Beseler 45 rear stabilizer bars?

[cyrus]

Can someone tell me what the part no. or name of the rear stabilizer bars on a Beseler 45 enlarger are that go up at angle from 2 rear corners of the baseplate to the enlarger chasis? (I'm not talking about the criss-cross ones)

I need this info because I need to get a replacemet somehow inexpensively. I have revived an old 45 which now is just fine except one of those bars is missing, so my enlarger gets a bit lopsided. I suppose I could fix it with metal strapping of some sort (yes I know these enlargers are relatively inexpensive but hauling them is a pain, and I really like to fix up old photography-related things and put them to use again)

[Robert Ley]

Cyrus, Go to this web site http://www.beselerphoto.com/ and navigate to the enlarger/45MXT and go to the exploded view of the enlarger. It shows the stabilizer that you are looking for. They are the same on all the 45 series enlargers as Beseler has changed little in 50 years. Call Beseler and order the part. You will be far happier with the right part than some jury rigged part that will affect the alignment of your enlarger.

[Michael Graves]

Robert's right. I had exactly the same problem with my 45MX. One thing I'll warn you is that if you're missing the "feet" that the stabilizer bars fit into, they aren't considered part of the bar. You need to order them separately. I had to order both of the bars and both sets of feet. It really wasn't as expensive as I expected and the enlarger is not only more stable, it's better aligned. You will get neither stabilization or alignment with a jury-rigged setup unless you're REALLY good. I tried and failed.