For Sale FS: Lensboards for Beseler 23C or 45 enlarger

[Steve Goldstein]

Here are three 4"x4" lensboards that fit the Beseler 23C and 45 series. All are used but usable. Asking prices include PayPal fees and shipping costs in the US. The boards don't look square in the pictures, that's the result of the arty angles I used with my cellphone to try to show them a little better.

Board 1 is flat with a 39mm hole and counterbored on one side. Since the board is otherwise flat, the counterbore can be placed on the front or rear, your preference. Asking price $14.

Board 2 is flat with a 39mm hole counterbored on the front. It has the short red light pipe and two tightening screws. Asking price $18.

Board 3 allows for adjusting the lens alignment. It consists of two boards held together by three bolts and has about 3/8" of compliant black foam sandwiched between the two boards. This board has a 43mm hole so you'll need a wide jam nut to mount a standard enlarging lens. It may also hold a Copal 1 shutter but depending on the particular lens you may have issues with rear cell clearance. Asking price $25.

 

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[waffles]

I’ve always wondered why some Beseler lensboards come with screws while others don’t. Do you know? What is their function?

 

[Steve Goldstein]

I’ve wondered the same thing...

 

[Ian C]

The thumbscrews of the lens board in the 2nd photo are for mounting a below-the-lens filter holder for variable-contrast filters for B&W printing on VC paper, or for CC filters for color printing with a standard condenser head. This allowed the user to buy smaller, cheaper 3” x 3” filters for below-the-lens use instead of using the larger, more-expensive 6” x 6” filters and then having to cut them to 5.5” x 5.5” to fit the filter drawer of the filter compartment of the lamp housing.

In the 3rd photo, adjusting the three screws provides simple way to alter the plane of the lens board relative to the top plate. The top plate fits into the lens-board receiver of the enlarger. This allows the user to fine-tune the alignment of the lens axis perpendicular to the plane of the negative. Usually, the alignment is correct as is and this device is not needed.

Here is the Delta-1 version (no longer available).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/15669-REG/Delta_13310_Bes_Align_4x4_Adjustable_Lens.html