Besler 23c II help needed.

[eskyone]

I have the 23c II and need a lens board that will fit my 50mm and 80mm nikkors. I believe they take a 39mm opening. The lens board included are for two smaller and I assume lower quality lenses. If someone could advise me what lens board will fit(does a 23 lens board fit a 23c II), recessed or not, I would be very grateful. - Sean

[ann]

at one time schneider lens took a much smaller opening.

The lens boards for that enlarger are a standard (over all size) for all models. In fact a 45 board will fit into the 23's. you just need to buy some boards with a drilled 39mm opening.

[Ian C]

The Beseler 23C and 45M enlargers (all versions) use the same 4” x 4” x 1/8” aluminum lens boards. You can even make your own from 1/8" aluminum if you have the means to cut the 4" x 4" dimension and machine an accurate hole on center for the lens.

There are some special boards with extended mounts to place relatively longer focal length lenses farther from the negative, as well as recessed boards to place relatively short lenses closer to the negative.

50mm and 80mm lenses use the flat board on the 23C.

The majority of 50mm-80mm lenses use 39mm mounting thread, but a few German lenses have 32.5mm or 25mm mounts.

[mdarnton]

Or, you can go to the hardware store and buy a half-round file, mark out a 39mm hole around the smaller one that's already there, and start grinding. You will need a 39mm (Leica thread) locking ring to hold the lens, once you have made the hole larger.

Edit: forgot about the thickness issue implied below. Then if you did it my way, you'd need a retaining ring with screw holes, to screw the ring to the front of the board....

[al5256]

Hi,
I got a 23CII before Christmas. It came with a 39mm lens board with a bore on front then bought a lens board with a bore at rear from *-bay . My Nikkor 80mm/5.6 lens fits both of them without any problem but needs a retaining 39mm ring that can be obtained from BH if you don’t have it.
Here are the definitions of the boards:
Part no: 8021.....Lens board 39mm counter bore on face, w/PL
Part no: 8023.....Lens board 39mm counter bore on rear, w/PL
PL is red pilot light to assist for seeing the f-stops in the dark.
For more information on 23C accessories you can check the following web site:
http://www.oresteen.com/bess23c.htm

[eskyone]

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for!

[Jon Shiu]

You can also buy a compatible board called a Delta Bes-board from Freestyle photo.

Sometimes a recessed board is needed when making 11x14's with 50mm lens, because the bellows don't compress enough to keep focus without creeping.

Jon

[Sundowner]

And if you make your own board or have an extra one lying around being useless, you can drill and tap it for set screws to dead-level the lens to the negative stage...