Help with glass plate negative

[TexasArch]

Does any one know if there are negative carriers that are designed for old glass plate negatives? I have a few 4x5's that I want to enlarge on my Beseler 45 enlarger. Any help would be appreciated.

[pgk]

I have a De Vere 54 which has what I believe is a Whole Plate glass plate holder - I've never used it obviously. Apparently the 54 was called 54 because a 4" x 5" enlarger attracted less tax than a larger 'professional' model, and whilst it took whole plate it was marketed as a 4" x 5". The Whole Plate holder is simply deeper (like an extremely shallow box or drawer) and has a lower lip which should retain a glass plate. The sheet film holder is a clamping one and quite different. I would think that it should be possible to make something out of thick sheet plastic or ply if the enlarger can take the depth.

[Nodda Duma]

My DeJure 4x5 enlarger has a two-piece holder which works for plates. A hinged holder won’t really work.

Can you make something out of cardboard?

[TexasArch]

Thank you for your thoughts. What I have decided to do is to purchase a used 4x5 film negative carrier and remove its hinge and therefore allow the glass plate to be sandwiched between. I will use some sort of material to act as a stop around the perimeter that I will epoxy to the bottom half of the now separated carrier. I will give it a try and see what happens. The worst case is that I ruin a used carrier.

[Nodda Duma]

I bet that’ll work perfectly

[esearing]

Or find a beseler 4x5 carrier that is missing its glass (or remove it) part #8343 or #8342. Its hinge is slightly offset and the brackets that hold the ANR glass might be useful.

[Pete Oakley]

My De Vere 54A has a HALF plate film holder (not whole plate) and half plate film occasionally turns up as do half plate film holders. I doubt that a whole plate holder would fit the enlarger.
Pete.

[pgk]

You are right I should have said Half plate! But the reason for the name was apparently the increase in tax on professional equipment (> 5" x 4"). Half plate must have been considered a professional format in the UK in the 1950s. I have 5" x 4" and medium format film holders which clamp and sandwich the film but the half plate holder is just a shallow drawer.

[R. Peters]

I realize this is well after the original posts, but I just picked up some Beseler negative carriers yesterday for the Beseler 45MXT etc.

One of the carriers appears to be intended for glass plates. It has no Beseler code number on it (I'm guessing it is an early one), but it has some raised "clips" for a 4x5 plate to slip into so the plate is held in place, and the carrier pieces don't fit tightly together which would allow space for the increased thickness of a glass plate over a standard film type negative.

I have searched everywhere I can think of but short of contacting Beseler, I find no reference to it, so I suspect it is scarce. I don't anticipate a need for it so will probably sell it.

Followup, 8/9/2023: (no longer available).

[jnantz]

hi
I have never had much luck making enlargements with an omega D3v and glass plates with normal negative carriers the weight of the head and condensers is so heavy and it wants to break the edges off of the plate. I made something out of 8ply mat board ... the top and bottom cut out was the exact dimension of the plate and on the bottom there was a lip to rest the plate. ... and the top was thicker so the weight of the enlarger head was on the negative carrier that worked great... ( be aware, you'll probably get a light ring )
I eventually bypassed the 4x5 plates and settled on smaller ones I inserted right into the head of a durst m601 enlarger ( with the glass negative carrier cartridge removed and a piece of fabric taped around the head to keep light leak to a minimum ),
have fun with your enlargements !