Beseler 45 Mount

Any of you guys want to Show/Tell how you prefer to mount your 45 enlarger.?
I have looked at many of the darkroom pics, but mot many show the enlarger close up.
I suppose what i am really wondering about is wall mounting.
Do you yank the the rails that hold the base board, and then mount that metal base plate to something that is Connected/Leveled to the wall.?
Thank You

Dear CMoore,

I replaced the base plate of my Omega D5 with 1/2" thick cold rolled steel and suspended it above the base with 3/8-16 threaded rod that goes through the entire base. Originally I had planned on steel columns between the base plate and the base but the threaded rods surprised me by being more than rigid enough. With this setup and the lenses in the turret I can enlarge my 3 most common formats (35mm, 645 & 4x5) to around 34 inches wide.



Good luck,

Neal Wydra

Beseler sells a wall mount kit (like $250, ouch!) for the MX series. I think it would be simple to recreate this with plywood and good bracing. I believe the screws that go into the base are 1/4-20, a common size to find longer ones.



The piece on the top is a brace for the top of the frame. This doesn't need to be amazingly butch, just stiff enough to kill harmonic vibrations and there could be many solutions.

I'm about to buy an MXT and will wall mount it, but I want it to come out 8" or so from the wall. So I'll need a well braced plywood box that I can adjust a bit. I'll likely do the "triangles" at the bottom with 2 layers of 3/4 plywood. Main thing is making everything square and well braced. I'll also screw a large piece of plywood to the wall across several studs.

I currently have a beseler 67c, which I pulled from the baseboard and mounted to a 12" high plywood "box" which has threaded adjusters for level, and the top of the column is mounted to the ceiling. I get very big & sharp prints with no shake.

Thank You.....

Regardless of how you attach at the base, bracing the top will help greatly. I used 1/2" metal electrical conduit. I flatten the ends; the end against the wall is bent to match the angle to the wall. I drill holes in the top bar a few inches from each side. The braces extend to the wall at a 45 degree angle.

Yeah...good points.
I wish the 45 was on a center column. I guess they Do/Did make a model like that.....an XVL, or some model number like.?
Do you just use the travel on the frame for enlarging, or do you also use an adjustable base (the part that the paper sits on) that can move up and down also.?
Thank You

CMoore said:

Yeah...good points.
I wish the 45 was on a center column. I guess they Do/Did make a model like that.....an XVL, or some model number like.?

Click to expand...

'Beseler 45V-XL' has a vertical column which looks like this (mine looks like this, with Universal head)
http://www.shadesdirect.com/Images/prods_gifs/darkroom_gif/45vxl_LARGE.jpg
which means if you want off-baseboard prints it needs to be mounted to the wall a bit away from the wall in order to allow projection below the baseboard to extend toward the wall a bit.
It comes with an extra long (54") column which permits 24x30" (4x5 with 150mm) or 23x34" (135 with 50mm) on the baseboard, but you need a ceiling height to accomodate it -- it is 64" tall with a color head in place, or you have the baseboard at a bit lower level than the usual countertop, making small prints more of a back breaking exercise to focus with magnifier.


Instead of the varicontrast controller pictured above, mine has the 45 Universal head with a color controller)
http://russelandwendykwan-photographyandclasses.com/images/Darkroom2014/_WEN1048.jpg

The wall/table mount for the 45V-XL is #8562, whereas the wall mount for the 45M is #8239

I have plenty of room so I went for being able to pull base board and project to shelf below. This is not a great shot but the enlarger in the left is setup with a 20x24 easel on a shelf below main base board. Unit on right just pull out the board and it will go 30 x 40 on the floor. The wall mount is a breeze for the 45 MX. Like M Carter shows in illustration. The enlarger rails come right off, and yes I believe it is a 1/4 20 tpi standard machine screw . I've never been a fan of wall mounts, but whatever gets the job done here you can see table I have used for years, added 2nd enlarger on right later on.

Thanks Guys.
My carpenter/friend is coming over on Thursday.
I will have him take a look at this thread and see what he thinks He Can Make work "better".
I can always change it later.
Thanks Again