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  #11  
Old 4th December 2020, 12:11 AM
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MartyNL MartyNL is offline
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Hi David, I presume you'll be giving the enlarger a thorough check before taking it home. It sounds fairly complete which is positive. One of my main concerns would be the condensers. They should be in perfect condition otherwise any flaws with the glass will show up on your prints.
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  #12  
Old 4th December 2020, 06:36 AM
Quendil Quendil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MartyNL View Post
Hi David, I presume you'll be giving the enlarger a thorough check before taking it home. It sounds fairly complete which is positive. One of my main concerns would be the condensers. They should be in perfect condition otherwise any flaws with the glass will show up on your prints.

Thanks will check them out


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  #13  
Old 5th December 2020, 12:00 PM
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I am now the proud owner of a De Vere 54. The condensers are all in perfect condition along with the carriers. The head needs one of the bellows gluing back on but is in very good condition. It also came with a very nice Rayco timer. I will at some point now be able to get a 5x4 camera.

Now I need to build the darkroom but that will be a while due to all the other building work that needs doing on the house.

David
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  #14  
Old 5th December 2020, 01:09 PM
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Good news and congrats!
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  #15  
Old 5th December 2020, 07:05 PM
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well done Quendil ,thats a nice bit of kit ,5x4 is very enjoyable and fun ,I have been in the darkroom loading up some X-ray film in to my film holders ,so hopefully I can get out next week and shoot it .
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  #16  
Old 5th December 2020, 10:46 PM
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Well done, and this is actually a good way to do things. You now know the dimensions of your biggest enlarger (unless you fancy 10x8 sometime) and can plan work-top heights to suit.
When I added a 5x4 enlarger to my last darkroom I had to cut and lower a section of bench to get enough height.
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  #17  
Old 6th December 2020, 11:13 AM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skellum View Post
...I had to cut and lower a section of bench to get enough height.
Yes, my dry bench is at conventional height, which I regret. It was designed for a wall-mounted Durst. But with my De Vere 203 with an Ilford 500 head, the ceiling is not too low and I can reach the neg carrier when enlarging to 16 x 20".
You have the advantage that you can build a dry bench about 150mm lower than the usual 700...800mm.
The huge advantage of the De Vere is that, with practice, you can retain focus when adjusting the projected image dimension. Only autofocus enlargers from Durst (DA900) and Leitz (Focomat V25) can do that.
Before setting up, wipe the greasy dust from the Tensators at the rear but, whatever you do, don't undo them - they can be lethal! Get the maintenance manual from De Vere in Brighton.
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  #18  
Old 6th December 2020, 11:45 AM
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My current 'temporary' (5 years and counting) set up has me working on my knees to do 5x4. The masterplan is to create a permanent darkroom with sink and low work-tops so I work seated. It's a small space, so Lino floor, wheeled chair, and just twirl and scoot.
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  #19  
Old 6th December 2020, 01:36 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JOReynolds View Post
Before setting up, wipe the greasy dust from the Tensators at the rear but, whatever you do, don't undo them - they can be lethal!
I was going to ask, out of total curiosity, what 'Tensators' are, as the search engines aren't very helpful with this question, but then I found the answer, as it happens, from yourself many moons ago.

'JOReynolds
1st May 2014, 10:05 AM
The counterbalance spring ('Tensator') is very powerful, especially on the chassis designed for heavy condensers. If the condensers are removed, the negative stage will tend to rise unless braked. Use wooden blocks or wedges to stabilise the mechanism.
Sharp-edged and powerful Tensators are used in both De Vere and Durst enlargers. I used to visit central London photo labs, where anecdotes circulated of technicians receiving awful injuries. The floor-standing Durst 138S was particularly to be feared.'

I'm now slightly more educated.

Terry S
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  #20  
Old 6th December 2020, 04:30 PM
Quendil Quendil is offline
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I've got the option to either wall mount or bench mount the enlarger as it came with both parts. At the moment I think I will wall mount it but I'm a long way off yet.

David
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