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

[ic-racer]

(not all Tripla are removeable and then a unipla is not useable),

Ok I see the potential problem. But you meant to type VAPLA in stead of UNIPLA right? Because doesn't the UNIPLA have the same size hole as the TRIPLA?

But are you also implying that the 'newer' Rodagon 300mm will fit that 72mm plate and then actually fit on a TRIPLA?

[Allen in Montreal]

IC,

Yes, the Rodagon 300 will fit on a Tripla with this custom made Durst Pro 72mm Lapla.
If you dropped the cash (these aren't cheap but if they fit the need, they are great!) to have the perfect setup, you could have a 300, a 240 and a 210 on one Tripla on the 1840.

My issue arose from my 138s being fitted with a non removable Tripla.
To ferry my 210 or 240 from the 138 to the 184 required the custom Durst Pro Lapla since the 72mm Vapla and the Unipla I have can only be used on the 184.

A Rodagon 300mm on a Lapla 72 (extended) from Durst Pro.




A Rodagon 300mm on a 72mm extended Lapla mounted on the Tripla:




A Rodagon 240 with an extended Lapla 72mm on a Tripla:



A EL-Nikkor 72mm thread on a 72mm Vapla:

[Allen in Montreal]

My 72mm Family:

EL-Nikkor 210, Rodagon 240 and Rodagon 300mm with the 72mm Lapla extended from Durst Pro.

[Ginette]

The Durst 138 and 138S only came with a fixed Tripla. For illustration the fixed Tripla is only the part I point in this photo.



It is only the model 138SP that use the removable 2 parts Tripla and the Vapla and the Unipla like the 8x10 Durst.

IC,

Yes, the Rodagon 300 will fit on a Tripla with this custom made Durst Pro 72mm Lapla.
If you dropped the cash (these aren't cheap but if they fit the need, they are great!) to have the perfect setup, you could have a 300, a 240 and a 210 on one Tripla on the 1840.

To have theses 3 lens on the same Tripla, you will need 3 Lapla Extended at 256$ each 256$, is it the price you pay for Allen? I don't understand why Durst Pro ask such a price for that part.



As I saw this special Lapla extended ring, the Rodagon 300mm back element look to be very outside the mount, are you able to turn the Tripla with the 300mm mounted? And for changing this special Lapla extended ring to another lens, you need to unscrew the back element on the 300mm, right?

On a 1840, I think it will be much simpler to use a Vapla with a 72mm retaining ring for Rodagon 300mm and the 240mm. At least you will have only to unscrew the lens from the retaining ring and not to unscrew the back element of the lens for removing the Lapla extended.

[gary mulder]

So, after thinking about it a while I came up with a very nice masking system. It only works with the Negateil.

I cut the mask out of thin black poster board and feed it into the Negateil. It goes all the way to the the far inner lip of the opening and stops. This mask is below the glass negative holder and above the lens. The mask stays still while the negative can shift above it (allowing perfect centering). I did do some tedious measurements to get the hole in the mask exactly over the center of the lens.

Now I can just sandwich a 35mm negative strip in my 10x10 glass. The whole strip goes on the glass (that is, none of the strip hangs outside of the glass) and the Negateil shifts to bring the correct frame over the hole in the mask. This allows almost instantaneous shifting between formats. The mask always goes in and stops at the same location, so the hole will always be in the same position when you slide the mask in place. There is even a little lock knob to keep the mask from shifting when doing vertical projection.

Durst made metal masks that fit into a slot on the bottom of the Laraneg insert.

[ic-racer]

Durst made metal masks that fit into a slot on the bottom of the Laraneg insert.

Ok so that must be the HOMASKSET mentioned in the L1840 brochure.

Gary, you certainly have a fantastic assortment of Durst accessories. Thanks again for sharing those pictures.

I never really paid any attention to the bottom, but sure enough mine has that mechanism to hold those. For some reason I thought the masks replaced the glass (the brochure is not that clear).

Interesting, I checked the bottom of the Negateil glass holder (which looks like the Laraneg holder but is not interchangeable) and it does not have that same mechanism.

[ic-racer]

Just an update for those that have not read all 23 pages of this thread. I have pdf files for the L1840 and CLS2000. (users and repair manuals)

PM me and I can pass them along.

[ic-racer]

Also, thanks for those pictures of the 300mm on the TRIPLA. If you just go by the older Durst literature, the TRIPLA use was limited to 100mm to 240mm on the L1840. So, by not having the most commonly used lens (300mm) on there, the Tripla not as useful for the L1840.

[Allen in Montreal]

........

It is only the model 138SP that use the removable 2 parts Tripla and the Vapla and the Unipla like the 8x10 Durst.

I am told you can retro fit a 138s with removable Tripla, a mission I would not bother with but I take it others have done it.

To have theses 3 lens on the same Tripla, you will need 3 Lapla Extended at 256$ each
I don't understand why Durst Pro ask such a price for that part.

It is machined from a solid block of high grade aluminum.
It is a lot of work to machine it and keep it perfectly square, it is very well made and very well thought out.
It is then anodized flat black.

Jensen is a smart man, he knows his shit when it comes to Durst, he knows he won't sell a million of these, but when the application is right, it is the perfect answer and he knows that.

The one photographed is for the EL 210 or the Rodagon 240, if you intend to use a Rodagon 300 on a Tripla, order the extended Lapla with a deeper recess and it should just clear and rotate within the Tripla, speak with Jensen about it, mine allows the 240 to rotate in the Tripla.

It may be more appealing for some users to drop out the Lapla with the 300mm on it out of a Tripla and replace one out of three lenses than always be swapping out Vaplas.
For others, maybe that seems like over kill, depends on how many units you have and how many lenses cross platform between those units and how often you change negative formats in a single printing session.

On a 1840, I think it will be much simpler to use a Vapla with a 72mm retaining ring for Rodagon 300mm and the 240mm. At least you will have only to unscrew the lens from the retaining ring and not to unscrew the back element of the lens for removing the Lapla extended.

I do not use it the way it is photographed, I did that to show what could be done if desired. Guys like IC and few others have the machine tools and the skill to take an idea almost anywhere! More ideas out there, more great new solutions come back to all of us.

The 184 is not the issue for myself, it is going from the 138 to the 184 with a 5x7 neg that brought the question up.
My 360 Rodagon has its own Vapla (88mm I think).
My 300 Rodagon has its own Vapla 72mm (it never goes on the 138).
The 240 Rodagon has an extended 72mm Lapla (and can go back and forth quickly).
The 210 Rodagon has a extended 58mm Lapla (and can go back and forth quickly).
The 210 EL-Nikkor could go back and forth with the Lapla 72, but most likely will not stay and may be sold off, it may stay exclusively on the 184 and the Rodagon 210 on the 138, not sure yet, the 240 Rodagon may go as well, I got the 240 and then a LFPF hooked me up with the Rodagon 300mm, I can't see needing them both, but time will tell what happens with them.

If the 240 goes, the 300 will take its Lapla and the Tripla will stay on the 184 with perhaps a 180, a 210 and the 300.
In my case, I would drop out the 300 when I want to use the 210 etc. but I started that plan with a 240 in hand before the 300mm came to me.

But as seems to always be the case, the setup is fluid and still being tweaked.
There is a box full of spare parts from this project, Blair gets first dibs on anything that goes, but I will let you know if any Vapla, Uniplas etc don't make the final list. :--)

I hope that makes sense, I kind of rushed it, I have to get going, have a good day.

[Ginette]

Thanks for the precisions Allen. So each lens have ideally it custom extended Lapla even it the threads are similar. This is not very clear on their website. Also it is very curious because your one is the same form as the one illustrated as Lapla Extended II (for 77UP) and is not like the Lapla Extended listed for the 72mm. Maybe they mix-up photos. About high price, I should not complain about as they assure availability of theses rare items and as you explain each item is custom made.

In fact, I solve now all my lens boards problems. I found a Rodagon 210 with it own Lapla 58 for my fixed Tripla on the Durst 138. And I pick up the "near the dump" Durst 138SP (the one in Laval) that have the removable lens boards feature and found a Vapla 72mm for the Rodagon 300mm (and maybe a 240mm**) and an Unipla for all lens already on a Lapla. I have the removable Tripla also but I don't see really the interest for it . This is enlarger will be modified (soon...) with the 8x10 cold light so this was important to look at the problem of mounting longuer lens. The bellows of the 138SP is also larger and longuer.

** If you let it go your 240mm, I can be very interested. My ceiling is pretty low and maybe before I made the final extension box for the 8x10 cold light, I can figure how a 300 and a 240 will fit.