Can An Enlarger Stand Be Converted To A Copy Stand?

thanks I actually expected that I would have to add the 1/4 inch mount( or what ever it is in metric). On the angled mount I wasn't aware of that so will try to avoid such a stand.

I have one that I use exactly as you've described. It is not my main stand, but it's nice for my full slab shots. While the "movement" on the angle seems as though it would be an issue, it's really not a big deal. Of course, I have a bellows with a built in focus rail, so the fine focus is happening vertically.

See this thread which I posted some time ago: https://goccf.com/t/110867

The original....Question of conversion.....AFTER reading....
the reply of others.....moments later is still the same.........IF your looking to use something to be used as a copy stand or to be used as.....a MACRO stand or some kind of bellows,,its still all the same
There are times, People don't even know the real, questions they are asking, to those of us who await to answer those questions..

The enlarger arrived today. Its huge. the baseboard and riser are exactly what I had hoped for. I have stripped off the light housing and the color filter unit. It looks like I am going to have to do some cutting with a grinder, but So far it looks far better than I had imagined. The arm operates by hooking into a sprung steel tape that acts to pull the arm up the riser. A lever operated brake stops it from moving upwards. This is better than I had imagined as I had been warned ( and heard of people damaging lenses) of the arm dropping( through poor handling) to far. The default with this particular stand is up!! I will post photos tomorrow. I anticipate it will take about a week to convert it properly.

Here are the some of the photos of the conversion process. The specs on the enlarger stand:

1989 Minolta Color Enlarger II. Height 92cm (36 inches) Baseboard dimensions: 54cm by 48cm (21 inches by 19 inches)

Enlarger as unpacked:



Enlarger striped down but with bellows still intact.




At this point I realized that once I removed the actual bellows the bellows extension set up could be remounted on top of the horizontal arm ( made out of cast aluminum: 3mm thick). Now as yet I am not sure if this is a good idea but by using the bellows mechanism I can obtain fine control over raising and lowering the camera. the reason that it may not be a good idea is the possibility that the set up will be less stable( more vibration) however it is made out of solid metal and look cool so I will try it.....and if it proves to allow to much vibration I will remove it and mount the Tripod head to the main arm directly.



The following views from above showing the reversed bellows mount. These shots also shows where I am going to have to cut( hopefully its obvious)







The final picture is of the back of the riser and shows the Steel tape spring that pulls the horizontal arm up the riser. Now I noticed that with out the enlarger equipment on the arm there was a tendency for the arm to slowly creep up the riser. Fortunately I discovered it was a mistake in how someone had last mounted the arm and I fixed that....but what this showed me was that Arm was designed to hold a lot of weight so I am considering mounting LED lights ( on extension arms) from that arm



So far the only expense has been the cost of the enlarger (€14.00 + postage €40.00) I anticipate good tripod head with quick-release plate will cost around €30-€50.00) So I expect to finish this project around €130.00 ( about US$160 rough conversion)

Surgery is complete and I now have a copy stand. But there is still some finishing work. I cut the top( originally bottom) of the bellows mechanism and then fitted a camera mounting screw to the resultant platform. That then allowed me to attach a tripod head with quick release plate. Then I had to cut the main arm. It was obvious where to cut as the arm included the bottom support for the negative tray. it was that bottom support that had to be removed.

I had a quick try out with my camera. Using the bellows mechanism was a good idea as it enables me to focus more finely by moving the camera up and down. The worry about more vibration doesn't seem to be a problem. I had mused about adding lighting fixtures to the arm. Now its almost complete I can see that is just not going to work.

The final things that need to be done: there is a top piece that I need to cut to size and refit on top of the arm. This will stop dust collecting in the Lever brake mechanism. The last of course: painting,the cut aluminum just looks ugly. Now doing a comparison a new Kaiser copy-stand of equivalent quality would cost me around €460.00 (US$610.00) my costs: to date( need to add on paint later. €54.00 for the color enlarger( includes postage) €20.00 for Dremmel cutting disks ( got 10 used 1). Tripod head cost nothing as I used one from an old tripod I had( may still change it for a ball head) Camera mounting screw cost nothing I took it off a useless desk top tripod. 2 washers(€0.24.) So excluding paint total cost = €74.24 (US$98.58) So it came in cheaper than anticipated.







Edit: here is an ebay sale of the same enlarger I used. IMHO given the likely postage costs the seller is asking a bit too much...although I have seen some sellers asking US$200.00 for the same model in worse condition

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Minolta-Col...em27d5fc79e9

Here is the final photo of the stand with camera attached. Should any one want to do the same here are some final comments.

Tools used:

Fine (small) electricians/jewelers screw drivers: some of the enlarger mounting screws that you need to take off seem better placed in a wrist watch)

Power drill: Used to drill out the riveted ends of four aluminum posts. These posts were the support for the enlargers light source.

electric screw driver

Dremmel and 2.5 cutting blades( 1 suitable for aluminum and 1.5 for steel) The aluminum support arm cut easily. however the steel top plate went through 1.5 steel cutting disks. An angle grinder might have been a better choice for the steel top plate.

Fine metal file and 300 grade wet and dry paper for finishing the cut surfaces.

Automotive matt black paint..don't use a brush. Use either a paint roller or better use a spray can


Be carefully reassembling the finished product some of the fixing screws are aluminum and a power screw driver can damage the screws' drive head. I would recommend you do it by hand( from my experience).

I have no idea what other enlargers would work but I can say the Minolta Color enlarger II is an easy conversion. I also think you could do it much cheaper than I did (postage was by far the largest cost element). Probably hunting pawn shops and second hand camera stores could save heaps! if I take out the postage costs the final cost was about US$60.00. A big thank you to those who made comment early on in the thread. Getting an enlarger with a perpendicular riser was the most important advice that was given. I have seen some Minolta color enlargers for sale with out the base plate, IMHO opinion avoid those ones as from what I have experienced reproducing a base plate would make the project much harder.

Final note: if any one else tries it please post how it worked for you.