Focomat IIc cracked negative stage

Dear all,

I got a IIc in the mail the other day, was going to fix it up. As I pulled the parallelogram out of the box I was immediately shocked, the negative stage is broken in half, it cracked by the 3rd screw from the front, the ones that hold the chrome piece to the negative stage which holds the negative carrier.

The crack isn’t even, it is very rough everywhere.

Is there a way to fix this? I read about JW epoxy that can fix cast iron, provided the IIc is cast iron?

If not then perhaps I need to replace that whole plate? It comes off by undoing a few rather large bolts but I’d also have to remove the bellows which I’ve done once and wasn’t much fun so I’d avoid that if possible.

Please see photos of the crack below.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Ben

bence8810 said:

I read about JW epoxy that can fix cast iron, provided the IIc is cast iron?

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Epoxy glue can cement all metals.

But more important, the fracture you show already has been glued.

I am experienced at repairing and cementing, but this fracture I would likely fix with metal liners.
But any way one would approach it, one needs skill. With your remark above in mind I would not advise you to try such yourself.

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your advise. The glue you see is me being stupid and trying something on my own, just something I had at home.

So a metal liner would work possibly? I’ll look into it.

Not experienced but I’d rather try before throwing it away. I am in Japan and not familiar with the shops here so I will need to do this on my own.

Any recommendation or links on topic I could use?

Thanks,
Ben

If you can find a macine shop to accurately braze the crack and redrill and tap the hole at the crack you will be good to go. It would require removing the bellows and any other delicate parts though.

bence8810 said:

Thanks a lot for your advise. The glue you see is me being stupid and trying something on my own, just something I had at home.

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What you got seems fine. But even if it is a plain fracture without metal being bent, one first needs to take off that glue residues, apply new glue, adjust and brace everything and heat cure all. Then the threads must be recut, and they are a critical point anyway. That all should do someone with respective experience. The same with the approach of metal lining, bracing that stage. That should do someone with metal shop experience.

At the price that these great enlargers go for today, probably cheaper to replace than to pay for repair. Perhaps even possible to find one sold for parts only.

The metal is likely aluminum alloy, you could bond it, but the big problem to solve is getting it flat (IMHO), you'd probably need to take it to a machine shop anyway to get the surface milled flat after glueing it. Certainly that would require it getting separated from the bellows.
The likely more practical solution, as mentioned would be to find a parts unit.

It appears to be broken in two places.
Far more practical to replace, a really good repair would likely cost more than two or three of these enlargers in perfect condition. It's also possible that whatever accident caused that break left other less visible damage elsewhere.

Ben,

Glennview has got the part at $ 75 !

E. von Hoegh said:

It's also possible that whatever accident caused that break left other less visible damage elsewhere.

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Good point. It must have been a hard hit.

Hilo said:

Ben,

Glennview has got the part at $ 75 !

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Thanks Machiel, just checked and can’t seem to find it on his site though...

Nevertheless I emailed him and waiting now.

Thanks,
Ben

Sorry Ben, you're right. My mistake, it is the upper part he's got !

Hello again,

So I just couldn’t leave it the way it was and attempted a fix. Invested a hefty 15USD equivalent of Japanese yen and I think I am in good shape.

I bought two little Vice like clamps, 2 metal rails and a 2 component quick epoxy glue.

I bent the broken part down a little away from the rest just enough so I could get to the fracture and clear away the old residue. I then mixed the glue and smeared a very generous amount of it all around the cracks making sure it gets everywhere.
When done, I moved the front part back into position as best as I could eyeing it and fastened the two clamps so they would hold the entire stage in alignment. When done I used a bubble lever and saw there was a slight warp which I adjusted by force and then tightened the clamps back down again. When all was well I just left it for an hour and eventually removed the clamps. I was nearly completely sure the part will break off immediately but to my surprise it stayed in tact even after I exercised about 2-3 times the force that I would ever use when printing or adjusting the device etc. Not even the slightest hint of a movement.

I then added the two metal rails to the bottom where the ears go and fastened them real tight.

It is good as it was as far as I can tell, which is good enough for me.

See some photos below. Since then I put all the parts back which I removed for the repair and the fracture isn’t showing even a little. The film stopper rotating arm hides it away nicely.

Thanks again,
Ben

A engineer would have mounted that metal strip quite differently. But as longs as it works...
Check for more damage, as bending etc., with the most probable way it happened in mind.

AgX said:

A engineer would have mounted that metal strip quite differently. But as longs as it works...
Check for more damage, as bending etc., with the most probable way it happened in mind.

Click to expand...

Without a doubt but most importantly it works and is in alignment as far as I can tell. I don’t have lasers etc, will see a few prints but it looks good to go.

Thanks for all the tips etc,
Ben