Procedure for aligning De Vere 504

Hi everyone -

Can anyone assist in guiding the best service/maintenance procedure for aligning a De Vere 504 (bench model)? I’ve had to move the machine around a couple of times in the past year, now that it’s all set up ready to rock - my first prints seem to be out a little. I think it may be the baseboard?? I’m not too sure. I admit I don’t think it’s ever aligned (it’s around a 30 year old machine, I’ve owned it 5 years). Any help would be appreciated!!

Check lens to negative alignment first. That is most critical. The baseboard can be off a few millimeters and still give corner-to-corner sharp grain.

Hi FL at CC,

I had the same problem with my 504, I ended up using old pennies and shilling coins as shims! You could check the lens panel and the negative stage are parallel and that the negative carrier is holding the negative flat.

The 504 head *and* negative stage can be independently tilted, so check they are correctly aligned. The movements should 'click-stop' when centralised.

You didn't say which head you have. If you're using an incandescent light source, the heat can cause negatives to 'pop', which can de-focus the image projected onto the baseboard. Medium and large-format negs are worse than smaller formats. If you have the Cathomag head or use an LED source you can ignore this.

If you don't have a focus-finder, consider buying one. It will save you paper and time (and hair!) in the long run.

That's all I can think of for now. I've attached two versions of the 504 manual. One is "new" and the other is "complete". Take you pick. I hope you find it useful.

Good luck and happy printing,
kevs

The there kevs!!

Thanks indeed for the fantastic response! This is much appreciated and thanks for the attachments!
I’m actually using an Ilfospeed 500H on my 504, so incandescent (this thing gets hot! though such a great head to use). Say to check the level of the negative stages, would it be best to take the head off to allow better access for a level? Also the manual describes in the section for adjustment of “inserts” when adjusting the neg and lens stages. Where would I find these exactly?

Thanks again!!

No problem, I'm glad you found them useful.

Yes, they do kick out some heat, and that could be popping your negatives. Mine has a Varicon head, which originally had a 150 watt bulb but I've since converted to LEDs. The 504s my Uni were fitted with Multigrade heads, which were great because we didn't need to faff with VC filters. They did, however, pop my negatives.

You shouldn't need to take off the head to check the alignment of the negative and lens stages. First, level the baseboard (assuming you don't have a wall-mounted model) using a spirit level. Then use a tape measure or spirit level to check the stages are parallel to the baseboard. You could also use a mobile phone with suitable app. iPhones have an electronic level in the compass app, and you can probably find a similar app for Android devices.

The tilt adjustment for the lens stage is a lockable lever located behind the lens throat, and the one for the negative stage is on the left behind the 'lift pin' lever. The 'inserts' are located behind each of the stages. It's a while since I used my 504 so I might have mis-remebered stuff, but it's in the manual (page 18 or 35). My 504 is still a bit out of whack in that respect -- winter project ahoy!

Cheers,
kevs