Looking to build a glass carrier

[DanielStone]

hey all,

Well, after unsuccessfully using my school's glass negative carriers to enlarge 4x5 negs, I've come to a stalemate.

I'm getting newton rings no matter what I do. I'm sick of it.

So, basically, I've decided to buck up and get some ANR glass, and sandwich the negs in it. I really would like to print 'full frame' from my 4x5 negs, so I get the whole rebate area, so I was planning on building a carrier with a glass size of 4.75"x5.75".

I was planning on trying to mill out some sheet aluminum 3/16 or 1/4" and make it nice, with a matte black finish and all, but I was thinking of just some heavy black matte board too.

someone(s) on here must have done this, and if you have pictures, could you share?

help would be appreciated.


thanks

Dan

 

[Koller01]

hope this helps

I Use a Self made glass carrier with good results . It is for my 120 negs in a Bessler 23c VC Enlarger. I do not use anti Newton Glass And have had no problems until very recently.(I was actually wondering what newton rings looked like...... I was better off not knowing!) Have had some show up with T-max 100. AM going to replace the top glass with Anti Newton Glass & am currently looking for a source.... and am assuming it is just non-glare glass??? but have had some trouble verifying.
Anyway my carrier isn’t anything real pretty. Basically 2 pieces of glass bottom one masked off (slightly larger Than 6x7 to print border i.e. rebate) With registration pins for making masks and the such.
I was stewing around in my head trying to come up with something fancy( trying to make metal and glass carrier) and settled on simplicity. This is basically exactly how Lynn Radeka’s Contrast Masking Kit explains how to make one. The only thing I did different was to add guides to my enlarger and sand the sides of the glass where they slide in to the metal guides. Everything works good (at least up to 16X20 - largest I print). Have made unsharp, SCIM , Dodge masks and others with success. I would have to say The Information in his Kit is Well worth the Money ( Slimt Dev. Mask making, Formula’s and such)
When I approached making this I Cut the Glass, Put it in the enlarger, removed the lens board and traced the negative stage on the glass, then used this to mask the negative area - making sure the negative fits directly centerd in the lens path.

Best of Luck -

 

[Bob-D659]

If you need the glass, http://www.fpointinc.com/ can supply it. Plus the owner is on this forum.

 

[mike c]

Dan,I have had a guy that cuts metal make regular two piece carriers with good success but the glass carriers are far more complicated an costly.I like Koller 1 way of making them,also there is a place in Newport Bch that makes anti newton glass. nqw@newportglass.com is there web site,have not used them but they are closer.I have there telephone number if you need it

Mike

 

[ic-racer]

What kind of enlarger? I made a nice glass carrier just by taping two pieces of glass together.

 

[DanielStone]

thanks for the replies guys. the enlargers I'm using both use Beseler or Omega neg carriers. I think somethink in the neighborhood of 7-8" square should work.

does the bottom glass thickness affect overall sharpness of the image? should I get good quality (say STARPHIRE(cause I do color work as well, and I want this to be universal)) glass but what thickness? 1/8, 3/16?

-Dan

 

[resummerfield]

......I was planning on trying to mill out some sheet aluminum 3/16 or 1/4" and make it nice, with a matte black finish and all, but I was thinking of just some heavy black matte board too......

I designed one like that for a Zone VI enlarger, and it was a big disappointment. The best and easiest to use carriers have some type of frame around each piece of glass. Just look at the Durst and Beseler glass carriers.

I think your best bet would be to buy a Beseler 4x5 glass carrier and modify it. Adjust the hinge or file the opening larger to accept larger glass. The basic design of the Beseler carrier is hard to beat.

I noted on Dead Link Removed that he modifies Beseler carriers for his precision masking carriers.

 

[DanielStone]

what about just taking two pieces of say 1/4(top) and 1/8(bottom) glass and sandwiching them? using a tape hinge? low budget, but effective?


of course using black gaffers(or paper tape, something thinner than the neg, or just marking with a scratch on each corner, for relative positioning?

-dan

 

[resummerfield]

what about just taking two pieces of say 1/4(top) and 1/8(bottom) glass and sandwiching them? using a tape hinge? low budget, but effective?.......

That will work! Just be sure to tape the entire perimeter of each glass, or light will exit through the glass edges and possibly add some fog to the print.

 

[DanielStone]

I'll be making a trip back to my glazier tomorrow after class to order some!

thanks guys!!!


i'll let you all know how things turn out!

-Dan

 

[DanielStone]

well I got the glass today and out the sucker together, I'll be testing it out in the lab at school tomorrow.

I'm going to have to find a new glazier local to me. Mine is way too expensive. 32.95 for (2) 6x8" 1/8" thick sheets of glass with knocked edges. ouch.

But so far, my duct tape hinge seems like it will work quite well.

I've got it wrapped up in a box waiting to be used, so I'll add pictures tomorrow of it in use. and report back as to how it works out.

thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.


-Dan

 

[DanielStone]

so,

got the glass, built it, but I'm very dissapointed

newton rings everywhere. And my glazier sucks. I asked for glass that didn't have any scratches, but I got two pieces back that had some nice little hairline scratches.

I'm angry.... But after spending some nice green for these pieces of sh!t, I'm ready to bash heads in.

and all the enlargers at school don't allow me to print full frame (with rebate) from 4x5. yesterday turned from bad to worse.

otherwise, I held better focus across the entire negative WITH the glass carrier than without, but the NR's made my head spin.


any ideas?

I'm getting so hooked on 4x5, but I want to print with the rebate of the film, so the viewer(if they understand what the rebate is without telling them first) understands they're seeing the entire
frame, uncropped. so they see exactly how I composed it in the 1st place.

I think it adds a little bit of an artistic element too, not just another picture, etc.... but something to be different. cause I like to be different .

-Dan

 

[polyglot]

You can get enlarger glass from KHB Photo in Canada, and they sell over eBay too. I got replacement glass intended for an LPL 4x5 enlarger - one plain bottom glass and one anti-newton top glass. I made a neg carrier by milling plastic, though mine was for a 4x5 scanner and it seems the scanner can see the texture of the AN glass However, in theory you'll be fine using AN glass in a diffusion enlarger.
4x5 AN top glass

 

[dpurdy]

A 4x5 negative usually lays very flat. You could just lay the negative on top a sheet of unscratched glass with a mat board cut out on top.

 

[DanielStone]

thanks dennis,

I'll try that. Will newton rings still show up. even with bottom glass only?

-Dan

 

[resummerfield]

.....Will newton rings still show up. even with bottom glass only?

No. Newton rings normally do not appear between the film emulsion and the glass, so the bottom glass need not be anti-newton ring glass. Also, to form Newton rings, the top surface of the negative must be firmly pressed to the glass.

 

[polyglot]

Just to be difficult, I find I get NR with Acros laying on plain glass; maybe its emulsion is smoother/shinier?

 

[DanielStone]

oh well, I'll just have to scrounge up some neg holders(glassless) and file em' out.

its ok though. I'll be only doing color darkroom work for contact sheets for now on after this semester. I don't have the time to do anything but contact sheets it seems right now. And scanning the film gives me the ultimate control I like to have.

B/w though, I'll still stick to the darkroom for sure for printing my good stuff.

-Dan