Anybody Use A Kodacraft Tank w/ Aprons?

[F4U]

I'd like to hear about your experiences and methods.

 

[BrianShaw]

I’ve never used them but a former boss of mine swears by them. He was using them as recently as recently.

 

[Hunter_Compton]

Have used one. It's very easy to load the film, just roll it up with the apron. However, the tank is not very well sealed, so you can't do inversions or even very vigorous swirling, so development can sometimes be uneven. For me, a Paterson tank is by far the better choice.

 

[mshchem]

Agitate it like Analogue Andy!

 

[Paul Howell]

When in high school (1960s) we used them, easy to use compared to winding film on a SS reel. My only issue was that the tank filled very slowly so there was a chance of uneven development. I found a set at yard sale. In the late 80s and early 90s I taught photography at a local community college there was always someone who could not use a SS reel or Patterson but could manage the old Kodak system. There was a similar set sold by Freestyle made 20 or more years ago, have not seen any new stock in a very long time. My tanks and aprons must be in my storage unit, I have a tall tank with 2 35mm aprons and a 120 apron. After sitting in a un air conditioned storage room in the low desert the aprons are likely too brittle to use.

 

[MattKing]

I still have a couple, but haven't used one for a while.
But if you have one of the aprons sized for 616/116 or 70mm film, we should talk .
They are well suited for use by us folks with one dexterous hand. And they are a really good solution for extremely old roll film that curls like crazy.
Unfortunately, the lids don't permit inversion agitation.
For those who aren't familiar with how they look, from my Photrio Gallery uploads:

Portal of a different Sort

• MattKing
• Dec 29, 2007
• 7

I thought I’d try something different for this assignment.

In my mind, a “Portal” is an...

 

[F4U]

I only have the 120 apron,. I bought my Kodacraft 50 years ago brand new. Just pulled it out, still in the box w/instructions tonight. When i bought it, it was just for kicks. Never used the apron. Since I had already been using my Honeywell Nikor tank when I bought it, I laughed at that apron as a recipe for uneven development. although I DID use the tank with a steel reel 3 or 4 times. It only takes 4 days to pour out all the developer and pour in the stop bath. IF you don't mind chemistry leaking out all over everywhere the whole time. I've kept it in the original box all these years. Still looks brand new. Still smells like it did when I first bought it. Smells like vomit, if my crude description is permissible by the moderators. I still wonder if people actually used that thing way back when? To me it was always a nostalgia piece and nothing more.