Need advice on partially diassembling a Durst 1840 8x10 enlarger for local transport

[Mark Carstens]

The title says it all...

I want to protect the unit from damage (obviously) but have some serious reservations about hauling the unit myself (it's too big for my truck bed, and I'd rather not rent a U-haul ill-equipped for the task). Even partially taken down (e.g., sans light head and baseboard removed) it's a beast, so I'll transport the more fragile pieces myself and have the chassis hauled by a 3rd party carrier. In short, how much do I dare disassemble the unit? Practically speaking, do I stop with the aforementioned "major" parts and leave it at that, or do I remove the additional parts to protect unit alignment and integrity of the motorized focus system?

I sent an email to Durst USA up in Oregon about an hour ago, but I thought I'd also tap the vast knowledge base here. If you have any experience in disassembling, then re-assembling one of these behemoths, please post your comments to the thread.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice, gang!!

~Mark

[Filmnut]

It's been a while since I've done this, but I'll share what I remember of my knowledge of this beast. Great enlargers though!!!
I will presume that you have the freestanding floor model. It should come apart into three large pieces. The head, although heavy, comes off as a unit, but make sure that the carrier and the diffusion box have been removed first. There are several screw fasteners that hold the head onto the top part of the base, when you take these off, two people can lift the head straight up and off of the focussing rails. This is of course the most delicate part, but my experience has been that they transport successfully, as long as they are not dropped, and packed decently. Use a vehicle that rides well to minimize the jarring.
The baseboard unbolts from the bottom.
As for the base, the ones I used to work on had two levers on the side where screws came off, then the top part can be lifted up and off. The bottom on most have locking wheels. There are small thumbscrews that unlock these, and then if they aren't seized, it can be rolled, but only back and forth on one axis, they aren't casters.
So now you have three fairly heavy pieces, but now they can be carried by two or three people and transported in a regular sized van, even a large car, if you let the legs stick out of the trunk.
That's the gist of it, the main complications can be the controls, depending on which model you have, so caution if you disengage any of the focus or column lifts, and of course the levers and such on the head are readily damaged.
The bulb and its' reflector can be taken out also, but be very careful, don't put bare fingers on either! These are expensive to replace!
I hope that this helps, sorry that I can't give you any better info, and I apologize for any omissions, as I said, its' been a long time since I have worked on these!
May you have a long and successful relationship with this enlarger!
I have a spare lens or two, if you need any let me know.
Keith

[Mark Carstens]

Thanks, Keith!

That's the kind of information I'm looking for.

It'd be a poke in the eye if I turned my "bargain" enlarger into a pile of expensive junk by removing too much or mishandling delicate parts that I didn't need to touch in the first place.

~Mark

[resummerfield]

..... As for the base, the ones I used to work on had two levers on the side where screws came off, then the top part can be lifted up and off. The bottom on most have locking wheels. There are small thumbscrews that unlock these, and then if they aren't seized, it can be rolled, but only back and forth on one axis, they aren't casters.......

If I'm reading this correctly, I think this refers to the L184 manual enlarger, which is a 2-piece unit. The electronic enlarger, the L1840, is a one piece unit. Otherwise, I would agree with everything filmnut suggests.

Also, remove the negative carrier from the chassis, and remove the glass from that carrier.

Finally, I would collapse the bellows by running the focus motor. I think this will somewhat protect the bellows from damage during transit.

[Mark Carstens]

Thanks for additional info, resummerfield.

Jens Jensen of Durst USA pretty much echoed the same advice.

~MC

If I'm reading this correctly, I think this refers to the L184 manual enlarger, which is a 2-piece unit. The electronic enlarger, the L1840, is a one piece unit. Otherwise, I would agree with everything filmnut suggests.

Also, remove the negative carrier from the chassis, and remove the glass from that carrier.

Finally, I would collapse the bellows by running the focus motor. I think this will somewhat protect the bellows from damage during transit.

[ic-racer]

I unscrewed the 4 locking knobs to avoid damage. I did not remove the big knob that help tilts the camera unit, and luckily caused no damage to it when I had the enlarger column on its side. If I had to do it again I would try to get that knob off and I see that it is removable from inside the camera assembly.

After taking my baseboard off, there were 4 grub screws that all fell out while the enlarger was on the dolly. luckily we found all 4 of them along our path.

Not much else to add but to say good luck and have fun! Its been almost a year since I got mine and I still amazed at what an incredible machine it is.

[Mark Carstens]

Thanks, ic-racer!

How many hands did it take to hoist the unit into the suburban?

Oh, also...which knob are you referring to? The milled knob (#14 in the manual on page 13)?

I have a pdf copy of the manual, which I think you generated.

~Mark

[ic-racer]

Thanks, ic-racer!

How many hands did it take to hoist the unit into the suburban?

Oh, also...which knob are you referring to? The milled knob (#14 in the manual on page 13)?

I have a pdf copy of the manual, which I think you generated.

~Mark

Yes, #14. I could not tell how to get it off in the short time I had to load up the enlarger. After getting it home I could see it comes off. I don't recall off had but I think there is a screw that holds it on the shaft. You have to go up and under to see it.

#13 unscrews easily

Thanks to my brother (who is bigger and stronger than myself) the two of us got it into that Suburban. It was not easy (but then I'm not that much help ). A third person would have been nice.

Personally I like just having my brother because he understands a restoration project's demands. Like, he knows that taking an extra 20 minutes to look for a missing special screw can potentially save months of searching the internet for a replacement. And he understands the irreplaceable nature of the various plastic pieces, etc.

The wheel #8 comes off easily, but be sure to protect the tapered screw, keypin and special washer. I was so concerned with those I put them in a special place, only to forget to load them in with the rest of the gear. 5 days later I realized these were missing and went back and thankfully the were still there.

[ic-racer]

In terms of fitting in the Suburban, we had only about an inch to spare. I had wanted to use his enclosed car trailer, but he asked me how big it was and he figured it would fit in the Suburban. In retrospect I don't think he ever measured it but he was right anyway

[David Karp]

Congratulations Mark. Sounds like a great addition. Will you have to build an addition to your home?