Replacing a Baseboard

[mehguy]

Ok so I have a little enlarger with a fairly small baseboard. I recently got an 11x14 easel and a larger baseboard from a thrift store. Now the 11x14 easel teeters of the small baseboard. Am I able to replace the base board?

 

[MattKing]

Ok so I have a little enlarger with a fairly small baseboard. I recently got an 11x14 easel and a larger baseboard from a thrift store. Now the 11x14 easel teeters of the small baseboard. Am I able to replace the base board?

Sure. It is just a matter of making the part of your enlarger that connects to the existing base, connect instead with the larger base.

The challenge is to make sure that the connection results in your new base providing a surface that is parallel with the negative stage. That is a matter of good carpentry/metalwork skills as much as anything.

 

[grahamp]

If the new baseboard is plane parallel on both surfaces, you could probably just fix it on top of the existing one, and not detach the column. You would lose a little maximum magnification. Either way you will need to finesse the alignment for best results, but it is not too difficult.

 

[paul ron]

get a small sheet of 3/4" MDO plywood. its waterproof, very strong n stable.
give it a nice coat of satin varnish or flat black n you're good to go.

 

[BMbikerider]

You describe your enlarger as 'small' so how big are the prints you can make with it? Have you considered making a wall mount for the column and using the table as a baseboard? It is easy to make a stable platform on which to mount the base of the column which will let you bring the column out from the wall by up to 6" or so and at the same time give you a longer throw to get a bigger image.

the top of the column will have to be secured to ensure stability and at the same time allow for adjustment to ensure the column is truly 90 degrees plaine and parallel to the base. Get all of this right and you will be assured of an enlarger with absolutely no vibration problems.

 

[Jim Jones]

MDO may be overkill for an enlarger baseboard. I would use less expensive 3/4" plywood. Make sure the top and bottom plies run from front to back instead of sideways for maximum resistance to warping. BMbikerider's suggestion is also good.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Companies that install sinks often sell the cutouts from the counter tops. The ones having a formica top and wooden base are perfect baseboard replacements when trimmed and made square. They are very reasonable or even given away.

 

[Jim Jones]

Counter tops are usually made from some kind of particle board that warps under the pressure exerted by an enlarger. I've had to replace original baseboards because of this warping.

 

[Jim Jones]

Searching for wall mounting enlargers or something like it will lead to articles like these:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

http://www.shutterbug.com/content/darkroombrwall-mounting-enlargers#bXhu5iUbObjXhyvv.97

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Sure. It is just a matter of making the part of your enlarger that connects to the existing base, connect instead with the larger base.

The challenge is to make sure that the connection results in your new base providing a surface that is parallel with the negative stage. That is a matter of good carpentry/metalwork skills as much as anything.

Sure; just keep the old board for the hole pattern to attach the column again.Alignment will be needed but that's no different than verifying the alignment once in a while anyway.

 

[mehguy]

Ok so I have an enlarger with this kind of mount... How would I take it off??


Also, I want to mount it on this base board.

 

[paul ron]

MDO may be overkill for an enlarger baseboard. I would use less expensive 3/4" plywood. Make sure the top and bottom plies run from front to back instead of sideways for maximum resistance to warping. BMbikerider's suggestion is also good.

mdo is the most dimensionally stable in the plywood family. the surfaces are perfectly smooth and completely waterproof, made of wood by products n plastic resin. plywood has gaps n irregularities between the plys, made with inferior veneers and is amost always warped accross the width right from the factory. plywood dimentionally changes with humidity n temperature on a daily basis.

if you do go with plywood, get baltic birch or maple solid core furniture grade ply. these are the most solid plywood products on the market almost as good as mdo but costs 10x as much.

 

[paul ron]

Ok so I have an enlarger with this kind of mount... How would I take it off??
View attachment 161810

Also, I want to mount it on this base board.

View attachment 161811

use your old base as a template.

btw that base is made with a paper coated particle board that will swell if it gets wet.

 

[M Carter]

Yeah guys, he doesn't need a baseboard, he just needs to attach it...

Chances are the enlarger mounts with some kind of threaded bolt vs. wood screws... and that the baseboard uses T-nuts... (but then, looking at your photo... I dunno...)

So, you need to ID the thread size of whatever bolts are used... take one to a hardware store. Then you need the right thread of t-nuts, and a way to drill a clean, straight hole for the t-nuts in the new holes in the new board.

If that's not the case, I'd just take the old baseboard to a hardware store (with the mount on it) and have them tell you what you need. Chances are you'll need to drill a hole or two or three through...

 

[Jim Jones]

mdo is the most dimensionally stable in the plywood family. the surfaces are perfectly smooth and completely waterproof, made of wood by products n plastic resin. plywood has gaps n irregularities between the plys, made with inferior veneers and is amost always warped accross the width right from the factory. plywood dimentionally changes with humidity n temperature on a daily basis.

if you do go with plywood, get baltic birch or maple solid core furniture grade ply. these are the most solid plywood products on the market almost as good as mdo but costs 10x as much.

I stand corrected. Another source said MDO was particle board with a fine finish. I have no experience with MDO, but have replaced original enlarger baseboards made of particle board. Pine plywood worked well as long as the enlarger column had a large enough foot surface that it wouldn't compress the plywood. Thirty years ago I bought a 4x5 DeJur enlarger that came with a large homemade 3/4" hardwood plywood base. After shimming the column into plumb once, it has served perfectly since then.