The Laborator has landed

MurrayMinchin

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A good friend gave me his 5x7 Laborator 138s yesterday...man what a beast to carry up stairs and through doors! He's still using 4x5, but has decided to go with the ink squirt method of print making and didn't want to see the enlarger get lonely and unused.

As far as I can tell it's the whole shebang, including about ten lamps and a timer from the stone age that goes down to tenths of a second.

Now I just need to connect the electrical outlet and get water into the darkroom...

Anybody have this monster too? Tips?

Murray
 

36cm2

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I had one for a while. They're very robust and a great workhorse, if you have the space.
 

Reinhold

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Big, isn't it...
Make certain your floor joists are solid (chuckle).
Watch out for that spring in the column, it's been said that that thing could kill if it got away...

I got rid of mine a few years ago, but just found a spare, unused bulb, Sylvania # 301. (300 watts ??).

PM me if you're interested in it.

Reinhold

classicBWphoto.com
 

jp80874

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Murray,

Congratulations. You don’t mention a manual. If needed you can find that, a brochure and much more at http://www.durst-pro-usa.com/library.html. Scroll down to items 28 and 29 for a start, but also look around. I have been using a 138S with an Aristo cold light conversion for 8x10 negatives for about four years and have been very happy. Good luck with yours.

John Powers
 
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MurrayMinchin

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Thanks for the link John

Murray
 

quine666

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Hopefully, you won't have to move it again, but for future reference the enlarger actually comes apart into 4 pieces (mostly without tools), each of which can be carried by a single person -- the manual linked in another post explains how to do this. The 138 is actually the most portable of the Durst floor-standing enlargers.

I recommend bolting it to the wall to minimize wobble -- there are some metric screw threads (if you're lucky, still with bolts) at the top of the column to do this. I used some brackets made for house construction I found at a home improvement store to stabilize mine.

There are some small screws on the collar that goes around the column that let you take up the slack on the bearings. My bearings were very loose when I brought mine home. You can also lubricate with machine oil (again, see the manual).

Best of luck with your new find. Mine is the last enlarger I will ever buy...

Cheers,

-andrew
 
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MurrayMinchin

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quine666 said:
Hopefully, you won't have to move it again, but for future reference the enlarger actually comes apart into 4 pieces (mostly without tools), each of which can be carried by a single person -- the manual linked in another post explains how to do this.
Click to expand...

Now that would have been nice to know!

Murray
 

rrankin

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I had a 4x5 version and loved it. Actually, 2 of them.

However, I will echo about that wire under tension. IIRC it has something to do with the counter-balance. Mine came off and whipped around. Luckily it missed my head, but it would have ripped serious gashes, even if it might not have killed. It was the scariest and most dangerous thing to ever happen to me in the dark room by far. If it got your throat, I'd believe that it could kill you.

Cheers, Richard
 

photoncatcher

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Does this make you a Laborator retreiver? Sorry I just couldn't help myself.
 

Marco B

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Congrats! Don't have one, but if my L1200 is anything to go by, it will be a great joy to use once you sort it all out.


If it is the exact same construction as on my L1200, which has a metal plate spring too, than the point is that there actually isn't a counter weight!

A counter weight would have been "safe" as it would balance out the weight of the head on the other side of the column. A counter weight would allow light movement without force, but put in a lot of extra weight to the enlarger. I guess this is why Durst choose to use this strange "metal spring" construction, to save weight... No problem under normal conditions, but I would sure not like to disassemble the stuff... :confused:

photoncatcher said:
Does this make you a Laborator retreiver? Sorry I just couldn't help myself.
Click to expand...

 

GregY

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Murray I think you'll really like it. I have one as well. I was looking for a 5x7 enlarger and stumbled over mine at the Camera Store in Calgary. Apart from a little tape on the bellows it's a charm. Hard to beat prints from 5x7 negs.
That enlarger is a catch for sure!
 

Hexavalent

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I've just joined the club too!

The beast (it's larger in person than in pictures!) + all sorts of lenses, carriers, condensens, Ilford Head, and other goodies are being collected next weekend.
It's total overkill for my current purposes - looks like I'll have to take up LF now
 
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