I have all the stuff, just need to build out now...

Hiya! I'm a newbie here so please be gentle.

I recently received an entire darkroom for free via craigslist aka my lucky day! I plan to turn my kitchen into a darkroom since I don't have a stove and only a baby fridge in there anyway. I mostly eat salads, but that's beside the point.

I really need help. I found a carpenter in my area that will do some work for very cheap, but I have no drawn plans. I failed shop class & can barely measure properly. *sigh* I'm thinking that some type of long work table with the enlarger in the far left corner, splash guard, then sink/tray area next. I've worked in many darkrooms, but am stuck on how to proceed from here. I have a book, but again the diagrams & measurements make my eyes glaze over. The kind gentleman that donated all these items to me is willing to help me set it up as well, but I would like to have him fine tune everything & not actually have to build.

There is also the option of using the place where the stove goes for an enlarger station, but the wall is tile, so I'm thinking not...

Here are some pictures and any advice would be GREAT.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3490083033_21dcae48ae_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3490082883_5904ba9f3a_o.jpg

well,

sounds like you got a pretty sweet deal! congrats! i'm in somewhat of the same position, but being the oldest of 4 children(i'm 21), and still at home while at school. having enough room in the garage, let alone the house to enlarge is somewhat of a problem. a friend of mine got a rolling cart(i believe from ikea), and put his enlarger on that. the cart was really nice, and was sturdy enough to hold a beseler 4x5 enlarger on it. it had nice big casters so rolling around on wood floors wasn't a problem. it was about 3.5 ft tall, so it allowed him to sit down while he printed, which was nice when extended burning was in order for a print. for developing, he just put a piece of plywood over the bathtub , and put his trays(11x14 or 16x20) on that, and then had a fiber washer in the shower. this was ALL in a studio apt, approximately 450 sq ft. so basically, where there is a will, there is a way!

he would have had everything static except the print washer in the shower, but his g/f, now his wife, lol, didn't like that very much. (she liked bubble baths) =)


best of luck to you though, post some pics once you have everything together!

DanielStone said:

he would have had everything static except the print washer in the shower, but his g/f, now his wife, lol, didn't like that very much. (she liked bubble baths) =)

Click to expand...

Time for a new wife!

The stove area would work, just get some blackout material and hang over that shiny tile to prevent reflections. Then a cheap table to put the trays on. A plastic folding tabe may work fine for that. Maybe a smaller table or cart if the sink has no counter area near it for handling other items. One thing you should do is post a picture or two of the kitchen, you might get many good ideas from apuggers with that.

Thanks for the advice everyone. The flickr picture I posted of the long wall w/ the stuff on the ground basically IS the kitchen The other side is a sad little counter area with a sink. This is a country style back apartment somebody constructed (and I use that word loosely). I'm going to check out the thrift stores for old tables and desks etc...

Hi,
it seems like you already gave it lots of thoughts.
Let me add a small contribution.
Personnally, I would not place the enlarger and the bath trays on the same table. Because vibrations, shaking the trays will affct the enlarger. The head of the enlarger is very subject to vibrations.

Thanks! I've decided to "try" and drill into that tile ha! to make a wall mount in addtition to a table for it to rest on, that way if need be I can move the base to make enlargements. It's going to be something like an upside down 'L' shaped wood thingy with cables. I'm not exactly sure how it will work, but it's a nice idea to chew on. I'll put pictures in the proper thread when complete (hopefully sooner rather than later!)