The left-hand knob (hanging down) adjusts fine focus and shouldn't be the cause of your problem. The fact that it doesn't seem to do anything suggests something wrong in the drive. Everything appears normal to me as regards the condensers and main bellows focusing. That only leaves the lens. If you've just received it, do you know if it works as it should?
Probably and hopefully not.
These are the 2 most common attachments for the dangling rod.
They both attach and operate in a similar way and are swappable.
The plastic version goes brittle and perishes over time and could be broken. Hence, not functioning.
Alternatively, one or more of the tiny, minute, miniscule Allen/hex keys, of either mechanism, may have come loose or gone awry.
Both fittings are fairly common to get hold of and very easy and simple to fit. I bought and replaced mine. And I ordered extra set's, just incase!
Personally, I've never needed to venture any further than replacing the 'joints'.
It's quite remarkable how considerable the effort/friction needs to be in order to drive the mechanism. And I don't believe it's just a matter of lack of use or maintenance. There appears to be quite a few, relatively small cogs that drive the mechanism and that leads to or delivers some friction.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing otherwise the lens stage would never stay put and just sink to the bottom!
In all likelihood, if the rod is turning, it will almost certainly be the joint.
If it were anything "bigger", more major, serious... the whole mechanism would probably just lock up fast and the rod just wouldn't be able to turn and deliver anywhere near the power needed to drive those cogs.
Put it this way, I believe the joint would give-up and fail long, long, long before the internal drive mechanism. And the joint takes quite a bit of wear & tear.
Thanks Marty. I'll have another look at it next Thursday when I'm at the darkroom again.
If it is as I suspect, then these are the exact items, details taken from my invoice, that you will need. There's not much between them. I've taken the liberty of giving the OZ supplier, but you may be able to find a more local, cheaper, easier alternative but at least you know what you're after. That is, if it is indeed a coupling/joint issue, of which I hope it is.
https://au.element14.com/huco/047102...eel/dp/7215617
https://au.element14.com/huco/103p13...joint%20single
Thanks Marty. I was expecting the price to be in the hundreds of dollars. A pleasant surprise.
The issue has finally been found and fixed. It turns ut that some one has, in the past, changed the stop screw on the rails that the bellows go on. It has now been adjusted back to where it was and the enlarger focusses perfectly. Thank you all for your input and advice.
I used the second joint for the fine focusing rod instead of the first item (was hard to find at the time I changed it) and it is working perfectly. But, in your opinion, why it is better to use the first joint than the second? Just curious...Originally Posted by MartyNL
If it is as I suspect, then these are the exact items, details taken from my invoice, that you will need. There's not much between them. I've taken the liberty of giving the OZ supplier, but you may be able to find a more local, cheaper, easier alternative but at least you know what you're after. That is, if it is indeed a coupling/joint issue, of which I hope it is.
https://au.element14.com/huco/047102...eel/dp/7215617
https://au.element14.com/huco/103p13...joint%20single
Firstly, I'm really pleased that you've solved the problem and got the machine up and running again as intended.
Just for clarity, both joints work admirably well and I believe, both were used on L1200's.
The only difference that I've experienced, is that the plastified material of the Flex-P, Double Loop coupling, has gone brittle/perished and simply tore or snapped.
So, in that sense, the Plastic, Brass Yoke, Headed Insert coupling should prove to be a safer and more reliable bet for the future.
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