Fixing Durst M609 vibration

[karthik]

In one of my printing sessions I raised the head to its maximum height. Since then I have not been
able to get rid of vibration, even after bringing the head back to normal height. I have tried tightening
all the components to no avail. Does anyone have experience with this enlarger, or any suggestions in general
on how I could go about locating the source of the problem and (I hope) fix it?

To eliminate other sources of vibration, I have tried removing everything else from the table on which the
enlarger sits. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed in the setup. In fact, during the session
when I messed it up, enlargements prior to raising the head were OK. and since then, I have been unable to
do anything other than contact prints. I normally use it with the ADANG negative carrier and 35mm film.

Thanks --- Karthik

 

[quine666]

You can use picture hanging wire to secure the top of the head to the wall.

-andrew

 

[FritsM]

Let the vibrations ease off for a few seconds before you start the timer. Don't touch the enlarger or anything connected to it while exposing. There should not be a reason to touch anything during the exposure anyway.

Another source of loss of sharpness is negative pop. During long exposures the negative gets hot and pops in the opposite direction. If that happens, you need to let the set heat up past the popping point and then expose.

 

[MartinP]

During long exposures the negative gets hot and pops in the opposite direction. If that happens, you need to let the set heat up past the popping point and then expose.

If that's the case I'd suggest fitting the heat-filter, which could be missing from the enlarger.

Also, in general a glass neg carrier is the most effective way of holding a negative flat as springy small negs, or saggy large ones, will not rest in a plane but will be curved.

Double-check for a guide roller or pin that may have come out of a slot or groove when you moved the enlarger head to the top of the column. If the problem really is vibration, and any change in the setup of the enlarger is not found, then attach the top of the column to the wall in some way - as suggested above - and use a clamp or other method to hold the baseboard steady on the table (the table legs should be on a hard floor, not carpet of course).

 

[FritsM]

Great pointers, Martin.
Perhaps the OP can post a picture of the whole set-up. It could clarify many things quickly.

I just realized that the original post is 2 months old and the OP has not responded in any way.
Maybe the thread should be closed?