Nikor 6x7 and general enlarger questions

[c-mo]

Hola, APUG! I've been lurking for a while but hadn't got around to posting until now. I've been processing B&W for about 6 months but am totally new to the printing side of things.

My dad has gone digital and I just "inherited" his old printing setup. The enlarger is a Honeywell Nikor 6x7 Dichroic unit. According to my research here and elsewhere, this enlarger (and its Rollei-branded equivalent) were almost identical to the LPL C76. As we have no manual or documentation for this enlarger, and it has been in storage since I was born (25 years ago), I haven't been able to find out much about it. I'm hoping someone here has used (or still uses) this system and would be able to help me out.

1) The baseboard spent a quarter of a century in a New Orleans attic, and it's badly warped. How difficult would it be to build a DIY baseboard? Home Depot plywood can be quite warped itself, so what materials would you use and how would you make sure everything is level?

2) I tried to sidestep the baseboard issue by using a piece of ceramic tile ($0.99 for 17x17 at Lowe's) as a makeshift borderless easel, but I still have trouble with soft areas on my prints. I suspect that if I do build my own baseboard, I will still have alignment or film flatness issues.

How do I align this thing? There are set screws used during assembly that seem to have no "play" for alignment, and a lot of other screws that I'm a little afraid to start playing with willy-nilly.

Were there ever glass carriers made for the C76? If not, how can you make sure the negative is flat in a glassless carrier?

 

[Lee L]

Use MDF for a new baseboard, available at Home Depot. Covering both top and bottom with formica (and perhaps edge banding it if you have the skills/tools) would increase stability. MDF is very flat and very stiff. Home Depot would also cut to your dimensions. Gluing two thicknesses together would also help. You'll need some spacing below the baseboard for clearance for the head of the wing bolt that holds the column. IIRC, there's also a metal plate below the baseboard with turned edges for flatness and stiffness that you could remove and re-use.

There's not much alignment possible on this enlarger. IIRC, there is a machine screw on the housing that holds the column to the baseboard that will allow some adjustment to the front/back tilt of the column.

I've not seen a glass carrier for this enlarger.

Lee

 

[Elox]

i THINK the current LPL 670/6700 carriers will work so you might try ebay, Adorama, and B&H.

 

[John Koehrer]

+1 on the two layers of MDF & Formica.

 

[c-mo]

Thanks. I'm visiting the folks for Christmas and will have a garage to work in for about a week. Will hopefully have enough time to make a new baseboard and a couple of easels. I also found a tip online about using a sink cutout from a counter surface -- fortunately, I have a friend who works for an interior design firm who may be able to get me one. I plan to get a 4x5 enlarger in about a year or so, but in the meantime there's no reason to let a free enlarger go to waste

 

[Jon Shiu]

I use the glass negative carrier for my LPL 670, has Anti-Newton ring glass on top. Works very well, but is a bit expensive.

Jon

 

[Lee L]

I also found a tip online about using a sink cutout from a counter surface -- fortunately, I have a friend who works for an interior design firm who may be able to get me one.

That's a good idea, but watch for whether it's particle board counter substrate or MDF. The particle board will bend much more easily, and gluing two sink cut outs back-to-back would be advisable. Particle board is lighter and has visible small chips of wood in it. MDF is more of a compressed (50,000 PSI) wood powder and binder that is darker and smoother with no real visible individual wood chips. Also seal edges, at minimum with paint. Both MDF and particle board easily absorb water, especially at the cut edges, and then swell up and start to disintegrate.

Lee

 

[ic-racer]

I agree with Lee. Also, I'd like to share my experience with a 'home made' baseboard that came on an Omega D5500 4x5 enlarger I purchased.

The baseboard was professionally made and covered with Formica or a similar product. It looked nice...however, for some reason the center portion of the baseboard was only 3/4" thick, whereas the surrounding area was about 1.5" inch thick. When the enlarger was mounted on the board the thinner central portion of the board flexed, effectively making the enlarger column spring-loaded. It oscillated with the slightest touch.

So, basically the baseboard was junk. I wound up using it as a ramp to get my 8x10 Durst enlarger over the threshold to my darkroom door and then threw it out. I found an original baseboard, buy chance, on e-bay. The original baseboard is 1 3/8" thick (40mm).

To make a long story short; if you are going to make a baseboard, ensure that it is thick enough. Also, you never know when a baseboard might show up on e-bay.