Beseler 45 question

[artflic]

I am in the process of mounting a Beseler 8 x 10 conversion on my 45V XL. It appears that I have to do some cutting on the lower lens mount area. Does anyone know how the bellows mounts? Are they screwed in from the inside or glued, or what? It would be useful to know prior to taking it apart. Thanks, Rob

[shadow images]

If my memory serves me correctly they are glued same as the 45M series. When I did the conversion years ago I had to carefully separate the bellows and reglue them to the new plate.

[artflic]

Thanks Lyle, I sort of thought that was the method of fastening. To avoid the situation requiring separating and regluing the bellows I decided to fabricate a new lens mounting plate. I bolted the lens flange to the outside of the board and was able to make it fit without cutting away any of the bottom lens stage. The new plate allows me to mount both the Rodagon 240 and 300 mm lenses as they have the same flange. Rob

[Neal Chaves]

It's easy to modify the lens stage to fix the 240 and 300 Rodagons. You dont have to remove the bellows. With the stock lens mount in place, trace out the opening where the arc cuts accross. Then take off the lens mount and cut out the notch with a sabre saw, file smooth, vacuum up the metal chips and touch up the paint. I doubt this will interfere with use of the Beseler turret which will not take an 8X10 lens in any case. I posted pictures of this mod a while ago.

[Neal Chaves]

Here is the link to the modification.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?106151-240mm-5-6-Rodagon-up-on-Beseler&highlight=240+Rodagon+Beseler

[artflic]

Thanks Neal, I did see your modification when you posted it, however, I wanted to avoid cutting into the original lens stage. My solution was to make an entirely new mounting plate with a hole for the Rodagon flange. Fortunately both the Rodagon 240 and 300 have the same flange. I'll photograph it and post it tomorrow so others can see it in case they need to do it. I was trying to look ahead to a point in the distant future when I sell the head and enlarger chassis separately and this solution would keep them standard. Rob

[artflic]

Attached photos show my105464105463105465 modification. The plate is 3/16" aluminum. I added set screws for leveling as per the original. The main problem was that the flange usually mounts on the other side of the board, necessitating the cutout in the lens stage. I mounted mine on the bottom using 10/32" screws tapped into the plate. The forward one had to be cut flush on top as the lens stage was not cut out there. The two in the rear cleared the original hole, so I was able to add some extra security with a nut on top. The entire plate is held to the lens stage with 1/4" cap screws. Rob

[EdSawyer]

I just did this with a dremel to my 45vxl yesterday. worked fine. Took a while, that is some thick aluminum. Lot of metal dust to suck up later though. The bellows are glued in place, btw.

nicely done artflic, btw.

I don't feel bad modifying mine, it's more of a feature having it hogged out anyway. And anyone who is serious about enlarging doesn't use turrets anyway. ;-P

[Neal Chaves]

I just bought a 300mm Rodagon for a favorable price, and while it will mount in the 4X4 lensboard for the 240 it was a bit tight and clumbsy to mount and dismount. As I now had an extra flange, I decided to make a plate like Artflic's for both lenses. To keep weight down and for ease in machining, I used 3/16" Taco Marine Lumber which I bought at West Marine. It is a PVC-type material. I drilled and tapped for the flange screws. Like Artflick, I was able to get a nut on one of them.

Both my Rodagons now mount and dismount easily, but I think it would be tight if I hadn't cut out (or "hogged out" as EdSawyer says) the notch106364

[EdSawyer]

"hogged out" LOL yeah, that is a kinda funny term. Seems totally normal until you think about it a bit. I forget where it comes from. DIY automotive machine work maybe?