Beseler 45 MX Condenser head set up??

Larry the sailor · Aug 26, 2018

I've been using my 45MX for over a year now with the old Dichro head but I finally got fed up witht he timing issues and mounted the condenser head.
Looking at manuals online it shows a scale guide on the side of the lamp stage which I do not have. this is used to set the upper bellows for different size formats.
Could someone possibly snap a picture of this scale and post it so I can see what it is supposed to look like and maybe duplicate it?
Thanks.

Mike Hiscock · Aug 26, 2018

Mike Hiscock · Aug 26, 2018

Larry the sailor · Aug 26, 2018

Thank you Mike, I can work with that!

Mike Hiscock · Aug 26, 2018

If you need more information let me know.

David Brown · Aug 27, 2018

You can easily make one from thin metal, plastic, wood, even cardboard. Here are the indicator mark measurements for the different size negatives, all from the LOWER of the two screw holes:

4 x 5--one inch up
3 /14 x 4 1/4--2 3/16" up
2 1/4 x 3 1/4--3 1/4 " up
2 1/4 x 2 1/4--4 1/4" up
35mm--5 3/4" up.

Keep in mind that the precision required here is not very great. Actually, you can enlarge all the smaller sized negatives with the head set at 4 x 5, although that doesn't make greatest use of the enlarger's light intensity. If in doubt, just fudge a bit on the side of a bigger negative.

Larry the sailor · Aug 27, 2018

Once I saw a good picture of this thing I couldn't help but think I'd seen one around here somewhere... Went out to the shop and dug around in a couple of the "boxes of stuff" that came with he darkroom set up I bought when I got the enlarger and found the scale.

Thanks again guys.

grahamp · Aug 27, 2018

Basically you set the head so the projected light circle is a little larger than the format of your negative. At one point I was switching heads a lot and could not be bothered to put the scale back every time.

CMoore · Aug 29, 2018

As an old, cantankerous, foreman used to say......."Well, I'll Be Go To Hell.!"
Is that scale some thing was was Easily/Typically removed.?
I have 3 of these chassis, and none of them have that. They all have the little pointer, but none have that scale.

Larry the sailor · Aug 30, 2018

Two small screws hold it to the chassis. Look for a small boss just below the pointer with two screw holes.

David Brown · Aug 30, 2018

CMoore said:
Is that scale some thing was was Easily/Typically removed.?
I have 3 of these chassis, and none of them have that. They all have the little pointer, but none have that scale.

Yes. In fact, it had to be removed for any of the Beseler color heads, and probably some other heads such as the Ilford or a cold light.

The thing is, it is not strictly needed (see my earlier post) and it is available (last time I looked) as a replacement part.

Logical1 · Thursday at 6:11 PM

Mike: Thank you for posting this. I recently acquired a 45MXT and it was missing the scale. This allowed me to make and calibrate a replacement. Your pictures with the tape measure made it easy to calibrate. The SAE and Metric tape was the most helpful.

Mark J.

Beseler 45 MX Condenser head set up??

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