Posted: 10/22/2013 5:28:50 PM EDT
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A woman on craigslist was selling some of her daughters old darkroom equipment. I am now the proud owner of a Durst 606 Enlarger. She had a box full of crap. I even ended up with an almost full 100ct box of ilford photo paper. That came in handy as I was about to buy another pack.
So can anyone tell me anything about what all I ended up with? 
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First photo has two film developing tanks, Microdolx be film developer, stop bath, and toner for bw paper, plus a bw dark room lamp. Use the darkroom lamp for printing, never for film. Open the two tanks and there should be reels inside; white nylon with auto film take up. These are called universal developing tanks because the reels can be adjusted for multiple film sizes. They will be light tight with the lid on, but you can still pour in/out chemicals. You must load the reels in total darkness, and keep the lid on until the fixer bath. The tank on the bottom with the red ring looks like mine… I believe it is a Paterson or similar.
Second photo is more chemicals and a timer for film developing, most likely. If it has an electrical outlet in the back, then it is for the enlarger. You plug the enlarger into it, and the timer into the wall. When it is counting down, the electrical outlet is hot, otherwise it is not; essentially turning on and off the enlarger for you. I'd get a digital enlarger timer instead, and use that just for film developing (although I always just use a regular clock for film). Third photo has the easel and it looks to be upside down. There is a thermometer used for the chemicals. If you check out the Microdol-X packaging, there should be a chart listing minutes for temp and ASA/film type. You use the thermometer for determine the temperature of the develop and thus the time to develop. Developers act faster the warmer they are. Also, I don't remember using Microdol-X for paper just film. I remember that I typically used D-76 for film. Microdol is good stuff and I typically used it for Pan-X, Plus-X, and Tri-X. If I had to push the film, I preferred Accufine but that stuff was expensive. To the left of the easel looks like contrast filters for the enlarger. Those are for papers with multiple contrasts. Fourth photo contains more enlarger parts, but also the bulk film loader (the black with yellow knob thingy). It looks like you have one re-usable 35mm film canister off to the right. One end snaps on/off. It will be the end with the spool sticking out the furtherest. The silver thing is your focus aid for the enlarger. You set that on your easel and look through it to help focus. It magnifies the image making focusing very easy. Your fifth photo is more enlarger parts. I've noticed an adapter in a previous photo and it looks like this enlarger was for Europe originally. |
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Have fun. Look for a box that contains the lens for the enlarger. I thought I spotted the film carrier in one of those photos too. Look in the blue box for the lens, it might be in there.
IIRC, film developing goes like this: Developer (Microdol-X, etc.) ---> Stop Bath ---> quick rinse with water ----> Rapid Fixer -------> long rinse with water ----> quick dunk in spot remover ----> then remove from reel and hang using film clips to dry. Use a film squeegee right when you hang the film, then leave alone and do not touch. Dust free is ideal until dry. You can reuse the fixer for a certain amount of times, but the other chemicals are one-time use…. stop bath, iirc, does not need to be, but it is so concentrated, I always thrown it out per each use. The fixer will contain the silver removed from the film. You want to save this and let it dry out rather than send it down the drain. |
| Thanks for the reply. Yesterday I picked up a base for the enlarger. I got it for free from a cabinet maker. It's basically the cut out of a kitchen sink. I hope to mount everything this weekend. I picked up some new chemicals and tongs. I got some cheap tubs from walmart. Camera exchange had some tubs but I don't see them being worth $9 a piece. Now I just have to get everything cleaned and the dust removed. I did find the lens, actually 2 of them. One 50mm and one 75mm. I can't wait to get started with this. |
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Quoted: Have fun. Look for a box that contains the lens for the enlarger. I thought I spotted the film carrier in one of those photos too. Look in the blue box for the lens, it might be in there. IIRC, film developing goes like this: Developer (Microdol-X, etc.) ---> Stop Bath ---> quick rinse with water ----> Rapid Fixer -------> long rinse with water ----> quick dunk in spot remover ----> then remove from reel and hang using film clips to dry. Use a film squeegee right when you hang the film, then leave alone and do not touch. Dust free is ideal until dry. You can reuse the fixer for a certain amount of times, but the other chemicals are one-time use…. stop bath, iirc, does not need to be, but it is so concentrated, I always thrown it out per each use. The fixer will contain the silver removed from the film. You want to save this and let it dry out rather than send it down the drain. I've found that putting the reel with film in a salad spinner and giving it a few quick cranks will get rid of the need for the squeegee without scratching the film. ETA: OP, where are you in Texas? |
Right now I can do pinhole type developing, but I'm not quite ready for 35mm. There are a few things that I would like to get first. I need to pick up some photo flo, or whatever that spot free stuff is. I also need to figure out how I am going to hang the film to dry. One of the biggest problems I am having is cleaning all the dust out of the enlarger. It wasn't stored properly and was extremely dusty. Every time I think i have it clean, more dust shows up on the lenses. 
It doesn't help that I still have other photography projects going on at the same time. My class has moved on to digital, and are doing portrait work. It is a good learning experience, but I really have no interest in it. If I can sell one of my guitars I'll be picking up a DSLR. They are convenient, but I think that I prefer film so far. |
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For hanging your film, we used these if all of the actual clips were used:
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Medium-Metal-Binder-Clips-Black-1-1-4-inch-Size-with/product_831602 Don't worry about marring the film since you will have about 3" to 4" of leader and trailer. If the 35mm film was factory loaded, the trailer will be clear and part of the leader will be dark. If you load your own on the bulk loader, both will be dark. You put one on each end… one to hang on a hook and the other to weigh down the film. Otherwise it will curl. BTW, I think you may be missing the door on that bulk loader. If so, you can only use it fully in darkness. Otherwise, you can load film into the 35mm canisters in the light, but load/unload the bulk film in darkness. Kodak Photo-Flo is what I used back in that era such as this: http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-1464510-Photo-Flo-200-16oz/dp/B00009R7E0 You can use a bottle opener to open the 35mm film canisters. You must open the canisters and load your developing tank in total darkness. The red light is only for printing. Regarding your enlarger dust problem, I suspect you have decaying seal strips and/or decaying bellows that is the cause of your reoccurring dust issue. |
| Yes, the door of the bulk loader is missing. That is ok for now. I don't think that I will be running through that much film to really make use of it. The loaders seem pretty inexpensive so if I ever decide that I want one I will just get a new one. The dust issue isn't because of bad seal or cracked bellows. I believe that it is just a design issue. The enlarger doesn't have bellows. The "bellow" is a solid piece that screws in or out. I guess that you could call it a helical design. There seems to be so many openings on the thing that it would be hard to keep the dust out. I will try to post some picks tomorrow if I have the time. It has a very interesting design. |
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Okay, I finally took some picks of this thing. It is a pretty neat design.
This one shows the "bellows" all the way extended. It screws up and down. 
One showing the lens 
And this is the contraption to hold the filters. It's warped so I will have to use some small zip ties to hold everything together. 
The film holder lens thingy. 
The knobs control shutter type things to adjust for the size of the film you are using. The lens will hold the film flat. 
I believe this is the actual place for the filters. I haven't been able to find any originals yet. 
The light source. 
The lens and mirror that fits in front of it. 
And one shot showing the inside. 
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