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Thread: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

  1. #21

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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    What an inspiring project. Thanks for showing these photos. I have a few questions... Why are you limited to 16 by 20?
    How much ceiling height do you need for the enlarger?
    Can it work as a horizontal enlarger?
    Do these come up for free sometimes, and do they come from labs that have gone digital?
    Thanks
    -Brad

  2. #22

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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    Quote Originally Posted by Brad Rippe View Post
    Can it work as a horizontal enlarger?
    Do these come up for free sometimes, and do they come from labs that have gone digital?
    Thanks
    -Brad
    If you will look at all the photos posted in this thread, you will see that this enlarger came from a location where is was used exclusively as a horizontal enlarger. Look at the tracks on the floor. The Enlarger has wheels in the base to run along tracks if so desired.

    Yes, many times, with diligent looking, you can find these for free, or very little money.
    The trick is to find one close to your location (wherever that may be) so you don't have high expense in getting it to you.

  3. #23
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    Quote Originally Posted by Brad Rippe View Post
    What an inspiring project. Thanks for showing these photos. I have a few questions... Why are you limited to 16 by 20?
    How much ceiling height do you need for the enlarger?
    Can it work as a horizontal enlarger?
    Do these come up for free sometimes, and do they come from labs that have gone digital?
    Thanks
    -Brad
    Well, my trays are 16x20 and my largest easel is 16x20. My archival washer is 20x24, so I could go larger with a bigger easel and bigger trays. Though the bigger trays might hang over the edges of my counter. I have thought of trying to process RC B&W paper in a big drum in the Jobo. That might be a better option for real big prints.

    The column is about 91 inches tall. You need a little extra to be able to tip it up from horizontal or from a dolly. With the coldlight, the head does not extend much past the top of the column (though with the CLS 1840 head it extends about an additional fifteen inches).

    The focusing rails DO extend up beyond the column, however, the extent to which they extend depends on a lot of factors, so it would be hard to calculate. With a focused image on the baseboard all the way down, my focusing columns were just below the level of my joists (though they could extend up through the joists if needed)

    Do they come up for free? I have read on the internet that some have recieved 8x10 enlargers for free, but I had to pay for this one. In terms of availability, my experience was that one came available just after I stopped looking. See this thread that I started about a year ago ( http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=25445) out of frustration that none of these enlargers ever are available in my part of the country. Then, who would have guessed that a shop I drive by on the way to work would want to get rid of one! I asked them if digital put them out of buisness, but they said no because they felt their 'old fashioned' screen printed banners had better ink stability than those that come out of a big digital printer.

    My enlarger was used on a track as a horizontal enlarger. They used it to enlarge separations to full size for big screen-printed banners. The film was in big rolls (still available if anyone wants it, though it is some kind of positive lith film) and was tacked to the wall for the exposure. They used huge, sinks to process the film.

  4. #24
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    Here is a shot of the new components in place for the oscillating circuit. Trimmer and tantalum capacitor.

  5. #25
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    I re-did the mounting of the coldlight. The prior mounting looked like some type of down-on-the-farm repair of the hog feeder. It worked, but was not suited to a $20K enlarger.

  6. #26
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    Cold light?

    I think it is somewhat of a misnomer. For the thing to be consistent it has to be hot! I have never owned a coldlight, so I was interested in what is in the box. Here is the heater. It is just 4 power resistors short circuited to the mains! Kind of curious as to why there are 'cooling vents' on the top of the case? There is a thermostat in the circuit also.

    This thing leaks light in a bad way. So I still need to cover up those vents.

  7. #27
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    Test of enlarger last night--the good and the bad.

    THE GOOD:
    The fine focus worked very well.
    I made a Blue and Green filter from Roscoe jels and swapping these in-and-out of the filter holder was not as bad as I had thought. I was able to just open the tray about half-way and then swap the filters. For those of you that have not done 8x10 enlarging, this filter swap is done by feel, reaching over your head in the dark.
    The split printing technique worked very well and was easy to manage.
    The enlarger is rock-steady during filter swapping, no chance of movement.
    As hoped, the diffused light reduced dust specs and imperfections on the glass carrier. I think if I give it another cleaning I might be able to get by without replacinig it. If I were using this glass for contact printing it would be no good because of some small scratches. However, these scratches are minimized with the diffused light.


    THE BAD:
    The Aristo unit leaked light all over the place
    The edges were not illuminated well, but I expected this because this mounting rig it came with has the diffuser too far from the negative.

  8. #28
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    My plan to fix the light source is to keep the tube mounted where it is, but to re-mount the diffuser screen down by the negative carrier. Right now they are separated by about 3.5cm. I think I can route a lip on the under side of the adapter, and the existing diffuser should be able to fit right in.

    The top arrow in the photograph shows where the diffuser is now mounted. The lower arrow shows where I am planning on putting it.

  9. #29
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    To get the diffuser to a position just above the negative I needed to route a cavity for it in the bottom of the plastic adapter plate.

    I also enlarged the opening. Even though the Durst glass negative carrier is only a little over 10 inches on a side, the coldlight has an extra inch all around.

  10. #30
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    Re: Durst L1840 Enlarger 8x10 10x10--Everything you wanted to know...

    I did not want to cut up the coldlight's original diffuser (in case this did not work out) so I could go back to the original configuration if needed. That's why the routed area is so big. If I had cut the diffuser, or got a new smaller one, the route would only have to be a cm or so.

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