Plan for an enlarger bench

[bluedog]

I am looking to build a purpose built bench for my 4 x5 enlarger. Are there any plans out there to assist me with ideas?
Thanks
Greg

[jnanian]

hi greg

do you plan to have a super stable immovable bench ?

what i did was get 4x4x8's and cut them into 3.5' lengths ( standard table top height ) and i used
2 / leg ( double legged the table )
then i took 2x4s and bolted 2 boards across ( straps ) from 4x4 to 4x4 the size of table i wanted.
i made sure to have to top 2x4 at the top of each 4x4 ...
i stood the legs up ..
then i took 1/2 inch plywood cut to the right size and attached the tabletop.
you can lay countertop ontop of that if you want ...
it will hold a lot of weight ... and it won't move

[tkamiya]

John,

Can you take a picture of that and post? I'm thinking of doing something similar. Visual would help me.

[hoffy]

I have also been thinking about building a bench/trolley for my enlarger. My biggest challenge is it will need to be easily moveable, must be able to drop down to get the column through the door and then lifted up to a nice working height (I would prefer it to be relatively high, to save my back). It probably needs to be lifted around 150mm

I have been thinking of buying a second hand sewing machine cabinet and salvaging the lifting unit out of it.

If this is the kind of thing you are after, I could get my ideas down on paper and work from there?

[Ian C]

Here are a couple of basic designs that you could alter to suit your enlarger and available space.
Adding wheels makes it easy to move. Obviously, you'd have to scale the table the size of the enlarger.

http://books.google.com/books?id=9ts...0table&f=false


http://books.google.com/books?id=-tM...0stand&f=false

[Ian C]

A useful design consideration is the maximum negative-to-print distance available.

Knowing that and the formats and focal lengths of the lenses you plan on using determines the maximum projection size possible.

You can use that as a guide as you design your enlarging table for the greatest versatility in making prints as large as the projection distance allows.

Maximum projection size can be calculated as a function of negative-to-print distance and focal length. See this thread for details:

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum41/9...y-setup-2.html

[Lee L]

Lately I have been building some things with the 'gridbeam' system, nominal 2x2 inch stock with holes drilled through at intervals equal to 1/2 the actual material thickness (3/4" for nominal 2x2" stock). You can use metric simply by getting square stock and then spacing holes at half the stock thickness. Gridbeam 'sticks' are then connected through the holes with 'joint connector bolts', and wherever three sticks in x, y, z planes join together, the connections become self-squaring and rigid. You can also put casters in the holes, put a skin of thin ply or angled pieces to make it even more rigid, or do a lot of other tricks. The real advantage of this system is that it's like an adult Erector or Meccano set that can be easily taken apart and adjusted or rebuilt into a different configuration as your needs change.

Google 'gridbeam'. There's a book out that's pretty good for ideas.

A drill press is helpful when making the gridbeams, but a hand drill and patience will suffice. Sometimes I only drill the holes necessary for a given plan, and drill other holes at the proper spacing as needed. I'll attach a photo of some darkroom drawers I built with only the necessary holes drilled. You could do something similar and use the drawer supports as shelf supports, with the enlarger attached to an appropriate board at the top, giving you the adjustable drop table shown in some of the other plans linked to in other posts. It would also give you storage space below the enlarger.

Lee

[Grainy]

This is my DIY trolly for my Durst Laborator 1200. Works great.


I'm planning to modify it and build a height adjustable baseboard so I can stand when making prints, now I'm sitting on a chair. I built the trolly with maximum height and width so I could get the trolly through the doors.

[daleeman]

Nice job Lee, looks like this would be a great way to build a quick print dryer too.

[Rick A]

I built my enlarger stand at 31" high, so it would be easier to reach the focus knob on my Omega D-5 Pro Lab at full height. I used 2x2 legs and 1/2" plywood for the base and two thicknesses of 3/4" ply for the top. I made the top the same dimension as the enlarger base. I still have the option of adding casters to allow it to roll if I choose, and it will still fit through the doorway.