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Building make-shift darkroom

mporter012

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Fort Collins, Colorado
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A friend and I are going to build a make-shift, small darkroom in our apartment. We have the majority of the equipment. A few questions. 1) We have some tables that we can put the enlarger on, but we're not sure how stable it needs to be. I'm assuming any solid table is OK? I was just thinking any shake in the table could affect the exposure under the enlarger? 2) Should we be concerned at all about ventilation? The darkroom's I've used have typically had some sort of ceiling ventilation.

Thanks!

Mark
 
I've happily used darkrooms with little or no ventilation, but others may be more sensitive to chemicals and odors. The enlarger's table should be as stable as possible. Bracing it against a wall can help. The enlarger should sit solidly on the table. A shaky set-up can be used. After the enlarger is focused and its lens stopped down, leave the light on and block the light from the lens while placing the paper in the easel. After a second or two, remove whatever is used to block the light without touching enlarger or table. Much the same technique is used for long exposures when a camera might not be rock solid.
 
A sturdy support for your enlarger is pretty much a requirement, if you want critically sharp enlargements. The support (the table) shouldn't be flexible on its own. And it shouldn't be placed on a non-solid floor. Meaning not on a carpet or mat or creaky floor boards.

My darkrooms have all been located on concrete floors, giving ideal rigidity, although a bit harder on the legs. My current enlarger (an Omega D5XL) is wall-mounted to a special set of 4x4 wall studs I purposely placed inside when I built the wall itself, and actively anchored onto the concrete floor slab.

Ventilation is a pleasant amenity if one does not do the chemistry part in the same room. Heat and humidity will still build just from you body, the smaller the space the quicker. Ventilation is more urgent with chemistry placed out, especially with more traditional chemistry such as acetic acid stop baths and acid fixers. And even more so if you dilute things such as stop bath from stock glacial (99%+) acetic acid.

I use a matched set of ventilation fans, installed outside the room. One pulling air in from outside the building, one pulling air out, both speed-controlled from a single adjustable control. The air is double-filtered and during the winter I have an infinite pool of cold, dry air from the outside at my disposal.

Some prefer a net positive inside air pressure to keep dust out when doors are opened. I prefer a net neutral air pressure to keep from sucking dust in from, or forcing fumes out into, the rest of the house.

Ken
 
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My school has I ventilation in their darkroom, I asked about this and they sort of just shrugged and said "eh, we don't really need it" I think they meant since they primarily use sprint and it's not that strong? Either way I often use mask because of the missing ventilation.
 
Agree you want it stable.

I'm lucky to have concrete under my table and the timer is on a separate shelf. Mine's a small Ikea-type two-shelf wooden bookcase. I've seen some photographs of people's darkrooms illustrating their concern for stability (I think I've seen someone use turnbuckles and cables to hold an Omega D-II to the wall). I'd worry that the wall vibrates when winds are howling or when cars drive by.

But I also had apartment darkrooms, where I had reason to be concerned - like you. I used to stand quietly and switch off the fan when printing.
 
StoneNYC said:
My school has I ventilation in their darkroom, I asked about this and they sort of just shrugged and said "eh, we don't really need it."
Click to expand...

I tried to design several safety features into my darkroom as well.

For instance, my ventilation system is also a safety feature. The opposing fans are intentionally both high-velocity high-cubic-feet-per-minute units. Normally they are run at only a fraction of full capacity. But in the event of an emergency, they can be instantly cranked up and completely change the air in the room in under two minutes.

Also, all of my mixed chemistry is stored in glass bottles for impermeability. And although not as bad as California, this is still earthquake country. So the bottles are all stored on a shelf above the sink so if they do fall, both broken glass and spilled liquids will be contained. Or hopefully minimized. At least that's the theory.

And for safety I also mounted my door so that it opens outward, instead of inward. That way if I am trying to get out as fast as possible the door isn't going to work against me. As there is only one door, this was essential.

Ken
 

That's awesome! Plus when running low speed, probably no vibration. When running full speed you don't care!

I've got my chems behind lockable chicken-wire doors - designed after a friend told me about her experiences in pediatric intensive care...
 
Don't laugh. I have a small closet darkroom with no ventilation at all. I often use a clear plastic pitcher with a lid that seals well. A 5x7 or 8x10 paper fits nicely in it, about 1/2 way around the diameter. I pour in the developer, roll it back and forth, then pour the developer back into its bottle ( all my bottles have wide enough mouths to not require a funnel ). Then the same for stop and fixer. I wash in a sink in another room. It works fine, uses minimal chemistry, the chemistry lasts well since it's usually in capped bottles. Not much in the way of fumes because chemistry is only exposed to the air while pouring in or out. There are some tricks that make this more efficient, for example I have a bottle of water just for washing test strips, so I can make test strips and a 1st print without having to leave the room for any washing.

Compared to some other options, like a bathroom where you'd have to set up and take down every time, I really like it. It is always set up and ready to go and if I have a free half hour or 45 minutes I can go right in and make a print. If I come home with a paper negative, I'm ready to develop it any time I want. I sit on a little stool, the enlarger is on a sturdy support, and the "wet side" is the top of a plastic filebox in easy reach, with a rim that would catch any spills. It also happens to be the most dust-free place in our entire house, and dust hasn't been a problem for me. The closet has a clothes-hanging rod, and I have some "clothes hanger-clothes pins" for hanging my prints to dry. There's music in there too ( I rigged a switch so I can pause my mp3 player, and turn on the mp3 recording of a metronome, then back to the music without losing my place... )

KRST I use later in the garage, not because I'm afraid of fumes but because I don't think I could clean up a spill sufficiently well in my little closet darkroom.

Some of my photographer friends who have only used rows of trays think this sounds fussy and difficult, but the truth is that it is not. It's comfortable and convenient. The only thing I really miss is running water and a sink.

Edit since I was typing at the same time as Ken and Bill: my chemistry is all in plastic bottles so that if there is an earthquake they will not break. I store the stock solutions in glass in the garage, in boxes on the floor. Again, with the idea of easier cleanup in an emergency ( and ability to open the garage door for full ventilation in that emergency ) I wrap the glass bottles in black plastic, to cushion them and to keep the light out.
 

Ray McSavaney, one of the great photographers and printers of the 20th century, made many of his prins with his enlarger on a card table. The secret is to stay away from it while it is exposing the paper.
 
Bill Burk said:
I've seen some photographs of people's darkrooms illustrating their concern for stability (I think I've seen someone use turnbuckles and cables to hold an Omega D-II to the wall).
Click to expand...



I'm one of those guys, Bill...

My Omega D5XL has my own design of wall-mounted threaded steel rods (instead of flexible cables) and turnbuckles attached to a heavy-duty crossbar to immobilize the enlarger head. Together with the wall-mounted base it forms a nice solid 3-point mounting plane. Since the mounting studs in the wall are my own 4x4s, and the floor is concrete, when locked down the head is as solid as granite. With this design I can also position an oversized easel undernearth the base mount, if required.

And the turnbuckles, working together, create a fine micro-adjustment mechanism for parallel aligning the head with the countertop below it. Here's an older photo of the enlarger mounting. Things have changed considerably since that time. The head is now an Aristo VCL4500. There is a 3-lens turret. And the easel is now a huge 16x20 Saunders VT2000 (that I do sometimes slide under the base mount).

But the enlarger mounting is unchanged.

Also note the generously rounded corner of the counter top. Another total darkness safety consideration. That high-gloss polyurethane finish was intentional as well. I purchased a yard of black felt from a fabric store, cut a rectangle to exactly fit under the 35-pound VT2000 easel, and now it slides effortlessly all around that counter. But it's still heavy enough to stay put unless I push on it with some effort.





Ken
 
I'm afraid to add cables to my soon to be owned enlarger, if it falls it might take the wall out with it...

Nice paper safes! I'll need to get some of those too, I have an 8x10 but that's it so far. Will have to get some 11x14 if they exist, maybe even 14x17.

Are those top ones 5x7? Or are those 8x10 and the ones below 11x14?
 
The top four are 8x10s (from the days of Zone VI Brilliant paper in grades 1-4). And the bottom two are 11x14s (the largest I could process in my previous darkroom). I think they are stamped Soligor, but they were generic with lots of different brands stamped on them.

They have soft little plastic grips at the ends of angled plastic hanging arms inside, so when you open the front door the top sheet of paper is pushed out an inch or two to grab. Clever, that.

I don't use these any longer. They are wrapped in plastic and stored in a closet these days, still in like-new conditon. I'm currently using the modern black ABS plastic guys with lift-up lids. I've epoxied sets of small but powerful neodymium magnets to them such that they snap shut hard and stay shut until you definitely want to open them.

They're much easier to move around the darkroom to free up counter space than the ones you see.

Ken
 
A decent microwave cart can work pretty well. I've used one with carriage bolts and T-nuts through the bottom and that allow it to easily be raised off the wheels for stability.
 
In case you haven't already reviewed it, see the Temporary Darkroom thread for ideas: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

On the issue of ventilation, I would suggest that any room that is uncomfortable due to lack of air flow is a problem, whether or not you are using it as a darkroom.

If you cannot get reasonable air flow with the door closed, you will need to open the door frequently.

I use a bathroom for a darkroom. I rely on the bathroom's extraction fan, and open the door whenever I turn on the white lights.

It also has nine foot ceilings, and is moderately large.
 
Second Ken on the wall mount with two thin cables. Any amount of tension on the cables at top will negate resonance in the column, and as Ken said they can be used to fine tune alignment. This is assuming your wall is stable.

I print on a second-hand piece of cabinetry that I turned into a light-tight box. The key is to spend the money and put wheels on it . . .then you can raise the enlarger head high and wheel your easel stand away if you need space to do something else.

And this is no better time for you to buy a decent laser level. I got a Bosch factory rework for $75, worth its weight in gold chloride. In all facets of life, it is good to know what is level and what is not.
 

Happily we have few earthquakes here (only one noticeable one in six years, so far) but generally a safer idea is to put breakable/leakable containers in a larger one with a capacity greater than the sum of the contents, to contain any leaks or siplls.

In this case I'd suggest one (or more, each needs to be moveable without too much effort) of those common plastic storage-bins, big enough to contain the glass bottles vertically, with all contents clearly marked on the outside container and adapted to have a lockable lid (childproofing). Get some thin wood strip and make a crossways grid to stop the bottles hitting each other. The large container(s) should be on a floor as that is least likely to fail under stress, or if it disappears down a sinkhole then spilled Dektol is the least of your problems!
 
I've returned to darkroom work after 18 years away - luckily I live in a duplex that we have converted to one home, and the upstairs kitchen is unused and half-stripped out (it will one day be a big master bath). It's amazing to have a decent space to work in.

Here's a few tips I've picked up as a "newbie" who's also not a newbie...

The only good thing about the "death of film" is how cheap used gear is. There's no reason to have a so-so enlarger if you really get into this. Proofers, paper safes, timers, lenses, easels - they're all pennies on the dollar, and the old stuff is usually far sturdier than modern manufacturing.

Get a repeating timer! That's about the coolest simple upgrade for bang-for-your-buck. I got an Omega CT-20 for $18. Open 'er up, drill a hole in the back, and solder the footswitch wires to a 1/4" female jack, and pickup a musician's foot switch at the music store (unless you get a footswitch with it, they're proprietary connectors). I don't actually use it on the floor, but I like having the trigger near the enlarger and the timer on the wall.

I keep a small white board near the enlarger. Say you're doing split-filter printing... it's easy to scrawl "#0, 5 seconds, #5, 3 seconds" or whatever, and rub out individual numbers as you dial in exposure. I'll even sketch the print out and make dodge/burn diagrams since it's hard to mark up a damp print. Amazing how many notes a complex print can benefit from.

The spiral-twist CFL "party" bulbs in red, widely available - they're awesome safe lights. It's almost like daylight in there, and my paper is not fogged. I do a fog test every few months to be safe, (I assume the red coating could wear off) but for a few bucks a bulb, they're dynamite. Really amazing to see your prints in the dev. tray very clearly.

Used developer trays are dirt cheap and great for organizing... I keep all my roll-film processing stuff in one, bromoil supplies in another, etc. Also, I generally pour mixed printing chemistry into used plastic jugs (like what I get distilled water in) and keep them in a dark cupboard. I didn't know dektol mixed for printing could eat through one, but after a couple months I had quite a mess... so keep any plastic bottles in trays for safety.
 
My darkroom doesn't have ventilation, and doesn't have washing facilities either. So when I print, I place the fixed print in a tray of water and carry it next door to the bathroom, where I wash it. This means that I'm not in the darkroom for hours at a time, which is probably why I find no ill effects from not having ventilation. Also, I don't think any of the chemicals I use (Ilford MG developer, stop and rapid fixer) are especially volatile, which no doubt helps.
 
I don't worry about ventilation unless I'm using selenium or something. My darkroom room is about 15x20 though, if it were a closet it might be a different story. Kinda like the smells anyway, very nostalgic for me.
 
I have been teased before for continuing to mix up the Kodak F-5 fixer formula for fixing my films. Modern emulsions, I have been told, are already pre-hardened, so why bother?

Well, I don't do it for the extra hardening. I do it because of the acid smell. And the nostalgia that brings. It makes me feel like a teenager again, when I first got involved with all of this stuff.

It's not quite acid fixer = early 1970s, but it's not all that far off either...



Ken
 

Yeash! I wear a mask BECAUSE of the smell and toxins, you guys are crazy!
 
I may be of the last generation that had stellar public schools. My first days in the high school dark room were amazing and magical. I think the smells take me back. And they remind me that in this digital-camera "everyone's a photographer" age, the darkroom separates the men from the boys, so to speak. Pulling a nice print makes me feel quietly badass.

Funny, around when I decided to return to the darkroom, I was helping a friend run audio wires through her attic and saw a big Beseler 67 enlarger. She said it was her father's (he died in a motorcycle accident ten or 15 years back and they were very very close). She had held onto it (she's not a shooter at all) and told me to take it home as I hadn't found a good enlarger. She just made me promise to have her over sometime - she said she still remembered the smells of her dad's darkroom and it reminded her of something he loved and she wanted one more hit of fix I think!
 
I read somewhere long ago that of the five standard perception senses in humans (no intuition sixth sense allowed!) researchers had determined that the sense of smell was by far the most effective in triggering memory recall.

Don't know if that's true, but there is a bakery next to the gym where I go, and every morning when I arrive early and smell the newly baked bread it reminds me of...



Ken
 
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