Securing an Omega D2 enlarger to the wall

Hi all!
I just got an Omega D2 enlarger ( actually the Simmon Omega ) with condenser head. I looked at manual and service manual but I couldn't find how to secure the enlarger to the wall to prevent head shaking while printing. Does anybody knows if there is a proper way to do it? For example, my Durst 138 has two holes at the very top where you can screw a T-shaped wall brace in.
I see there is a small "hook" in the D2, just behind the head, that seems made to secure the enlarger somehow, but I can't be sure as it is not reported in any manual I have seen.
What I'd like to do is using its wooden baseboard and secure the head to the wall
Thanks in advance for any help you will provide!

Emanuele

P.S. : it seems like I posted in the wrong section, please have mercy

You can do this a number of ways, but if you don't mount the enlarger to the table top or secure the wooden base to the table top solidly, it's not going to remain level or relatively vibration free.

If the wooden base can slide around even slightly, it will change the geometry of the column/head in relation to the printing surface.

The enlarger can be removed from the wooden base and the existing hardware can be used to mount it to the enlarger table or you can run a few countersunk wood screws down through the base to firmly attach it to the table.

I have run a fine, woven steel cable with a turnbuckle from the top of the column to the wall which allows fine tuning of the column angle.

I have also used a pair of rigid aluminum angle brackets in the shape of a "V" with the base attached to the column top for a more rigid, but less adjustable brace.

Both means can be accomplished by locating screws at the top of the column that can removed, bracing material inserted and then tightened.

The D2 column is reasonably rigid to begin with, so it shouldn’t need a brace to the wall. I think you could probably use the screw holes that are used to mount the counterbalance springs as an anchor point for a brace (which you’d have to fabricate). You might need to install longer screws to accomplish this.

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-coll/manuals/enlargers/omega/D2 Condenser and Dichro.pdf

At one time, Omega offered the part you want. I’ve never seen one, so I don’t know the method of attachment.
There are two versions listed on the D2 page under “Accessories.”

“429-095 Heavy Duty Wall Brace

429-097 Heavy Duty Wall Brace (later type)"

You might wish to contact KHB for further information.

http://www.khbphotografix.com/omega/Enlargers/D2.htm

Thank you all for your kind replies and suggestions! I'll check and see which solution is best for my needs, maybe I'll be able to mount it on a table and then secure it to the wall they way you said

You might have to either drill a couple of holes at the top of the girder or fabricate a plate to fit the existing holes. Then it is easy to make a bracket to fix the enlarger to the wall. Here is my D5, I know the D2 is not quite the same--the D5 had a provision for a brace already.

Pieter12 said:

You might have to either drill a couple of holes at the top of the girder or fabricate a plate to fit the existing holes. Then it is easy to make a bracket to fix the enlarger to the wall. Here is my D5, I know the D2 is not quite the same--the D5 had a provision for a brace already.

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Thanks very much for your reply, I see now how to secure it.
However, mine is different ( older ) and it is the following model, maybe I will have to act differently

This should give you an idea: http://store.khbphotografix.com/Heavy-Duty-Wall-Brace-for-Omega-D-and-E-series-Enlargers.html

If you can, first build or buy a box made of 2"x4" or 2"x6" lumber, preferably Douglas For, with a bottom made of strong plywood or more fir.

Place a form fitted high mil plastic sheet and double the top edges for heavy stapling.

Fill about halfway with fine sand and cover the top of the evenly spread sand with a series of single, but very tightly rolled news papers 'dowels', wired tightly, not held together by tape, rubber bands, strings

Repeat the application of heavy mil plastic or better yet, tightly woven or rubber coated fabric, (dark out drape material will do) fitted and stapled securely all around the top of the box.

This box should absorb even minor vibrations that come through the supporting table or bench, up through the enlargers base plate, which is now lowered into the repaired box, about a inch wider than the baseboard, on all four sides.

Level the enlarger board securely and then use a semi rigid wall brace to mount the head to the wall, keeping things level from base to lens board.

IMO, this set-up should minimize vibrations through the bench legs, the worse offender, even when secured to the floor.

The basic box design with sand and 'rollers' sans liner and cover, was made to make speakers and turntables impervious to most vibrations, sound, traffic, or walking across the floor, so I believe this is your best bet, short of mounting the enlarger to thick granite slabs, like I've done for two of three on my bench.

Just be sure to roll the finished, wired paper rolls about one and a half to two inches thick so they are what supports the baseboard, not the sand, which deadens vibrations and allows the rolls to roll 'out' any vibrations that would otherwise run up into the enlarger.

An easy build, just control the sands and let the top fabric be static free from dust

I must be lucky but the Simmon Omega D2V enlarger I've used for the last 30 years doesn't shake. No wall connection is made or needed, ever. The only precautions I take are to make sure the long thin lift lever is not vibrating and also to step back from the enlarger after inserting and focussing a negative. After three or four seconds the enlarger is sure to be perfectly still and I can press the timer switch to start the exposure.

Mine doesn't move. The cabinet it's on is on a concrete floor. The wall is far more likely to vibrate than that.

But if it had to be done, you could buy a two shelf angle brackets and fasten them to the wall and the inside of the mast, at the top, on each side. You might lose an inch of available elevation (I'm not sure).

I removed my D2 from the baseboard, and secured it to an enlarger deck secured to a 2x4 glued and secured into a concrete block wall. It was definitely immovable and possibly overkill. I didn't need any wall brace at the top. I think in a 7.0 earthquake it may have shimmied a little but not much!

p.s. a wonderful enlarger, used with an rh designs timer, (another item built like a brick wall), never failed, always a joy. can you tell i miss them?

Yes, it does require a judgement call.

If the wall you are going to attach the enlarger to is a concrete basement wall, that is one thing. If it's a common, stud wall with a busy traffic hall next to the dark room, no way...

jvo said:

I removed my D2 from the baseboard, and secured it to an enlarger deck secured to a 2x4 glued and secured into a concrete block wall. It was definitely immovable and possibly overkill. I didn't need any wall brace at the top. I think in a 7.0 earthquake it may have shimmied a little but not much!

p.s. a wonderful enlarger, used with an rh designs timer, (another item built like a brick wall), never failed, always a joy. can you tell i miss them?

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My D5 is attached to the wall with the Omega wall bracket, screwed to a 2x6 that spans 2 studs. I still use the top brace (as recommended by Omega) No vibrations, ever. Plus, the garage cum darkroom has a concrete slab floor. This arrangement places the enlarger about 8" above where the baseboard would normally sit, so making larger prints is a bit easier, but making small prints is a bit of a challenge--I usually go for a longer lens when I need to make small prints..

These two Omega D5500 have been in place for 22 years without needing fixation at the top. I put extra bracing under the counter top and the floor is concrete. I do use a foot pedal and make sure I don't touch anything prior to the exposure.

Pieter12 said:

My D5 is attached to the wall with the Omega wall bracket, screwed to a 2x6 that spans 2 studs. I still use the top brace (as recommended by Omega) No vibrations, ever. Plus, the garage cum darkroom has a concrete slab floor. This arrangement places the enlarger about 8" above where the baseboard would normally sit, so making larger prints is a bit easier, but making small prints is a bit of a challenge--I usually go for a longer lens when I need to make small prints..
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Where did you get the bottom bracket?

I believe it came with the enlarger when I bought it used. But KHB should have it and you can always check eBay.

I use a tape measure to check (and set) the height of my Omega D2. The enlarger just sits on a small “bookshelf” that doesn’t wobble but is not structurally very solid.

Inertia is your friend. The enlarger is very solid on its own.

I’ve discovered when I leave the tape measure standing with tape extended… it will waver like a skyscraper in an earthquake every time I touch a control or bump the table.

But the motion is quickly damped. For a while I kept the tape on the easel like a metronome.

I’ve internalized the time for the motion to stop, so I don’t think about it any more.

The timer, of course, is on the other side of the darkroom where it won’t shake the table when I start it.

tkamiya said:

Where did you get the bottom bracket?

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Do a search on Ebay and if you don't find what you want at that moment, save it. Set up email on this search to alert you when a new item is placed on the website.

In my case I created a platform (shelf) approximately 12 " wide that I bolted to the wall. Make sure it is level. It was buttressed underneath to support the weight of the enlarger(s) . The enlarger was mounted on the platform. The hook you refer to on your model I attached a wire (Braided Picture Frame Wire) with a turnbuckle and attached it to the wall. Lay a level on the negative carrier platform and adjust the turnbuckle until it shows level. At that point you can project to the floor below as the optics bypass the 12'' platform. If you need to make smaller prints I fabricated a table that you could slid below the enlarger. I mounted both my D2V and D5 to the 12" platform side by each.

Thank you all for all the kind suggestions! One of those will surely fit my needs!