Copy Stand

[MFstooges]

The gaps between inner and outer tube, don't they make it hard to adjust position precisely?

 

[Donald Qualls]

hard to get something flatter or more dimensionally stable.

As long as you can avoid humidity fluctuations. An indoor environment should do this in most climates.

 

[Mal Paso]

The gaps between inner and outer tube, don't they make it hard to adjust position precisely?

.050 and it's only a problem with the horizontal slide and I will add a nut on top to correct. I made the upper assembly reversible and put the tensioner on the side, Wrong! In practice it works quite well and the small bit of fiddling no problem.

As long as you can avoid humidity fluctuations. An indoor environment should do this in most climates.

Ya, I'm applying a second coat of paint on the cut edges and keeping it inside.

All the plywood I looked at had a warp so I'll just treat it with care.

My first thought was reflective but I like digitizing negatives better. I'm not constricted by the ends of a print's tonal range. The plexiglass is lit 8.5x10.5.

 

[eli griggs]

Making a vacuum table for the copystand might just be a worthwhile endeavor.

 

[Mal Paso]

Making a vacuum table for the copystand might just be a worthwhile endeavor.

That's a cool idea! There's room! I had one on my old beseler MCRX. It was galvanized steel so I could use magnetic paper stops.

 

[eli griggs]

That's a cool idea! There's room! I had one on my old beseler MCRX. It was galvanized steel so I could use magnetic paper stops.

Good luck for this project and post a pic when finished, please.

 

[Mal Paso]

I moved the cross arm tensioning point to the top of the outer tube so the slider doesn't twist when tightening by adding a second nut there. I also ground the tips of the tensioning bolts flat and beveled the edges. The rod on top of the bolt is copper plated steel, part of a ground rod I used for other fabrications.

 

[eli griggs]

Would you, please, provide the initial full shot, besides a new photo of the newly whole unit.

 

[Mal Paso]

Would you, please, provide the initial full shot, besides a new photo of the newly whole unit.

I'll get back to it next week, I have to change the studio for that. I'm off and running on a new darkroom sink. it's 25x88 and I'm hoping it will handle 4 16x20 trays with a lab faucet installed. Fiberglass on the way.

 

[eli griggs]

A studio I worked at had a nice plywood sink of a similar design, painted over several times, with a marine epoxy paint.

A couple of features of that sink might be of interest to you, so here I go.

That sink had two 'wings' of the same width as the sink, slightly elevated about 15⁰ on the two ends, mounted on the top side of the plywood boards, above the main base sink, with some edge boards on the top side and one each at front and back sides, keeping any water from going over the back and sides, potentially staging areas for tanks, mixing chemistry, tools, or print washer with drainage into the metal sink.

If you build the wings, buttressed underneath to the main sink bottom and legs.

Water is heavy and you might have an archival print washer needing the extra support which will need the heavy build.

Inside the main sink, quarter round molding, ends mitered, were glued in at the 45⁰ corners, long pieces without more than one piece for each length.

Also, with only one length each, three or four long flat, half inch pieces of wood molding lengthwise for the entire wood sink to allow water, liquids to pass underneath a tray or tank and drain into the metal sink.

The entire finished sink has a downward slant towards the drain end, which really helps with clean-up plus, a shelf mounted ⅓ of the way up the bottom for best stability and strength.

I hope this helps and don't forget considering using quarter round moldings for corner seals, plus silicon 'caulking' underneath the sink for extra structure holding strength.

Lastly, use a good rounding/corner plane on both top edges of the front sink board, because they are SHARP to lean against or as a resting place while working.

 

[Mal Paso]

The sink is as big as it can be. It is wall to wall length wise and any wider and it will block the door. You can't see in the photos but the sides are routed so the bottom fits 1/4" into the sides. The joints are glued with Titebond 3, waterproof and I used a finish nailer to assemble. I was going to use screws but that's overkill and the pneumatic nailer was faster, the glue goes off FAST! Fiberglass resin should arrive today. I will probably seal the whole thing top and bottom. I will break the edges with a sander like you suggest. My current "sink" has Pine edges on a plywood bottom painted with Latex with no drain. It just supports trays or tanks as needed. Running water will make things much more functional.

 

[eli griggs]

It looks and sounds like a good work space!

I hope it's all you want it to be, and gives years of great service.

Godspeed and Cheers.

 

[Mal Paso]

I used 6 oz cloth in the resin, should have left that out, it's plenty strong but it's done except for the install. Got a nice USA made faucet from ebay. Had to clean up some dings on the threads but a very nice faucet for $50+ tax/ship.

 

[DREW WILEY]

For your copystand : Often cabinet shops and kitchen remodelers throw away sink cutouts made of solid surface or laminated material. That will stay flatter than ordinary plywood or particle board unless it's melamine coated.

Per your sink : Be careful with those fiberglass resin vapors. I hope you'd doing it outdoors, which it appears you are.

You really need some stainless steel screws reinforcing it. Darkroom sinks undergo dimensional strains ordinary projects do not. I feel comfortable stating this, because for every nail you shot, I've sold hundreds of truckloads of gun nails, and thousands of nail guns. Seen it all, including a lot of industrial vat plus commercial and institutional darkroom sink projects.

For sake of general information useful to anyone undertaking a wooden darkroom sink project, there is now a zero-VOC much safer option to the nasty traditional penetrating marine epoxy used for sealing wood. It's called StrongBond Epoxy Wood Sealer, and costs about the same as penetrating epoxy kits by West, Smith, or Abatron - around $70 per quart (a pint of A and a pint of B component). A business acquaintance of mine started the company, and his epoxy products are already being used for Natl Park restoration projects around the Golden Gate.

 

[Don_ih]

You really need some stainless steel screws reinforcing it.

I'd kind of agree with that - although they don't need to be stainless steel. Any screws will do. 18-guage brad nails are fine used in conjunction with glue in a cabinet or box that isn't exposed to water. Water plus weight can make that joint fail (waterproof glue may be waterproof, but the wood it's touching isn't) - although your fibreglass with the cloth will go a long way to making sure it never fails. After all, you're not doing dishes in this sink three times a day. The joints will likely never fail.

I would have put cant strips in the corners prior to fibreglass. But that hardly matters.

 

[Mal Paso]

I was going to use screws but the Titebond 3 waterproof glue was going off too fast, I barely had time to sponge off drips. Plus the joints are all routed into the wood, you'll never get those joints apart. The last sink was Titebond 2 and never a problem.

This is good USA Polyester Resin and after 2 days has mostly gassed off, you can barely smell it now. I've tried water based epoxy and wouldn't use it again, it's more expensive and never as good as real Polyester Resin. Besides it brings back memories of my dad's shop and Emile Norman's studio.

The copy stand surface is a laminated shelf and I sealed the edges I cut.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Some darkrooms can get pretty humid. Regular zinc electroplated 18ga steel brads rust through pretty easily if moisture gets to them; their holding power is limited anyway. I'd rather use 16 ga stainless finish nails or stainless staples to put things together fast, PLUS stainless screws afterwards. My own sink is polypropylene, not wooden.
But in this case, his polyester fiberglass resin should do the job.

Three other chronic problems here on coastal CA you might not be so familiar with, Don, are frequent earthquakes, plus the corrosive salt air atmosphere, plus drought versus surplus rain cycles which cause soil below buildings to either shrink or swell quite a bit. For example, I've had to shift the jamb strikes for my darkroom door locks up or down over half an inch in recent years. Serious gear like the enlargers have to be especially well secured for seismic reasons.

I should add that I was referring to an entirely new category of non-volatile-solvent penetrating marine epoxy, not any type of epoxy paint. I sure wish that kind of product had been around earlier; I wonder what kind of adverse effect the old school stuff had on my own health.

 

[Mal Paso]

The brads were for tacking purposes as the glue holds it together and fiberglass on top of that. Besides the brads are sealed in polyester resin now.

I don't leave open water standing in the darkroom as my enlarger and lenses are in there. Trays get emptied and film tanks have seals. Fungus on lenses is no fun either.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I don't have any optics in the sink room, not even any of the enlargers in the same room. It's even foggier here than where you are. I have to use desiccant canisters in all my gear cabinets and lens containers.

I sounds like your trough will be fine, with the brad heads selaed in. It's hard to say how long the insert sink and its faucet will hold up before getting ugly. Depends on the quality of the stainless steel and what kinds of chemicals you use. My sink faucets look awful, with all the chrome horribly tarnished; but they still work. And I need to periodically wipe appropriate oil on any of my exposed steel or cast iron equipment in the shop due to the salt air.
But I wouldn't want to give up our free natural air conditioning in summer!

 

[Mal Paso]

I got the drain and water plumbed and tested. The faucet is USA made chromed brass and may outlast me. I have the gas valves plumbed for wash. I found a Kodak Tray Siphon connected it to one of the gas valves which will make a nice hold tray. I removed the barbed tube adapter from the faucet as the jet is too strong and I have 2 other barbed adapters.

Here is the finished (so far) Copy Stand photos including a close up of the new nut. I will refurbish my old Beseler 45MCRX baseboard and make a bracket for it to fit the copy stand as it is a 21x25.5 Vacuum Easel with a magnetic top.

 

[eli griggs]

Nice job on the stands and the sink build.

Keep it up.