Sanity check: a pack-away-able 5x4 enlarger setup?

[Dave_P]

Just wanting to tap into the collective wisdom on this thought experiment....

Currently my 'darkroom' is a utility room (cupboards, washing machine, coats hanging up, toilet, small sink etc) which I am able to black out enough to comfortably contact print 10x8" negs with a pretty basic but usable setup I can pack away, and I've enjoyed doing this the last year. As you might imagine, I've long had an itch to enlarge my 5x4" negs too, but have never had space for an enlarger or dedicated darkroom, and am unlikely to until one or both of my beloved offspring leave home. So it's strictly been scanning and getting commercial printing done for me so far (in my case the Ilford lab for b&w).

The utility room isn't really suited to housing an enlarger, not least a huge 5x4" one, due to cupboards above all the worktops. But I can probably fit a bit of scrap countertop as a temporary worktop to bridge the gap where the toilet is, and put an enlarger there, as there is roughly 1m height above this before hitting shelving. But the caveat is it would have to be packed away every time it's used, as it can't stay there all the time. I think trying to move a normal full 5x4" enlarger would be too heavy/cumbersome, there's not enough space to wall-mount in the room, and I don't have any other space to store a 5x4" enlarger the rest of the time anyway.

So thoughts turn to deciding if it's possible to compile some sort of setup that can be packed away. Has anyone else had to do this, tried and failed, or had sucess? I suppose the obvious option would be to get a copy stand (perhaps even one converted from a 6x9 enlarger) and stick a lightweight 5x4" camera on it (my Chamonix would do) and stick an Intrepid LED 5x4" enlarger kit thing on it. I could definitely store a copy stand, and it might prove useful in future anyway. It would clearly need carefully aligning every time but that's doable. The whole thing wouldn't necessarily weight the same as a small car as a lot of old 5x4" condenser enlargers or ones with huge colour heads do. Is this madness or is it reasonably doable? All thoughts gratefully received.

Obviously I can just scan.... but that's not scratching the same itch (and before anyone says, no I have absolutely no interesting in owning and running and inkjet printer as an alternative )

 

[HowLarge]

An Intrepid 4x5 enlarger solution will work in your situation , a cheap monorail can provide you with a quick and rigid setup rather than trapping your Chamonix - which likely has rear focus which simply does not work comfortably when in enlarger mode.
Martin Henson has tried this and somebody I know had the same issue with rear focus on the Chamonix.
Go for it , there is not really any other option, diy light source is doable but negative holder is tricky , could copy the Intrepid style they are quite simple.

 

[Dave_P]

That is a good point about the rear focus. I do also have a Chamonix 045H which focusses at the front too (same as all the Ebony non-folding models) although this is a heavier camera than the usual Chamonixs. Plus the focus doesn’t lock when you let go of the knob (you need the other hand to turn the lock knob) which might be a pain when mounted vertically.

 

[HowLarge]

Yes a friction lock/adjust lever on the same side as the focus wheel is ideal , the metal Wista and later Graflex cameras have that and it’s ver manageable one handed which is the natural way to work with the other hand on the focus finder.
I have similar space constraints, the modern “graflarger” from Intrepid is good to have around.

 

[David M]

We seem to have covered all the practical solutions already. One more suggestion: would it be possible to fix a vertical rail to the wall where the enlarging takes place? That might simplify your set-up procedure. It would need a bit of DIY if you’re comfortable with that.

 

[Dave_P]

We seem to have covered all the practical solutions already. One more suggestion: would it be possible to fix a vertical rail to the wall where the enlarging takes place? That might simplify your set-up procedure. It would need a bit of DIY if you’re comfortable with that.

This is a good point, it might be possible, I'll look into that.

Yes a friction lock/adjust lever on the same side as the focus wheel is ideal , the metal Wista and later Graflex cameras have that and it’s ver manageable one handed which is the natural way to work with the other hand on the focus finder.
I have similar space constraints, the modern “graflarger” from Intrepid is good to have around.

Aye, the old Arca monorails have similar with focus and lock on the same side. Old arca 5x4s are pretty cheap and not as heavy/bulky as some monorails, so that's an option.

 

[Graham Patterson]

If you are using something like the Intrepid enlarger, then an adjustable shelf bracket could be substituted for the column. That would mean just the riser screwed to the wall, and the bracket would be height adjustable to within 2-3cm. You would probably need a pair of brackets if you want to mount the baseboard that way as well, just for weight and levelling. The whole thing would just un-clip from the wall upright.

I've actually seen this done, but never had to go beyond a cart for the enlarger myself.