though.

Thanks for the help!

Jack

Javier González · Mar 16, 2022

I have enlarged 6x6 negatives with a componon 60 5.6 in the past. If the condensor was properly adjusted It will not vignett, but the corner sharpness was rather poor at any f number. I think this kind of focal length is intended for 4x4 format and smaller. This can or can not apply to the focotar.

MARTIE · Mar 16, 2022

Sorry, I don't have this enlarger, so I could be way off base, but have you tried or is it possible that the helicoid screws in from the top/reverse side?

I have some Durst tubes for reductions etc. and if my memory serves me correctly, things screw in from the top end that attaches to the enlarger.
It may sound counter intuitive, but if you think about it, you wouldn't want to have the whole helicoid mechanism to fallout, lens and all, because of being unscrewed too far. So it's a sort of safety, prevention mechanism.

Again, I apologise if my suggestion is nonsense but my experience is that the designers and engineers knew how to build things in their day.

Jack Baty · Mar 17, 2022

MARTIE said:
Sorry, I don't have this enlarger, so I could be way off base, but have you tried or is it possible that the helicoid screws in from the top/reverse side?

I have some Durst tubes for reductions etc. and if my memory serves me correctly, things screw in from the top end that attaches to the enlarger.
It may sound counter intuitive, but if you think about it, you wouldn't want to have the whole helicoid mechanism to fallout, lens and all, because of being unscrewed too far. So it's a sort of safety, prevention mechanism.

Again, I apologise if my suggestion is nonsense but my experience is that the designers and engineers knew how to build things in their day.

Not a bad thought, thanks, but I'm pretty sure I've been failing the correct way . It still seems to be damage to the threads and I'm working on finding a source for a replacement of the recepticle.

NB23 · Mar 19, 2022

This, on ebay, might help you...

Jack Baty · Mar 19, 2022

NB23 said:
This, on ebay, might help you...

Thanks for the heads up.

gone · Mar 19, 2022

You can take an ice pick, or a sturdy, sharp knife and straighten those threads enough to get a lens on, I had to do that sort of thing in the field or in a shop many times when there was no alternative. It just takes a little patience and something to hold things steady.

Jay Schrotenboer · Mar 19, 2022

momus said:
You can take an ice pick, or a sturdy, sharp knife and straighten those threads enough to get a lens on, I had to do that sort of thing in the field or in a shop many times when there was no alternative. It just takes a little patience and something to hold things steady.

This is the type of thing a file is best at. If you can find a thread repair file of the correct pitch that is best, otherwise a triangular file will do. I have used a triangular file many times to clean up threads, enough so that I recently bought a dedicated set of thread repair files to make it easier and faster

Jack Baty · Mar 31, 2022

In case anyone is following along, a helpful eBay seller was willing to part out the parallelogram he was selling and sold me just the 100mm threaded receptacle and helicoid. I've replaced the bad receptacle, screwed in the new helicoid, and I now have a working 100mm lens on my IIc and am looking forward to hitting the darkroom tonight.

ic-racer · Apr 1, 2022

Great find!

MARTIE · Apr 1, 2022

Great news!
I hope it performed well and you enjoyed your printing session.

Enlarging 6x6 negatives with 60mm Focotar on Focomat IIc

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency