Unsharpen mask

Hi,
I would like to try some masking on a 4x5 neg I shot the other day. I bought some ortho film I want to use for the mask, but I do not have a densitometer. I tried to follow the explanation in 'way beyond monochrom', but I am a bit lost on how to determine the correct exposure for the mask. My original negative prints good with a 2.5 filter. If I understood correctly a common approach is to raise the filter/paper grade by about 2 . So following the book the mask should have a density of around 0.42 is this correct? How can I get in the ballpark without a densitometer?
I am sorry if the answer to my question should be obvious. Thank you for your help!

Kindest regards
Dennis


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If you are working with Ralph Lambrecht's book, Way Beyond Monochrome, you may want to PM him here on APUG to direct his attention to this thread.

Thank you Matt!

MattKing said:

If you are working with Ralph Lambrecht's book, Way Beyond Monochrome, you may want to PM him here on APUG to direct his attention to this thread.

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dear Dennis,
the mask should look like a faint positive.just bracket a few exposures to get close.you'll find that an accurate density helps but is not a necessity. to tell the truth,Iwould be lost in my darkroom without a densitometer.I use it for every print to get the shado density just right. thank you Mr. Heiland.

Thank you Ralph, I will give it a try and see where I am getting with it. I sure would like to own a densitometer as well, but they cost an arm and a leg ... Thanks again for your help, have a great start into this new week everyone,
Dennis


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