beseler drums

[Robert Musgjerd]

anyone use beseler drums for developing sheet film if so did you have any problems and what did they look like thanks

[Pat Kearns]

Robert, I've been using them for about 5 years and do not have any complaints. I use Tmax film with Tmax RS developer 1:9 dilution ratio for 10 minutes at 75 degrees. I'm quite pleased with the results I've been getting.

[Darin Cozine]

I've been using print drums on a motor base for a few years now.

The ease of use, consistancy, and quality is way better than tank or tray processing in my opinion. Note that I only process small batches of 4-6 sheets at a time.

One thing to remember is that processing times are usually shorter, like 10-25%. So a little experimentation is required to get the right time.

[Leonard Evens]

I've been using the Beseler 8 x 10 drum on the Beseler motirized base for about three years now. I do 2-4 sheets of 4 x 5 film at a time, using 6-8 oz of solution. I had to experiment a bit to determine the proper development time, but since I scan the negatives, that is not hypercritical for me. The only problem I've had is not seating the film properly so that there is overlap and uneven development. But by being careful, I've learned to avoid that problem.

I started with a Beseler drum I've had for years. I got it originally to develop color prints. At one point I forced the top on and cracked off part of the light seal. I managed to epoxy it back on, but after a while it came off again. I got it back on, but I thought it would be a good idea to get another drum. I found one on e-bay at a good price, but it came without one part. The original drum has a separator which slides into a slot on one side. Without the separator, you could do one 8 x 10 and with it you could do 4 4 x 5 prints. I managed to make a separator from a plastic "I-beam" strut of the right size, which I found at my local hobby shop. In addition, the strut comes with a crosspiece separator which separates the 4 x 5 s on one end of the drum from those on the other. I cut something out of plastic and glued it to my improvised strut. The one I made actually works better than the original.

It would be nice to have some sort of crosspiece to separate the two ends of the drum on the other side, but I haven't figured out a good way to put one in place, except gluing it permanently, and I don't want to do that.

[Bob Fowler]

"It would be nice to have some sort of crosspiece to separate the two ends of the drum on the other side, but I haven't figured out a good way to put one in place, except gluing it permanently, and I don't want to do that."

There was a thread on photo.net a while back where we discussed the spacer and how to make them. I'm at work and can't access photo.net or I'd give you a link (our smart filter blocks photo.net as a "sex" site!).