Originally Posted by
John Kasaian
I'm being gifted an Omega D-2 … how do I dismantle a D-II into reasonable number of components for storage?
I remember sharing the following tips for disassembling a D2v for safe transport, but you might easily adapt them for disassembling your de-commissioned D-II (non-v) for safe storage.
Plus you might consider adapting these (D2v) tips for transporting your friend’s gifted D-2 to your house.
1) Make sure you’ve securely locked the enlarger’s chassis (the part that goes up and down) to the column by tightening the lock knob.
[Note: tips 2 and 3 below would mostly be for the D2v version w/ VC box some may have.]
2) Remove/loosen the 4 knurled thumb screws that attach the lamphouse/VC box to the four lever arms.
3) Remove the lamphouse + VC box + main condenser housing, as one assembly, and carefully set it aside. Or, you can remove the 3 pieces one at a time. In any case, once the assembly is removed, separate it into its 3 pieces for easiest transport. To be extra safe, you might also remove the variable condenser lens from the VC box – making a fourth piece.
4) Now back to the column. Unhook the counterbalance spring tapes from the upper back axle, and let the tapes back into their cartridges – carefully! If you let them snap back, someone might get hurt and cry, or the hooks might break off. (To make this safer, you might raise-up the chassis, shortening the length of exposed tape, then detach the hooks.)
5) I’d go ahead and fully retract the bellows to help protect them for the journey. You might even remove the bellows by unscrewing the tiny 4-top and 4-bottom screws.
6) Now, with someone else holding up the column, remove all three bolts holding the three clamps that anchor the column to the metal base plate. (This plate is directly attached to the base board.)
7) Reattach the clamps to the plate for travel (that is, if you’re taking the base board with you).
Now you can carry all your pieces to the closet (or vehicle!) with ease.
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