johnrunner

there is one thing that makes me think that the first enlarger pictured is a 5x7 rather than a wider lift arm kit to take a color head. if you look at the home made lift arm extensions in the first photo they just don't taper in from 11 3/4 to 9" they also have to extend out further to center the head and condenser lens. knowing nothing about the dichroic head that might be how they are but everything on the enlarger seems a little bigger. what size is the hole where you put the negative carrier on your 5x7? sorry for not know the correct name for the metal part at the top of the bellows but i have attached a photo to clarify. most 4x5 enlargers that i have seen that have a circle instead of a square hole here the circle is just smooth but this one has little notches at the corners. don't know if that means anything but its different than what i have seen before.

i am starting a community print studio to include a darkroom. so aside from making my own prints (i got a 4x5 camera) they will be available for rent and education use. was the distance between lift arms drastically different from the D-2 to D-3? shouldn't the spacing be the same on both as the heads are interchangeable?

someone suggested it was originally made for a dichroic head and modified to fit a Black and white condenser head. which is possible i guess. both the E and D series are so similar its hard to tell the difference. knowing the actual sizes of particular components for both D and E enlargers and verifying against what i have is the only way to really know. as long as i can find parts and make functioning enlargers is all that matters really. thanks for the response!

ok, so I'm putting together two omega enlargers. i thought both were D-3s but are now unsure. One i bought for cheep off craigslist. the other i am building from found parts. the one i bought looks like it was modified to fit a 4x5 variable condenser head. there are homemade arms that taper in to connect to the standard 9 inch wide head but it looks like it could hold an 11 3/4 wide head. the bellows that are on it have a 6 3/8 hole for the negative carrier and the bottom where the lens board goes looks to have been shimmed in because the arms that hold the bottom of the bellows are wider than normal. Shimmed in from 7 to the 6 1/8 it is now. the column is wider than the D-3 as well. 7 3/4 as opposed to 7 1/4. Was this an omega E series 7x10 modified to be a 4x5? or were there D series enlargers that were a little bigger to take slightly larger than 4x5 negatives? Mystery 2. one of the parts i have is a veritable condenser head that fits 7 inch variable condenser lenses rather than the standard 6 1/2. but the distance of the arms for it to be mounted are still the standard 9 inches same the other 4x5 heads i have seen. Cant find any info on the larger size. condensers for 4x5 are 6 1/5 and ones for 5x7 are 9 inches. so what kind of odd ball condenser lens is 7 inches? please refer to the images for reference if needed