Wall Mount Saunders LPL 4500 II

galyons · Apr 5, 2004

Hi All!
My darkroom project is finally getting near completion. I painted this weekend. I am planning to wall mount my LPL 4500 II. B&H has the "best" price on the factory kit, but at $100+ for a couple of metal brackets seems, well...you know!!

I have built, what I hope will be, a very flexible enlarger station, based on wall mounting the column and head. I structurally reinforced the bearing wall so I have a "rock solid" mounting area. I want to be able to maintain critical alignment, so I built adjustment into the rails for the platen.

Anyone in the community have experience with the factory wall mounts or alternatives?

Thanks,
Geary

KenM · Apr 5, 2004

I have the factory wall mount, and I can definitely recommend it. It's very sturdy, and very easy to adjust. Yes, it's a few pieces of cast steel, but it's made for the enlarger, and dead easy to install.

If you do use the factory kit, make sure the plate that mounts to the top of the column is mounted correctly. I had a few head scratching moments when I was trying to figure out how the bracked was supposed to attach to the wall without stressing the column - turns out the mounting hole on top of the column is off center. Flipped it around, and it worked fine.

I should also mention that the mounting brackets came with my enlarger so I didn't have to purchase them separately. Would I have purchased them? Probably, but I would have whined about the price :-D

galyons · Apr 7, 2004

Ken,
Thanks for the input. Wish my unit had come with the wall mounts!! Glad to here that they are, at least, quality for the price!!

Cheers,
Geary

Aggie · Apr 7, 2004

Ken didn't you start a thread about your wall mounting experiences? Gary might learn some good things from it.

KenM · Apr 7, 2004

Yeah, that was here:

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

Nothing really useful in the post however...but funny anyways.

Donald Miller · Apr 7, 2004

I don't have the wall mount kit on my 4550 VCCE or on any enlarger that I have ever owned...I just stand still when I make an exposure.

galyons · Apr 7, 2004

Don,
Well as the ol' chestnut goes "we aren't in Kansas anymore." Here in CA "standing still" is a state of being not often visited by the ground beneath my feet!!

This will be my first time to wall mount the enlarger. Same mission as Ken's, perhaps occasionally making prints bigger than my normal 8X10 or 11X14. Or, heh!, maybe 15 min exposure AZO enlarged prints...!!

Cheers,
Geary

Donald Miller · Apr 7, 2004

galyons said:
Don,
Well as the ol' chestnut goes "we aren't in Kansas anymore." Here in CA "standing still" is a state of being not often visited by the ground beneath my feet!!

This will be my first time to wall mount the enlarger. Same mission as Ken's, perhaps occasionally making prints bigger than my normal 8X10 or 11X14. Or, heh!, maybe 15 min exposure AZO enlarged prints...!!

Cheers,
Geary

Geary, I hear you on the earth moving...however a wall mount probably will not get you a sharp print if a tremor hits anymore then when a tornado hits here. Good luck

Bruce Osgood · Apr 7, 2004

RE: Wall Mount Saunders LPL 4500 II

I have an Omega and wall mounted it to find that when the head is raised the projected image walks off the easel onto the floor. My counter is 26" deep so I "found" a set of dinning room table extension slides and cut the counter and installed them. Now when the images starts to move I simply "extend" the counter out as far as 40". It is very ridged and level, the only problem is a lot of stuff falls off the back thru the gap. I need a safety net for the grain focuser.

galyons · Apr 9, 2004

Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the input. My old "workhorse" is a D2V with Aristo cold light head. If yours is similar, does the image "walk out" because of the angled column?

Cheers,
Geary

Bruce Osgood · Apr 9, 2004

galyons said:
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the input. My old "workhorse" is a D2V with Aristo cold light head. If yours is similar, does the image "walk out" because of the angled column?

Cheers,
Geary

Exactly. The top of my D-5 XL stands off from the wall about 18" and the lens an additional 7". This means if I were to make a maximum elevation print, the center of the image would be 25" from the wall. Mathmatically it is conceivable I could make a print 40" the short side. I don't expect to be doing this.

galyons · May 5, 2004

Hi All,
Well! I got lucky. Found a NIB set of LPL brackets for the 4500 on the 'Bay! $40 bucks so... NO WHINING from me!!

Ken is right. The brackets are very well made and substantial. Now I hope he is equally correct on the ease of mounting ;-)

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Cheers,
Geary

KenM · May 5, 2004

galyons said:
Hi All,
Well! I got lucky. Found a NIB set of LPL brackets for the 4500 on the 'Bay! $40 bucks so... NO WHINING from me!!

Ken is right. The brackets are very well made and substantial. Now I hope he is equally correct on the ease of mounting ;-)

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Cheers,
Geary

Me, right? Have no fear.....I've never been wrong.

Well, once, I guess, but I was mistaken.

parker_db · Aug 1, 2005

Saunders 4500 LPL - Negative Stage

Geary I just read the thread about your brackets. I have a used Saunders 4500 LPL that I purchase from the "'Bay" that was modified by Condit for pin registration. I want to un-modify it, but have never seen an un-modified Saunders. The modification seems to be between the lower portion of the negative stage and the head, in that there was a shim location where these two bolt together. Once this shim was taken out and the two pieces bolted back together there is still way to much space between the upper and lower portion of the negative stage. I have never been able to look at an un-modified Saunders 4500 and was wondering I perchance you had a digital or analog photo you could share so I can understand what is missing? I have not been able to find a photo or any other detail about this area of the enlarger on the InterNet to date.

Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Al

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