My new darkroom

[Trond]

Or more correctly, the "dry section" of my new darkroom (my bathroom), with a old and trusty Meopta Opemus IIa. The wet part will the bathtub. I´ll test drive it tomorrow, it´s almost 9 years since I printed anything last time. It will be exciting!

Trond

 

[Dave Miller]

Enjoy the experience, and don't forget to post the results here.

 

[sterioma]

Finally a darkroom that looks like mine
Let us know how it goes!

 

[Curt]

OK!, now lets have a look in that camera box in the lower left corner of the photo.

Sounds like you are setup for some real fun now.

Best of luck,
Curt

 

[goros]

Or more correctly, the "dry section" of my new darkroom (my bathroom), with a old and trusty Meopta Opemus IIa. The wet part will the bathtub. I´ll test drive it tomorrow, it´s almost 9 years since I printed anything last time. It will be exciting!

Trond

Hi Trond,

I also have the darkroom wet area inside the tub. Actually, the trays are on the tub floor. It is a problem for me, as it limits the size of the trays and therefore the size of the paper. The biggest paper I can print in is 8"x10". The pros are that there is no spillage that I have to clean later. I'm thinking in covering the tub with a planck and use it as a table, but then it is another thing I have to move in and out when converting the bathroom into a darkroom and back into a bathroom.

Cheers

 

[Bob F.]

Welcome Trond.

It is worth putting a sheet of plywood over the bath (screw some wood blocks to it to stop it sliding) or make a slatted cover so any spills fall into the bath. It saves all that bending over to agitate the dishes. Add a low chair and you are laughing.

Have fun, Bob.

 

[bdial]

I built a platform into the tub to support a countertop at working height, but in my case it's a "spare" bathroom so I did not need to worry about leaving it functional as a bathtub.
For the case of dual use, I think the plank would be preferable to using the trays inside the tub, even with the extra step of removing it and replacing it.

 

[Trond]

The first printing session was a success!

Since I only have limited time to print in the evenings, I've been concerned about the time it takes to set it up. Happily it only took about 15 min to set it up, including mixings chemicals.

I used a pair of shelf boards on top of the bathtub for the trays, which worked well. I should probably paint them, though...

I need a masking frame, and will probably spend some money on a Versamask masking frame with fixed frames.

Finally, I need to use HCA to reduce washing time.

I'll post the results later.

Trond

 

[dancqu]

I'm thinking in covering the tub with a planck and use it as a table,...
Cheers

I converted a washer & dryer area into darkroom
counter space. The washer & dryer are gone replaced
by counter and under self. Then I adopted the single tray
processing method using minimal solution volumes. Chemistry
is used more dilute than usual; similar to that used by some
rotary tube users. It is used once then down the drain. No
used chemistry to re-bottle. My little space is good for
16x20. I think it a gas. One tray for processing two
to do the wash. Dan