Help! Where to find lensboard for a Schneider 135mm Componon-S (LPL 4500II)

oliver h rosenberg

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Hello,

I have a Saunders/LPL 4500II color enlarger and I just got a Schneider 135mm f5.6 Componon-S.

Does anyone have experience marrying these two together? The fine print says the rear mount threading on the Schneider is 40.5mm, but thats not the standard 39mm or 42mm lens board that I have seen for sale online.

Any help would be appreciated!

Oliver
 

MattKing

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KHB (not KBH) are both knowledgeable and helpful and, as the authorized distributors for LPL, privy to accurate and comprehensive information.
 

ic-racer

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Depending on the enlarger, if frequently is easier to find a lens to match the lensboard, rather than to find an oddball size lensboard.
 

Luis-F-S

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So order a lens board from KHB for that lens. They’ll make one if they don’t have one in stock. I don’t see what the problem is.
 

M Carter

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I bought a similar 135 componon, 135mm, oddball thread size. I just found a step-down ring with the proper thread to use as a nut, and cut a lens board hole a bit wider with a hole saw and some oil.
 

Ian C

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Depending on its date of manufacture, the 135/5.6 Componon-S intended for ENLARGER use has either 42 mm x 0.75 mm-pitch thread or 50 mm x 0.75 mm thread. Measure carefully before buying a lens mount.

Sometimes these lenses were sold for “machine vision” applications in the machining & manufacturing industries. In that case, a lens might have a different threading than the versions intended for photo enlarging. The aperture was often fixed so that it could not be changed. These “machine-vision” lenses show up on eBay from time to time in the enlarger section. They’re not practical for photo enlarging, but might be made to work.

You need to have someone with a micrometer or dial caliper make a careful measurement of the thread diameter so that you can be POSITIVE of the thread size. Only then is it safe to obtain a mount.

The solution in post #9 ought to work. 40.5 mm x 0.5 mm is a standard filter size. Thus, a step ring with 40.5 mm x 0.5 mm female thread on one end will work as a jam-nut if that is the thread size on the lens.

Advice: Learn the standard enlarger-lens threadings and verify the size with the seller BEFORE buying. Avoid lenses with non-standard threading.
 
Last edited:

M Carter

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Ian C said:
The solution in post #9 ought to work. 40.5 mm x 0.5 mm is a standard filter size. Thus, a step ring with 40.5 mm x 0.5 mm female thread on one end will work as a jam-nut if that is the thread size on the lens.
Click to expand...

Works fine for me, but you need to remember it's a step DOWN ring, where the threads are on the inside of the ring. I took a file and made 2 notches in mine for a spanner to hold.
 

John51

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For my 50mm thread Rodagon to fit my Kodak Precision, I made the hole just large enough in a lensboard and used Sugru (silicone putty) as a jam nut.

 
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