Super Chromega C Dichroic - problem with raising cable

[horacekenneth]

I just got a Super Chromega C Dichroic and it looks awesome. It hasn't been used in a while and I'm working on cleaning it up. The chromega head raises very nicely from the bottom up to about 23 inches (max is 30). At 24 inches the cable stops getting taken up (I think?) and just bends and pushes upward.

I can't find much about this enlarger online. Any ideas on how to fix this? What exactly is the cable for?

 

[Ian C]

The cable is attached to a wind-up counterbalance spring. The idea is that if you raise the head, the counterbalance spring supplies approximately the same lifting force as the weight of the head & carriage so that these stay in place and don’t drop like a bomb.


If the cable fails to retract at the top of its travel, it’s possible that the spring is damaged or that something somehow fell into the mechanism. The spring is generally a window-counterbalance-spring assembly whose original purpose is to counterbalance a double-hung window. Omega has long used these as they are a ready-made unit and relatively inexpensive. Omega often used Pullman sash balances. Pullman Manufacturing Corp. has long been in business in Rochester, New York.


http://www.pullmanbalances.com/?gclid=CPWN7Luho8MCFQmNaQodvqwAtg

 

[DREW WILEY]

Acme sash window balances are dime a dozen at architectural salvage years, and are still made. There are different ones of different amts of weight. But they wear out and tarnish, so are not exactly ideal. If you want a more elegant solution try a dumb-waiter pulley device. I made one using stainless cable (rustproof), attached to a simple glued ABS pipe "torpedo", which I then filled with just the right amt of lead shotgun shot. Or you could buy a fancy overhead adjustable-tension "tool balancer" from someone like Grainger if you have the budget.

 

[horacekenneth]

Thanks guys! Those all sound like great suggestions.

I've taken it apart now and found the counterbalance spring mentioned. It's a very self-contained part. It does seem that if I could find a similarly sized one it would fit right where the old one did. I exercised the cable a bit and it seemed to improve. I am going to spray some silicon spray in there tomorrow and see if that helps. I may not need to replace it after all, at least not yet.

Thanks again.

H