Getting chemical equipment and lab supplies

AshenLight · Apr 13, 2010

BradS said:
Everclear has not been easy to get for many, many years. It can still be found in Mexico however...

The interesting thing is that I can drive a couple of hundred miles to New Jersey and buy it but no way in Massachusetts. Fortunately, you can use denatured alcohol for some collodion formulas. For that matter, you can use plain hypo as a wet plate fixer but I very much prefer the look of KCN.

The thing that strikes me is that like gun control laws, the rules about obtaining some, not all, chemistry will not stop someone who would use these things for illegal purposes. I have no problem filling out any required form since I have no intention of using the chemicals for anything but their intended uses.

Ash

Photo Engineer · Apr 13, 2010

Just for you Brad!

THE BASIC CHEMICALS TO SCRATCH MIX NORMAL DEVELOPERS AND FIXERS ARE EASY TO FIND AND TO BUY.

Those for alternative processes, exotic developer formulas and emulsion making are hard to get. Some equipment is hard to get. Acids and Bases are sometimes hard to find except in dilute solutions. It is easier to get solid bases or concentrated bases than acids.

At the present time, all NITRATES are on a restricted list being strong oxidizers. Some suppliers will sell and ship, and others will not. Cyanide is sold by some companies but not by others and the same is true of ether.

Tubing, flasks and other assorted glassware is becoming difficult to purchase.

Many chemicals must be shipped in separate packing and never together. We are not allowed to ship most of this between ourselves, so I can't send you a C-41 kit. I was refused by several shippers when I tried to send someone a Kodak C-41 kit. The reason? It contained alkali above a certain concentration in one of the bottles. But, a place like the Formulary can ship the same thing because they have a license and insurance.

In many cases, a DEA form or a letter of intent will not change the situation on many chemicals.

PE

Kirk Keyes · Apr 13, 2010

BradS said:
Everclear has not been easy to get for many, many years. It can still be found in Mexico however...

You can get it in Oregon. Just drive on over.

And remember, Oregon's a great place to visit, but please don't stay...

removed account4 · Apr 13, 2010

AshenLight said:
What I find a bit frustrating is that I can get KCN with the proper paperwork but under no circumstances can I get 190 proof Everclear where I live. :confused:

Ash

you don't need to go all the way to jersey
just to a packy in ri and you can get what you need.

and it IS sold on sundays until 5pm

thisismyname09 · Apr 13, 2010

Photo Engineer said:
Tubing, flasks and other assorted glassware is becoming difficult to purchase.

This is quite stupid. Making it hard to get lab glassware isn't going to slow down illegal activity at all; if anything, it's just going to cause more harm. If some guy wants to make drugs in his basement and he can't get the proper glassware, he'll just use vases, jars, pots, pans, and whatever else, probably leading to dangerous mess-ups. I recall my current chemistry instructor saying something like, "home made drugs wouldn't be half as dangerous if they weren't made in dirty bathtubs by people who knew what they were doing."

AshenLight · Apr 13, 2010

jnanian said:
you don't need to go all the way to jersey
just to a packy in ri and you can get what you need.

and it IS sold on sundays until 5pm

Sweet! Much closer than N.J.

Kirk Keyes · Apr 13, 2010

I'd suggest finding a local chemical house and build a working relationship with them. That way they know you, and you know they will work to get you what they need. I've been buying random items from my local place for over 20 years now. Sure, they have to photocopy my drivers license to meet federal regs, but I'm fine with that.

I was able to buy a nice, explosive compound like Potassium Nitrate and they even shipped off a second bottle to a friend that was having trouble buying it. It may not have been the cheapest price, but it was of a known quality and that's important for what I was using it for.

Terrence Brennan · Apr 14, 2010

Freedoms...

Tom Kershaw said:
Preserving freedoms by destroying them? - that doesn't make sense.

You mean like mob rule, like the protesters shutting down the Ann Coulter talk at the U of 0 in March?

Tom Kershaw · Apr 14, 2010

Terrence Brennan said:
You mean like mob rule, like the protesters shutting down the Ann Coulter talk at the U of 0 in March?

Yes - (after looking up the issue) - There is a scene in the BBC television adaptation 'The History Man' in which one of the students declares a talk should be closed down 'due to the court of radical opinion...'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_Man

Tom

BradS · Apr 14, 2010

Kirk Keyes said:
You can get it in Oregon. Just drive on over.

And remember, Oregon's a great place to visit, but please don't stay...

The Columbia river gorge and all of the Oregon coast (as well as the coast of N. California) are two of my favorite places to visit.

No need to worry about us moving up there though... I don't think I could handle the commute!

cmacd123 · Apr 14, 2010

BradS said:
OK, this is ridiculous. Anybody who cannot find the basic chemicals necessary to make ordinary film and paper developers and fixer is simply not looking.

But many items cannot be shipped to Canada..

BradS · Apr 15, 2010

cmacd123 said:
But many items cannot be shipped to Canada..

I am quite certain that is because Canadian law either does not permit it or makes it prohibitively expensive (with tariffs for example).

MattKing · Apr 15, 2010

There are almost no tariffs now between the US and Canada for goods that originate in North America.

As for the laws involved, I expect that US export restrictions are the only likely culprits when it comes to prohibiting shipping.

I'd be willing to bet that the reason it is difficult or impossible to get items shipped, is that there are bureaucratic and paperwork requirements in both countries, and that the task of fulfilling those requirements is an onerous one which no-one would willingly undertake when only retail amounts are involved.

It may also be the case that the requirements in the two countries are contradictory.

Getting chemical equipment and lab supplies

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