Beseler 45M negative stage guide

Hello!

So, i just purchased Beseler 45M and it's in pretty good condition. Only thing that it's missing is negative stage guide for various negative sizes.

Could somebody who own's this enlarger maybe take a photo of the guide with tape measure next to it so i can create new guide to replace the lost one. I have marked the guide with red in the picture below. Thanks!

"Negative Size Indicator Kit" part number 10-31362

You might contact Beseler and see if the part is still available.

KHB in Canada also has the part. Or if you can figure out the overall length you could use this picture as a guide.

ic-racer said:

"Negative Size Indicator Kit" part number 10-31362

You might contact Beseler and see if the part is still available.

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Thank you for the response and part number. Beseler has no offices/retailers in europe (as far as i know) and postage from U.S. will be far more than the part itself. That will be my last resort tho.

My current plan is to carve film sizes (once i get the measurements from somewhere) to thin strip of aluminium and attach it to the original mounting holes which still have the original screws, the scale has just ripped off.

For some reason, this is missing from a fair number of these enlargers. If someone can post something that can be used generally, it would be very helpful.

Good Afternoon, Kautsu,

I agree with ic-racer; the part is probably available directly from Beseler; they are pleasant, easy to deal with, and quick in shipping. Be aware however, that Beseler has a $25 minimum on items ordered. Many of their prices also seem rather high. I recently found out about that when I needed to order a couple of hard-to-find screws for my MCR-X.

I think there is information already posted here on APUG about the measurements you need; I may, in fact, have been involved in that thread. You can also make and mark a simple replacement. Just turn on the enlarger, adjust for light coverage of the negative area with different sized carriers in place and mark your makeshift replacement gauge as you compress or lengthen the bellows. Whatever material you use (and stiff cardboard would actually work quite well), you'll need a length of around 6-7 inches. I don't know what size or type of screw to use at the bottom, but I doubt if it is an easily available common sheet metal screw, whose threading will probably be incorrect.

Konical

This is from KHB's site: "This is the part Beseler refers to as the "Negative Stage Guide" or "Negative Size Indicator Kit". When a colorhead is installed, this scale is typically removed, and thus often lost. Occasionally the scale is accidentally broken off."

I guess that explains why it is missing.

I posted this before - hope it helps again!
It's 3 inches from the 4x5 line to the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 line. The whole thing (measured from the 4x5 line) is just under 6 inches.

Thanks guys, you are the best!

Konical said:

I think there is information already posted here on APUG about the measurements you need; I may, in fact, have been involved in that thread.

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Hey Konical, thanks for your reply. I found the post you mentioned. I guess i searched with wrong keywords..

Here it is:

David Brown said:

I lived without the guide for years, then found one cheap one day on ebay. New ones are expensive (as are all new parts). Keep in mind that you might not be able to have the guide (when and if you find one) mounted with the cold light. In any event:

The indicator is attached by two screws. 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.

Click to expand...

Thanks David Brown.

winger said:

I posted this before - hope it helps again!
It's 3 inches from the 4x5 line to the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 line. The whole thing (measured from the 4x5 line) is just under 6 inches.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the image winger, this helps a lot and now i have all the information i need to create the guide.

kautsu said:

Thanks David Brown.

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Wow, I had to go look at mine because I've never paid attention to that scale. I believe it's intended to be used when a condenser head is mounted. Since I've used coldlight type heads for 40 years where the light source should be as close to the negative stage as possible, mine stays on the 4x5 setting.

Check out this thread:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)