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Thread: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

  1. #11

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    How does it compare with your other DV enlarger? Without more photos, it's hard to tell cause it's hard to tell just what you have. L

  2. #12

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    It works slightly differently. The 54 lifts the head as a complete unit, counter balanced. The lens focus is part of the same sub-chassis as the light house, and you have to reach up and turn a rack and pinion to vary the neg to lens distance. This is what made me move on to the 108, I need to be a contortionist to reach the control and see through the focus finder at the same time. The head is braked, but just manually slides up and down the tower.
    This illustrates it well:
    Click image for larger version. 

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    The 108 has a chain driven mechanism, run off the wheels under the paper table, which drives the two chassis up and down the tower - one operates the light head/neg holder, second moves the lens chassis relative to the neg. so you can sit looking at the focus finder and comfortably twiddle the wheels to achieve focus.

    This is the new Chinese version of the 108 and is similar but more modern to mine:
    Off a thread on this site.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Tomorrow I'll try to take detail photos of the 108, to illustrate.

  3. #13

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    I believe that is a 5108 with a longer column, from the proportions, it doesn't look big enough for a 108. I remember asking on the thread about it. The 5108 also has two wheels, one raises/lowers the head, the other the lens stage, so you can focus & change magnification sitting down. The old Omega F that I had had an electric motor to raise/lower the head then a focusing knob on an extended shaft that worked great and was much simpler than the DeVere focusers. If it's a 108, then it's been modernized to look just like a bigger 5108, hard to tell without scale, but much smaller than the 108 I posted above. Also, the 108 is discontinued and replaced by the Vulcan. They did show a 10 x 12 in that thread.. Great enlargers, though. L

  4. #14

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    This is the casting at the top of the tower:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    And this is the frame that would take the paper table bit:

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    And these are the independent sliders that take the lamp house and lens stage:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    The whole thing stands 89" tall IIRC, and weighs about 8st.

    Question is how the brackets/lamp house/negative stage/bellows interact and attach to one another. There is no obvious mounting holes on the Lamp house and the neg stage is missing.

  5. #15

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    Do you have brackets/a lamp house/negative stage/belows? If you do, post photos of that. What do the people you bought it from say? What doe the folks at SHD say?

  6. #16

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    Quote Originally Posted by Luis-F-S View Post
    Do you have brackets/a lamp house/negative stage/belows? If you do, post photos of that. What do the people you bought it from say? What doe the folks at SHD say?
    There must be a company in the UK or in the EU that has Devere parts.

  7. #17

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    Bob, this really looks like the "enlarger" that recently sold on the UK auction site for £0.99. The seller was very upfront to say that he "picked this up at a shed clearance". Maybe he should have looked in the shed for the rest of it. I don't believe this is a complete enlarger, just a frame and a very old frame at that. If there is more to it, photos have not been posted. I suspect there is a reason why no one else bid on it and why it sold for next to nothing, is that as it is, it makes a great paperweight. I doubt anyone alive has parts in stock for a machine that old, probably older than most of the folks on this forum. To fabricate frame parts for a machine that old including a head frame, light source, negative and lens stages and bellows is probably going to cost more than finding a complete, usable enlarger. I have to believe that the scrap value has to be more than the purchase price.

  8. #18

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    It did sell recently, it's not from a shed sale, it didn't sell for 99p. It's from a pro studio that shut down. Like many bits of old photographic kit it needs to have some thought put into it rather than scrapped. It's obviously not a complete enlarger, I asked originally for images to see if the bits go together, maybe not and that's fine. Being an engineer they can be made to fit together. I just need an image of a VERY old 108.

    This is the lamp house, next to a devere 54 lamp house for reference, condenser 9" diameter condenser housing 14" square.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Sorry, they came out upside down. Gotta go to work tho.

  9. #19
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    Since the condenser is 8" diameter if is for 4X5 inch negs. Not 5X7 or 8X10. Worth very little.

    You have a bitza and some parts are missing.

    I have bought several 8x10 inch enlargers without heads or negative slot as they often burn out and make an easy sale to a person with a blown head. Then the chassis is scrap.

    Condensor heads don't 'blow' as they use only a 'light bulb' but any head that has 'complications' such as color head, moveable filters, computer anything, transformers, etc do fail and are often just replaced as few can fix them these days. Working 10X10 heads are far more rare than the superstructure to carry it.

    I have a 10X10 Saltzman where the head just sits on top, no attachments needed for an Aristo 1212. cold lamp head. The film carrier is a slot below. It's also in storage for AA while.

    I have posted here in DIY, experiments with LED heads adapted from studio lights and barn, down lamps with added diffusion. Worked for me. Experiments will continue soon. Seach for that, I would have to also. Pics included.

    Right now I am installing a 4X5 Besler V-XL wall mounted with a DIY 8X10 conversion head. It uses a Aristo 1212 head and has a DIY slot below for filters and one for negatives. Made of wood. Actually stacking boxes. Simple but well made.

    I didn't make it, the maker wants to remain unknown, but is a very well known photographer. His prints are flawless and spectacular. I have one.

    What I am saying is start making something now. First I would make a heavy duty flat baseboard and install it. Now you have a bench. Continue upwards.

    My Beseler setup is very similar to Tim's dead link
    Last edited by Tin Can; 6-Oct-2019 at 05:57. Reason: Tim's a dead link removed
    Tin Can

  10. #20

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    Re: Does anyone have images of a De Vere 108 enlarger?

    Thanks Randy, I'll have a search and see what you've been up to.

    What your suggesting is very much what I bought the tower for, the lamp house almost got thrown to clear space. Fabricating a wooden diffusion lamphouse won't take much, I've done similar for the 54 in terms of light source and diffuser. LEDs and the diffusers out of downlighters are perfect. I've got the baseboard - section of kitchen worktop, mega flat and 2" thick. Also got a load of sections of scrap marine ply.

    Better get looking for some bellows!

    The condenser head is huge for 5x4, (4x the 54 diffuser head) it's got bellows so the lamp can be focused through the condenser lens. I know the condenser lens must cover the neg but how would the focus be needed?

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