Resurfacing Leica V35 Baseboard?

[fredonian]

Greetings- I'm pondering on resurfacing the original baseboard of a Leica V35 enlarger, which has several small

cracks on the surface and a few minor corner dings. I understnd that a "pretty" baseboard has little to do with making

a fine print, but I truly find the enlarger a beutiful piece of equipment. I've read where the AF of each V35 was

individually calibrated with the baseboard by Leica and that it's crucial to keep the original baseboard on the enlarger.

I'm assuming that some level of adulteration of the baseboard could throw off the auto-focus capability of the enlarger,

so I'm wondering what I can get away with in terms of painting or resurfacing the baseboard? There are several ways

in which I could do this, but I presume I need to pick the thinnest method possible? I presume Formica laminate

would be out of the question considering the average thickness is rougly 1.2mm in height. The thinest method I've

considered would be to paint the baseboard with an epoxy based paint by rolling it on with a micro-pore sponge roller

and perhaps lightly sanding it afterwards. Another option may be rigid thermal foil (RTF) which is used to resurface

old cabinetry. It's only .0010" thick, which is rougly .03.5mm (minus adhesives). This may all be beyond absurd but

based on some of the things I've read, I'm left thinking the slightest deviation could be major. Your thoughts and/or

suggestions?

 

 

Charles of Texas

[ronald_moravec1]

I would leave it alone or strip off the old laminate and apply new.

 

Can`t be true about individual calibration to a base board. What is important is it will auto focus with the column calibration marks at zero and a neg focused on the base board. Since the focus is adjustaable, this is not difficult. If the height of the base were raised, the column base will move up the same and all will stay in focus.

 

For different thickness easels, raise the column. Loosen the locking wheel at the base and turn the crank at the top. Calibration marks will appear. You do not need to refocus.

 

The focus is set at 17x. Loosen the large wheel and then turn the one under it. Then loosen the set screw and turn the lens so the aperture is toward yourself. It will then go out of focus again so repeat the steps. then lock down the set screw. The lens should fall into a detent for perfect focus. It has been a while so these instructions may not be quite perfect.

 

Once the focus is set, it remains in focus 17 to 3.1/2 x. The column has to be set to the easel height when you do this or focus on the base with the column at zero. If you use a different easel, do not refocus but raise or lower the column.

 

If the machine were mine, I would patch the corners with plastic wood an paint the corners white.

 

A fine machine now that I managed to get the proper voltage regulator for it. It brings up the bulb to full voltqge over 2 sec thus preserving the bulbs. It was a $700 option when discontinued.

[iwmac]

If you take the column off the baseboard and refinish the baseboard, when you reassemble everything, the baseboard to lens distance should remain the same. If you refinish it with the column in place, then that will have an effect. If you could have the appropriate amount removed with a precision planer, then adding the Formica would still keep the same distance board to lens flange.

 

And I was under the impression that it was the individual lens and cam that were calibrated together.

[fredonian]

Thanks to the both of you for your advice. I can be so oblivious to the obvious at times, esspecially against german engineering, that I almost always ask before I embark on something to avoid messing it up. Incidentally, I've glanced at a few other V35s online and have noticed them to also have similar (stress) cracking to the baseboard surface and seems common. I thought perhaps mine had been caused by getting wet or damp, but evidentally not. I'll likely dismount the enlarger from the board and resurface it with vertical grade formica which is 0.8mm thick and still quite durable. I guess I could let myself really get carried away and do it in a snappy red color, but I'll likely stick to white.

[leicaglow]

Could you mount the rail on a new baseboard from another enlarger, like a Beseler? I've seen new replacement baseboards available at reasonable prices.

[mohir_ali]

One should not make a 'large' board out one piece of wood or it will warp and/or crack. Plywood or several slats of wood must be glued together. I could never figure out why any darkroom gear is white (reflective). I would paint it black.

[christer_almqvist2]

Ronald's answer is exhaustive and there is not much more to say except to confirm it.

 

Ian wrote: "And I was under the impression that it was the individual lens and cam that were calibrated together." This is true

too, but one should add that the calibration can be done by the user.

 

I have used three different 40 mm lenses on my V35 and calibrating has been an easy and quick (10 mins) job. A test

negative, or just any negative with a scratch made by a knife, will facilitate the job. So will a large enlarging glass, no need

for expensive grain focusers. Just remember to calibrate with the lens wide open because that obviously reduces the depth

of field and makes the calibration more exact, and also make the image brighter.

 

If you calibrate at maximum enlargements, the lower factor enlargements should be fine too. If not, raise the

column 10mm and recalibrate at 16x and see what the result is. If worse, then lower the column 10 mm and see what

happens and act accordingly.

 

I have gone through three different easel, the present being a Pelling and Cross. All had different thicknesses. Obviously it is

no problem to adjust for this.

[david j.lee]

Charles, how about a "before" and an "after" pictures of the work?

 

Ronald, i am very interesed in what kind of voltage regulator are you using, can you give me more information?

 

Thanks.

[sandor_a._feher]

Yes, I also have surface cracks on my baseboard.

Attach is the photo from the VR.

[sandor_a._feher]

Yes, I also have surface cracks on my baseboard. Attach is the photo from the VR.<div></div>