Paula: Which model is it? I have the 45MX, which has a motorized head lift. I have not had a darkroom in many years, but I will put it into service again when I do rebuild a darkroom.
I never had any problems with mine. I know some people prefer the Durst and state that the negative stage alignment can be a problem with the Beselers. But I never had any problem in that regard. And I have never used a Durst, so I can't compare the two.
In my installatin I removed the baseboard and the angle brackets for the base, and mounted the enlarger directly to a concrete block wall. This made for a very stable installatin; I used turnbuckles attached to the top of the frame to be able to adjust the alignment so that it was perfectly vertical. I replaced the baseboard with an adjustable table that allowed me to achieve greater enlargements, plus I could use longer focal length lenses (e.g a 75mm lens instead of 50mm) for the format of the negative, giving me better lens performance.
For free, it's a bargain, of course. Even if you don't like it or use it, you could donate it to a photography program in need of equipment, or to a young photographer who might not be able to afford it otherwise.
Trius
