Beseler 11x14 Universal 4 Blade Photo Enlarging Easel manual?

[Kino]

I just pulled this out of storage and am cleaning it up to go under my 45 MX, for which I just got a condenser head. (Yeah, it is blue)

I'd like to have a copy of the manual, if anyone has it.

Tried the usual places; Beseler, Ollinger, Butkis... no luck.

I can figure out how to realign the blades and that you should only adjust them with the easel open, but the paper slots and their relationship to the scales on the sides don't make sense to me at the moment.

Thanks.

 

[albada]

I don't know about the easel, but I noticed that the upper bellows of your 45MX is set for 4x5 sheet film. Grainless enlargements are nice.
If you dislike the mismatching blue, then you want it painted black. Spray paint works best if applied while singing a song by the Rolling Stones.

 

[Kino]

I don't know about the easel, but I noticed that the upper bellows of your 45MX is set for 4x5 sheet film. Grainless enlargements are nice.
If you dislike the mismatching blue, then you want it painted black. Spray paint works best if applied while singing a song by the Rolling Stones.

Yeah, I thought for a split second of spraying it black, but then... naw. It's not blue in the dark.

That's another thing; the upper bellows scale is missing on my chassis. It's always something...

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I have the 16x20 version of your easel. One thing to watch out for is to not over tighten the thumb screws that lock the blades. They are easy to strip (unless they are different on yours).

The slots should center the paper in the easel, so if you set the blades to make a 5x7 on an 8x10 it should be in the center. And without changing the blades, it should be in the center on 11x14 paper as well.

 

[mshchem]

The numbers are inches on the final print. So if you want a 8x8 inch image set all 4 blades to 8. Actually the gradation is 1/2 inch but you use them in pairs which yield 1 inch. Paper slots are for landscape orientation, the slot will always give a bit of a border.

 

[Kino]

I have the 16x20 version of your easel. One thing to watch out for is to not over tighten the thumb screws that lock the blades. They are easy to strip (unless they are different on yours).

The slots should center the paper in the easel, so if you set the blades to make a 5x7 on an 8x10 it should be in the center. And without changing the blades, it should be in the center on 11x14 paper as well.

I could see that with the plastic thumb screws.

Thanks for the slot info; I have always been somewhat confused by these slots. Is the idea to insert the paper down into the slot and then allow the top edge to rotate out upward as the paper is lowered onto the platen, or to give the fingers a reference as to the top edges of the paper when inserted flat to the easel?

This may seem a basic, silly question but I have always wondered...

 

[Kino]

The numbers are inches on the final print. So if you want a 8x8 inch image set all 4 blades to 8. Actually the gradation is 1/2 inch but you use them in pairs which yield 1 inch. Paper slots are for landscape orientation, the slot will always give a bit of a border.

Very good; thank you for confirming what I suspected, but was unsure.

You are adjusting the centered, image size on the paper, not a default border size on any one size of paper.

I hoarded and hauled this equipment around for 30 years, just waiting for the time to actually use it in a meaningful way. Now I find some fundamental concepts have to be learned or re-learned.

Many thanks.

 

[xkaes]

I've only seen these in ALL BLACK. I had no idea they made some in yellow. I'll see if I can find my "user manual".

 

[xkaes]

Here's the three-page manual -- it wasn't as hard to find as I expected! Keep in mind that since yours is a different color than mine, it may be an earlier or later version and might have some other changes as well. As mentioned in the manual, the scale dimensions on the rulers are what Beseler labels "HALF-SIZE" -- easy to confuse people.

http://www.subclub.org/darkroom/beseleruniversaleaselmanual.pdf

 

[Kino]

Here's the three-page manual -- it wasn't as hard to find as I expected! Keep in mind that since yours is a different color than mine, it may be an earlier or later version and might have some other changes as well. As mentioned in the manual, the scale dimensions on the rulers are what Beseler labels "HALF-SIZE" -- easy to confuse people.

http://www.subclub.org/darkroom/beseleruniversaleaselmanual.pdf

Excellent! Thank you very much.

Yes the half scale was confusing at first.

Mine is probably very old, but it's in good shape.