Beseler 45MXII questions

[HHChapman]

New to enlargers here. Just picked up a nice clean used 45MXII and am setting it up.
-The focusing knob is workable but a bit stiff. The set screw to lock position in place is loose so it is not that. How best to smooth the action of the focus knob?
-The guide is missing for setting the negative stage distance from the head as a function of negative size. Can someone provide measurements for the distance from the head to negative carrier when working with 35mm, 6x6cm, and 4x5" negatives?
Thank you very much,
Harlan

[Mainecoonmaniac]

First clean the metal rail where the bellows slide with alcohol. With mine, old grease made it sticky. The bellows rides on a plastic guide. You can use a light lubricant like Break Free or graphite will work too. As for the setting, I never set it and leave the bellows compressed. Don't know why Beseler put bellows between the head and the negative stage. I use a dichroic color head as a light source. Maybe it's different with condenser heads.

[ann]

It is different with a condensor head, with a diffuison head or cold light source the bellows are compressed.

I am sure someone will drop by and let you know the
specific sizes, i would but i am not at the lab and won't be until next week.

[grahamp]

You can estimate it. Raise the lamp bellows to full extension (smallest format), put in the carrier you want, then lower the lamp until you just get even illumination into the corners. But if you have a diffusion head just compress this section all the way.

The scales get removed to fit the big dichroic heads.

[grahamp]

Here you go, from the top:

35mm, 40mm above 2 1/4x2 1/4, 26mm above 2 1/4x3 1/4, 30mm above 3 1/4x4 1/4, 30mm above 5x4, 30mm above edge of upper bellow flange. So the pointer should be on the 5x4 marking with the upper bellows fully compressed. The total bellow extension to the 35mm mark should be 126mm.



All measurements to the nearest millimetre.

[Luseboy]

As far as loosening up the focusing knob, I put some silicone bicycle grease on the rail, it really freed it up a lot! I like how it works now a lot more.
-Austin

[HHChapman]

Thank you all for your thoughtful and effective advice, much appreciated.
-Harlan