Wall Mounting a Beseler 45M

[Iskra 2]

Any good ideas on wall mounting my old Beseler 45M enlarger without using the Beseler hardware, or should I just get the brackets and stop being a 'pennypincher'?

Would like to place it in the back of a closet with minimum distance to wall of the main column base. Regards.

[Eric Woodbury]

I think you could do it easily. I would put a piece of wood, 2x2, on the wall and rest the rear of the enlarger on that. Then I would do what should be done anyway and secure the top to the wall with some kind of brace. For mine I drilled and tapped the top of the enlarger and screwed some aluminum ell stock to a wall bracket. It was easy, cheap, quick, and solid. If you get in trouble, put some legs in the front.

EW

[ppisczak]

Just a quick note. You have to be very careful about vibrations when you rigidly mount something, particularly to the wall. The more rigid the arrangement, the more likely it will vibrate, natural vibrations like that of your house or office, from wind on the outer walls, trucks driving by etc. Also the higher the frequency. They may not be obvious, but they are there and will fuzzy up your exposure. If you mount on the walls it is VERY advisable to mount your enlarger on rubber or urethane grommets. If you need help with this design please let me know and I will be glad to give my assistance. Good luck

PJ

btw - I have a Beseler 4x5 enlarger with condenser and color head

[Iskra 2]

Thanks for the info and insights Eric and pj. The closet thing is going to be a temporary thing before moving to a better spot in the garage (concrete slab). A quick wooden mount for the closet should work temporarily (no big enlargements). These old 4x5's are heavy "Beasts". Regards.

[ppisczak]

Heavy helps, so does concrete. It vibrates also, but at a much lower frequency because of it's mass. Heck even the earth has a natural frequency! = ~6.5 hz. Can you tell that I've done vibration Engineering in my past? Does it show that bad? ..
~

Good luck with your new install. A good source for vibration grommets and information is:

[URL="http://www.earsc.com/grommets.asp"]

PJ

[Ron Stowell]

So if it all vibrates together will it matter that much?

[Iskra 2]

Hi PJ, what does that 6.5 hz wave front look like? Maybe I should make sure the baseboard is part of the structure... oriented properly.......... or ignore it....... Regards.

[Iskra 2]

PJ, this 6.5 HZ thing has prompted a 'Google' and now I'm worried about 'Schumann Resonance'. With the rapidly changing resonant frequency and anticipated reversal, where am I going to mount this enlarger to be sure it is stable? Regards.

[ppisczak]

I probably deserve any good natured ribbing I get Most of us shouldn't worry, but being the perfectionist I am I try to eliminate variables: use only one light meter, a power line filter for my enlarger light source, one thermometer for developing, vibration isolation grommets on the bottom of my enlarger base etc.

Interestingly enough, it was Nikolai Tesla who discovered the natural frequency, i.e. the tendency for everything to vibrate as a function of its makeup, of the earth. He went so far as to attach a resonator on an I-beam in his NY lab which matched the frequency of the earth. Within an hour or two the entire burrough was humming and thumping. The residents became so alarmed that they called the police, but before they could get through Nikolai's lab door he destroyed the device with a fire ax stating self absorbedly that if he had wanted to he could split the earth.

Back to topic. The best example of natural frequency is a bell. When you ring it, or force mechanical energy into it, there is a usually pleasing tone, but at a single or natural frequency. A bell is a very rigid object. Everything has a natural frequecy and the more rigid an object the larger and more singular the frequency. Imagine a bell made out of mud, it would just go thud!

Most good laboratory equipment rest on vibration isolators and have them strategically located between elements inside. Makes sense that we would want to rest our enlargers on the same thing. Minute vibrations will fuzzy up an exposure. We inherently know this in the field, hence a good tripod, but tend to forget it in our darkrooms.

Iskra when bolting your equipment to the wall it is my suggestion that you place a rubber grommet between the bolt and your equipment. btw - in a automobile they use engine mounts, or rubber grommets between the engine and the frame of the car. Same principle. Some may argue that this may be too extreme, and they may possible be right. But a wall is a large surface which will pick up vibrations from it's surroundings. If in doubt, set it up without the isolators and check your results with that of an enlargement made previously when not mounted. btw - the isolators can be pretty inexpensive, maybe a $1 a piece and any major hardware chain should carry them in the electrical area, not as vibration isolators, but rather as rubber inserts to protect wires when passing through a sheet metal hole with sharp edges.

Hope that long winded add-on explanation wasn't too painful and for all others, it is wise never to ask an Engineer the time as he or she may often answer by explaining how the ore is mined, smelted, fabricated, stamped and milled into components, how the sand is made into glass to make the watch face, how the spring is.........

PJ

[Iskra 2]

Hi PJ,

Thanks for all the info. Nice to know about enlarger mounting techniques that do merit consideration and that Tesla experiment is sort of 'mind boggling' along with "Schumann Resonance'. I suppose that all is related to the earth's magnetic field shifting and reversal. 'Hang on' for the ride. Regards.