beseler 23c questions

Well, I just received my beseler 23c. It was in parts, which was expected.
There's a light spun-aluminum cylinder that's partially in the upper
bellows. It seems it should ride higher than that. I've been trying to
work it up, but the top part of the enlarger is tapered inside, so it won't
go up. Does this metal part belong inside the upper bellows? If so, should
it ride right down at the bottom of it? The metal thing is labeled Aristo,
and, Model Beseler 23c. I can read this information and see the thing
through a hinged door on the enlarger chassis, just above the upper bellows.
I would have thought that would be where I'd slide in condensors, or
filters, or something.

Any help you can give would be much appreciated.

regards

 

I think I understand what you're saying. I went over to my 23C to check just
now. On mine, the cylindrical barrel under the filter drawer is what holds the
condensers; it sounds like yours has a cold-light head, hence the "Aristo", so
I can't help you there. But yes, this cylinder fits inside the metal collar
at the top of the upper bellows, and is simply held there by friction. On
mine, the collar will only go all the way up when the lamphouse is in its
lowest position (i.e., for 6x9 negatives). All that really matters in this
area is that it's (relatively) light-tight.

That drawer is for filters, not condensers. If you have a condenser, it hangs
underneath the lamphouse; its flange simply slides on top of the rails at the
bottom of the filter compartment.

 

ok, so it's an aristo cold lamp. I assume it's supposed to ride at the
bottom of the upper bellows ontop of the white piece of glass/plastic--I was
a little confused because the enlarger also came with condensors and a lamp
fixture for the top of the enlarger. There are two cords coming off the
aristo: I'm not sure what the second one does--something about a thermostat?
In any case, I've nothing to plug it into--can the head be used without this
device? I'll plug it in and see. Looks like there's no way to use filters
above the lens--do filters even work with an aristo cold lamp? I can always
switch to the condensors!

regards

 

Very nice. You may want to go to one of the sites that sell manuals for
photographic equipment.

http://www.craigcamera.com/

www.manualsrus.com


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When I used an Aristo on a 23, I recall the milk glass being the
bottom layer, held in the tube just above the negative carrier. The
aristo assembly sat down upon that and the cords went up through the
old condenser bulb cap. I would sandwich my above-lens filters above
the negative holders. I recall needing the upper bellows down as far
as possible or I would get vignetting. Perhaps there is a better way
but an alternative never looked obvious to me and I was getting decent
results.

 

Thanks, Craig;
I've been to the aristo site, and from what I gather, there were 23c cold
heads with two cords and ones with three. Mine has two, one presumably to
heat the lamp and the other to run to a box supplying power to the head,
which in turn would plug into the wall. I don't have that box:
http://www.aristogrid.com/prod02CC_BES23C.htm (see last picture on the
page).
Is this box essential or could I add a switch and plug to the cord itself?

 

I assume you would need the power supply to function. I wonder if the
seller has it around somewhere and just didn't realize what it was
part of? It was a bit fiddly to deal with the filters that way and I
switched to a dichro awhile back. The Aristo stuff seems to go pretty
high on the auction site but maybe you could find a power supply
there? Somewhere on the web or in a magazine, I recall seeing
a modification/fabrication that allowed a homemade filter drawer to be
inserted above the negative for easier use with the Aristo. Does
someone out there know where to find info?

 

It just dawned on me..... this was an article on the Omega D2
modification in the March/April Photo Techniques magazine. I was
thinking when reading it that it would likely be applicable to the
Beseler.

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 13:26:32 -0600, Craig Schroeder

I recall seeing

 

From all reports, it helps a lot to eliminate negative "popping".

I solved that problem very easily: all you need to do is get a piece of
ordinary single-strength window glass and cut a piece that will just fit into
the filter compartment slots. This kills two birds with one stone: absorbs
heat (enough so that I've never had a problem with negative popping), and
provides support for filters (my enlarger came without the filter holder).

 

I've ascertained that I need a powersupply box if I'm to use the Aristo
head. In the meanwhile I figure I'll use the condensors that came with the
enlarger, so I went online to find assembly instructions (and yes, I've
already bought a manual for the enlarger on ebay, but it isn't here yet and
likely won't be for several days). The first thing I find talk of is heat
absorbing glass--my enlarger has no heat absorbing glass.

How essential is heat absorbing glass when using condensors?

Thanks,
mc

 

I apologise if this message appears twice, but I can't see my first even
though I posted it nearly an hour ago (my news service is always very quick
about that).


How essential is heat absorbing glass when using condensors? Will I destroy
negatives if I don't use it?

 

Ok, this is my third time to make this post, so if all three show up, I
apologize. I'm not seeing them, in any case.

How essential is heat absorbing glass when using condensors?

 

Thanks, David. I had to go to Google Groups to see this--please
ignore my repeats of the question.

 

And mine as well.


Regards,

John S. Douglas, Photographer - http://www.darkroompro.com
Please remove the "_" when replying via email

 

The heat absorbing glass protects the filters in the filter draw the lamp.

Sheldon Strauss
www.shel.focalfix.com

 

The first cord supplies voltage to turn the lamp on/off. The other
provides current to a heater. The bulb light intensity varies (a lot)
with bulb temperature. The heater keeps the bulb at its operating
temperature whether it is on or off. Plug it in 10 minutes before
starting your print session.

[If you are printing and your exposures are all over the map, you forgot
to plug in the heater. BTDT]

Lem Johnson

 

No, it will not destroy your negatives. It is meant to protect
against colour shift in colour printing filter packs, that see the
light of the bulb many times more than any negative would.

 

The idea of a heat absorbing glass is to prevent (or at least delay)
negative popping due to heat. It's still a crapshoot because you still never
know when the neg will pop and sooner or later it will. When it does you've
wasted a sheet of paper and several minutes. That's why I love my Durst
Pictochrom - no neg popping during exposures of more than 5 min. If you do
even moderate printing it pays to get a lightsource with efficient cooling
unless you don't mind wasting time pre-popping the negative or always use
glass carriers which constantly need to be dusted..

Natural Light Black and White Photography
http://mysite.verizon.net/geost/
-George-

 

So why is it that I've never experienced negative popping with my Beseler 23C,
which only has 1 piece of ordinary window glass in the filter drawer? This is
even when printing 6x9 negs in a glassless carrier.

I guess I must just be lucky, huh?

 

The glass if it came from Besseler is a special heat absorbing glass which
was only needed if you use the filter draw. The enlarger lamp head is
convection cooled. Considering the size of the condenser I don't think much
heat from the lamp makes it to the negative. I have been using a 23c for
over thirty years and never a had negative pop. Why would be making an
exposure of five minutes anyway, what kind of paper were you using?

Sheldon Strauss
www.shel.focalfix.com