How do I put the gasket on my D5?

[David Brown]

I bought a good condition, but well used Chromega D5 a while back. One of the things that needed attention: the gasket on the bottom of the head that sits on top of the negative carrier is smashed flat from use. As luck (and patience) would have it, I found a new replacement on Ebay for a couple bucks.

OK, the thing arrived today. And, as per Ebay tradition :rolleyes: , no instructions.

Now:

Do I glue it on? And what glue do I use?

OR

Does it have an incorporated adhesive like some weather stripping I used years ago that required (IIRC) lighter fluid or something else to activate?

Anybody know? :confused:

Thanks in advance.

David

 

[wildbill]

Get some contact cement or double stick tape. If it doesn't have adhesive on it you can always go to your craft store or kmart and get a black sheet of adhesive "foamies" from the craft section and cut it to shape. I did it for my D2 and it works great.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

There is supposed to be a foam gasket on the d2 condenser? If it's supposed to be there, mine doesn't have one. Though it does sound like a good idea..

 

[wildbill]

My D2 has the chromega colorhead and the gasket was falling apart when i got it.

 

[David Brown]

There is supposed to be a foam gasket on the d2 condenser? If it's supposed to be there, mine doesn't have one. Though it does sound like a good idea..

This is not a condenser head. It is the Chromega dicroic head. Yes, there is a rubber gasket on the bottom that seats on top of the neg carrier and should prevent light leaks. It is about 6 inches square, and the strips are about 5/8" wide and 1/8" thick. The smashed one I'm replacing leaks so bad the darkroom is brighter with the enlarger on than with the safelights.

 

[Bruce Osgood]

David,

I HAD the same problem and with advice from Harry of "Ask Harry" ( http://www.classic-enlargers.com/ ) the simple solution is compressible weather tape. I am using about a 3/8" thick by 1/2" wide black tar like substance that tapes flat to the head and molds down around the neg carrier. It works just fine.

 

[David Brown]

David,

I HAD the same problem and with advice from Harry of "Ask Harry" ( http://www.classic-enlargers.com/ ) the simple solution is compressible weather tape. I am using about a 3/8" thick by 1/2" wide black tar like substance that tapes flat to the head and molds down around the neg carrier. It works just fine.

Thanks, Bruce. That is exactly what I "was" going to do until I found the actual part. I guess the advantage of the OEM part is that there are no seams at the corners.

I expected that it would probably have adhesive on one side with a peel off paper, like most weather stripping such as you used. It's just that when I got the gasket, nothing sticky, but one surface feels different from the other. It reminded me of weather stripping I used years (and years) ago that had to have the adhesive "activated" by some solvent. I don't think that stuff exists anymore, but who knows.

Of course (why didn't I think of this before :rolleyes: ) when I remove the old gasket, I'll probably get an idea of how it was attached.

Thanks for eveyone's suggestions!