Federal 450 enlarger DIY?

[athanasius80]

Ok. I did it. I found a Federal 450 (4x5) enlarger head from source Aand am mating it to a base from source B. When the head arrived in the mail, the condenser lenses were chipped in several places from transit. In the collective wisdom of Apug, do I:

1. Pretend the condenser isn't damaged and print away?

2. Yank the condenser and fit a ground glass plate in its place?

3. Leave the condenser in and add a ground glass to it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Paul Howell]

If the condenser is chipped around the edges it may not show, it is chipped in the middle and shows you will need figure out a way to convert the head to a diffusion head, not very good solution, but workable.

 

[fparnold]

(4) Paint the chips out with India ink, and give it a try. I've heard of this being used for taking lenses, as it eliminates the scatter and other aberrations from the chips.