Help needed to fix Beseler 23CXL that won’t focus

Hello everyone,

I was in the process of getting my Beseler enlarger ready for 6x7 negs, when I noticed the enlarger won’t focus. The focusing knobs and the rod that connects them turn, but the height of the bellows does not change. I don’t think there’s a focusing lock, so I assume something is broken. Or does it need lubrication?
I should point out the enlarger worked fine last time I used it which was a few months ago.

Can someone provide tips on how to fix the enlarger?

I attached a pic of the parts I’m talking about.



Thanks.
-G

Beseler makes a rebuild kit for your enlarger and Freestyle has had it in stock in the past. You might want to go to Beseler's site and call one of the phone numbers listed for tech support. There's some very friendly people there very willing to help you troubleshoot. To focus that enlarger, you have to properly adjust 4 things besides a careful alignment of the negative carrier and lens stage. Get the manual and read it carefully. It's not complicated to read but not easy to properly explain (for me anyway) in a forum post. The 23C XL was my first enlarger. I bought it new in 1977 and it still works great. The knobs and crank handles are usually what fail after heavy use but the enlarger itself is practically indestructible!

I have a Beseler 23C too. You can "help" it along a little to get it going. Sometimes mine seems to slip. It isn't a geared assembly, but rather a friction type of adjustment. While I don't know for sure, I think that lubing it would only make the situation worse if lube got on the wrong part.

Pop the back off the box the rod runs through and see if anything has come loose. Probably you will see the problem. May need an Allen wrench.

This is a very simple 'problem' to fix.

Tilt the head of the enlarger back as if you were preparing to do an enlargement on a wall. Make sure that the head is locked into place. Remove the square metal cap which is on the back of the focusing unit. Inside you will see two metal bands running vertically. These metal bands are used to maintain the focus by holding the focusing rod in place. If they are too tight, there's no movement. Too lose and you lose your focus. You simply need to slack off the tension using the four adjusting screws. Adjust the screws to a point where focus is relatively simple to set, but not always sliding out.

DO NOT use any lubricants. This will reduce the friction that is inherent between the vertical rods and the little plastic wheels which slide up and down on them.

Let me know if this does the trick,
Kent

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll get off the computer and I'll try your suggestions.

-G