Help with kaiser enlarger

[BarryRaynsfor]

Hi,can anyone help ! I have a Kaiser 6x6 head complete with negative carrier etc.,and baseboard but I am lacking a column. I know they are available from Kaiser Germany but at a prohibitive cost. Searches on the usual websites have been unsuccessful.Has anyone any experience of improvising a column or of using the enlarger without a column. I appreciate the question of rigidity and the lens being parallel to the baseboard is paramount to obtaining a good print. Any help would be appreciated. Barry

[JOReynolds]

There is a significant demand for columns among photographers converting negatives and slides into digital files using DSLR cameras, macro lenses and bellows. Also, many owners of the Intrepid enlarger are discovering that the tripod method doesn't work, creating more demand for columns. I acquired a column from a defunct Meopta 35mm enlarger, which I am guarding with my life!

[Miha]

Hi Barry, I'm afraid a compete S/H enlarger is the way to go as the column alone is the dearer option (and there is no way around it).

[John King]

Originally Posted by BarryRaynsfor

Hi,can anyone help ! I have a Kaiser 6x6 head complete with negative carrier etc.,and baseboard but I am lacking a column. I know they are available from Kaiser Germany but at a prohibitive cost. Searches on the usual websites have been unsuccessful.Has anyone any experience of improvising a column or of using the enlarger without a column. I appreciate the question of rigidity and the lens being parallel to the baseboard is paramount to obtaining a good print. Any help would be appreciated. Barry

What do you call 'the usual websites?'

[BarryRaynsfor]

Thanks for the replies. Basically I have looked on eBay also websites of companies who sell secondhand enlarging equipment.

[Paulographic]

I've been looking online at columns to make a dedicated copy stand and found them rare. Up until now I've been removing the heads from my Opemus 6 or Durst F60 and it seems that I shall have to continue this way.
Not copied any slides or negs yet just prints, and artworks that are larger than my A4 scanner.