One more time: UV Light boxes

[Nathan Smith]

I was able to find the plans online here: Dead Link Removed
Neal

These are the plans by Jon Edwards which were included in the Sullivan & Weese Platinum book. I recently acquired a box like this made by a fellow APUGer, Bruce Terry, and it's very nice. A large part of that is Bruce's careful execution and workmanship, but I can testify that it works quite nicely.

BTW - Jon's site (Dead Link Removed) has some great stuff and he's a nice guy to deal with as well. The aol.com site where the plans were found is out of date. Thanks for posting that URL though, I was wondering why I couldn't find the plans - I wasn't aware of this older site.

Nathan

 

[timeUnit]

I did it! It works! Woooohooo!

I'm very happy and proud. Thanks for all your help. I'll show a picture of it along with a more detailed description of wiring etc. It might be of interest to people with 230-240 VAC.

 

[blaze-on]

I finally received my 36 inch bulbs today, made on a special run by Voltarc through Universal Light Source (San Fran) Dead Link Removed

I dealt with Doug who patiently helped me acquire these. I just placed them in my box and presto, they all went on. They are actinic types. I tried a VDB with a pyro Neg, medium density and it looked close at 17 minutes, though another 3-5 would have been ideal.

FWIW, the first bulbs I ordered from Light BUlb Depot were crap, and were the chinese made BLB's and only 4, sometimes 6 actually even lit up. That had me wasting time (kinda) checking all the wiring etc.

It was a pain to deal with them in getting returned (waiting for "authorization") and then a while to get the refund.
The good thing is they did not charge me for a restock fee or for any shipping-but, a pain.

No one had 36" bulbs (except the BLB's Chinese brand) and that was only LightBulbDepot.

Thanks to Doug at Universal and Voltarc for having a low quantity special run.

I paid $15 per 36" bulb. Not cheap, but no choices (They were actually cheaper than the BLB's from LBD).

I dunno what shipping is yet..(gulp).

But, it's done, it's over and now I can say "good bye sun, you inconsistent thang you...."

 

[chrobry]

As a side note, you may be able to get by with one 27w BLB in a reflector for doing 8x10. Might set you back $40-50.

Regards,
Martin

Martin,

what do you think might be the distance from such a bulb to 8x10 or 5x7 sheet to give even illumination?

regards,

Jan

 

[Dana Sullivan]

I am surprised the plans disappeared -- they use to be on the old Bostick & Sullivan site also. I suppose too many people were making their own.
Vaughn

Not true. I don't know why the UV light box plans no longer appear on the website, but we still provide the plans to anyone who asks. I will scan the plans out of The New Platinum Print and put them up as a PDF, if anyone would find it usefull.

I'm sorry this has given Bostick & Sullivan a soured reputation with you, Vaughn, but we would have gladly fixed the problem if it had been brought to our attention earlier. Nothing malicious was intended.

 

[Vaughn]

Not true. I don't know why the UV light box plans no longer appear on the website, but we still provide the plans to anyone who asks. I will scan the plans out of The New Platinum Print and put them up as a PDF, if anyone would find it usefull.

I'm sorry this has given Bostick & Sullivan a soured reputation with you, Vaughn, but we would have gladly fixed the problem if it had been brought to our attention earlier. Nothing malicious was intended.

My apologies, Dana. I wrote that 3 days after Christmas...I must have not gotten what I wanted for Christmas or something, because that post has a few snide remarks. Perhaps I was still disappointed with the Edwards Engineering kit I had order directly from them.

But whatever stupid reason I had for making such remarks, I again apologize. I have had nothing but great products and great service from you and Bostick and Sullivan, and I am greatly embarassed and saddened to have my words come back to me to bite me so deservingly in the behind.

Respectfully yours,

Vaughn

 

[nick mulder]

hello everyone

I've just completed a UV box similar to the Jon Edwards plans...

I used 8 20W Sylvania BL bulbs with 4 Osram 2x36W ballasts and a fair amount of reflective material around the inside (I found some cheap leftovers at a cine hire shop)

I am getting step 2 complete black in palladium on a stouffer step wedge in around 40 seconds exposure ... (10 stops range if you're interested with 12/10/24 drops)

Most of my negs (Bergger200 developed in D19) have a base fog equivalent of around 2 on a step wedge and a maximum 'blackiness' (whats the correct term?) of around 8 (i.e. i'll need to add some contrast agent)

My exposures are very short compared to what I have read here (20 mins !?)

The paper/tube distance is ~65mm but I am getting no banding from the bulbs at this distance - they are butted right up against each other with a good extraction fan going for gold ...

uh oh - what went right ?

or am I about to ruin something expensive ?

 

[Jim Noel]

If you are concerned about the very short exposure times, just raise the box on wood blocks. I am not surprised that you get no binding.In one of the last issues of "Post Factory Journal..." Judy Siegel did an experiment in which she blacked out every other tube and in the final experiment laid her paper directly on the tubes - No Banding resulted.

 

[nick mulder]

If you are concerned about the very short exposure times, just raise the box on wood blocks. I am not surprised that you get no binding.In one of the last issues of "Post Factory Journal..." Judy Siegel did an experiment in which she blacked out every other tube and in the final experiment laid her paper directly on the tubes - No Banding resulted.

I'm certainly not concerned about short exposure times, its all good - I just thought with others reporting 20 minute exposures from similar designs that it must be the proximity at work ... and following from that its such a simple adjustment why hadn't they done it ?

There 'must' :rolleyes: be a reason I thought and banding was my guess.

My second guess now is that the rays are relatively more diffuse as a more collimated further away/smaller source would be - but my contact frame is pretty snug and I'm happy with the resulting edges ...

very chuffed

 

[michael9793]

well lets see. Qct 24th I order a 18x20 UV Box from bostick and Nov 6th had not recieved anything reagrding mailing. Around the 10th I called and they had to look into it. ( alot of money to have to just look into it). No wasn't shipped by Ed Engine. But was told that I would be placed 1st on the list (this was last wednesday) and it would be shipped Friday. Tuesday I called and left a message I wanted the shippers number and got a call back that it was going out this friday. NOW that is customer service. Between EE and B&S It will be a month befor my 995.00 light will get sent. Not impressed with either company. If I didn't follow up they would have kept my $995.00 and never shipped the light. But they sure made sure they charged out the light a month before shipping. AND NO I"M SORRY EITHER. Great lplace to start a alternate process store.

mike andersen

 

[Jim Moore]

I just picked up everything I need to start building one of these using the plans from Jon Edwards. A huge THANK YOU for making these plans available for free.

I purchased everything at Home Depot except the fan. I pulled that from an extra computer case I had laying around.

I also purchased a couple of things that I really didn't need like new drill bits and a 4" hole saw.

Total cost for everything excluding the bits & saw was $356.81

The most expensive items where the bulbs @ $12.97 each and the Ballasts @ $12.00 each. I know I could have probably found the bulbs cheaper online but to me it's worth the extra to buy local.

I have to say the the guy at Home Depot was great. I showed him the cutting list for the wood from a sheet of 4x8 ply-wood and ask if he could cut it for me. He said no problem and cut everything to size for FREE! I knew that they do this but I always thought that they charged so much for every cut.

Anyway I'm planning on starting this project tomorrow night. Wish me luck

Jim

 

[Justin Cormack]

Actually, that's not a bad idea - thanks. I'm really only doing 5x7 for a while so I could do that. For that matter, if I do go with standard fluorescent tubes I could build the 11x14 type box and just put the center bulbs in for now ... and leave myself some money for some P.O.P, I'm dying to try that out.

Nathan

As POP prints out you can just use sunlight - you dont need the precise reproducible exposure times that you need for developing out processes. If its raining I use a small low voltage fluorescent light that is in the kitchen for POP - just tried it out as an experiment one day when it was dark and rainy. Exposure times are about 4 hours with it, but its not a very bright light. Sunlight is much quicker, and needs a much more contasty negative.

 

[RobertP]

I just picked up everything I need to start building one of these using the plans from Jon Edwards. A huge THANK YOU for making these plans available for free.

I purchased everything at Home Depot except the fan. I pulled that from an extra computer case I had laying around.

I also purchased a couple of things that I really didn't need like new drill bits and a 4" hole saw.

Total cost for everything excluding the bits & saw was $356.81

The most expensive items where the bulbs @ $12.97 each and the Ballasts @ $12.00 each. I know I could have probably found the bulbs cheaper online but to me it's worth the extra to buy local.

I have to say the the guy at Home Depot was great. I showed him the cutting list for the wood from a sheet of 4x8 ply-wood and ask if he could cut it for me. He said no problem and cut everything to size for FREE! I knew that they do this but I always thought that they charged so much for every cut.

Anyway I'm planning on starting this project tomorrow night. Wish me luck

Jim

Can you post a link where to download these plans for free? Thanks, Robert

 

[gr82bart]

Can you post a link where to download these plans for free? Thanks, Robert

It's buried in post #25: Dead Link Removed

Regards, Art.

 

[RobertP]

Thanks Art. Robert

 

[Lotus M50]

Is anyone familiar with these UV exposure boxes: Dead Link Removed

At $350, while they are still more expensive than making your own, the price might be low enough where it the effort and time to make your own might not make sense. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Jim Moore]

I'm no expert in this kind of thing and the first to admit it, but....

Are those bulbs spaced to far apart??

Jim

Is anyone familiar with these UV exposure boxes: Dead Link Removed

At $350, while they are still more expensive than making your own, the price might be low enough where it the effort and time to make your own might not make sense. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Jim Moore]

DONE!!!

Well, almost done. I completely forgot that the fan from a computer case is NOT 12v. So I need to pick up a proper fan.

Other than that it's ready to go. I hope to get everything all set up to print some VDB's this weekend.

~Jim

 

[mcole]

I was wondering if anyone had a .pdf version of the eepjon uv exposure box plans. I saw the plans on the internet around two years ago but I wasn't in the market and didn't bother to save a copy. They have since been removed from his site and the aol hometown site that had them posted has closed. I tried an internet search but to no avail. What I liked about his plans was the detailed wiring directions and the incorporation of a switch/timer outlet and a fan.

I'm a high school photo teacher always looking for ways to save money. I will be introducing cyanotypes to my Photo 3 students this year and an exposure unit would solve my sun light issue as the class meets from 7:45-8:27am! Thanks in advance for any help or direction!

Michele

 

[SadowskiPL]

Hmmmm...
A 2 x 18W BLB lamps T8/G13 will be ok for prints max. A4 ??

 

[matthewbetcher]

i too would be interested in a .pdf file of the plans as it appears all the previous links in this thread are no longer working

thanks.

 

[nworth]

Sandy (and others)

Please remind me the optimim UV frequencies for pt/pd printing -- and for carbon if they are different....

The curves I've seen show that iron based processes peak at about 350nm, a good match for black light bulbs. Sensitivity extends well into the blue, at least to 450nm.

All:

Using 2 tube strip light fixtures makes sense. They are cheap and readily available. I built my box in a single evening from common 1X4 lumber for only a few dollars. It has four 24 inch, two lamp fixtures and will easily cover 16X20.

 

[timeUnit]

My UV-hood is very similar to nwort’s, although I made it from scratch, G13-sockets and all. I have two fans connected to it as well. I've used it much less than I hoped for though.

 

[timgray@rogers.com]

Is anyone familiar with these UV exposure boxes: Dead Link Removed

At $350, while they are still more expensive than making your own, the price might be low enough where it the effort and time to make your own might not make sense. Any thoughts on this?

I just took delivery of one of these units and am pretty happy, exposure time went from 3 hrs with a single bulb from B&S (8x10, and there was slight under exposure in the corners, even at 3 hours) to 13 minutes. I have a contact frame for paper at 11x14 that sits on the glass, if I wanted to print larger I could simply place the paper and negative on the glass cover with the foam they provide, top with a board and add some weight - meaning I don't have to fork our any more $ for a larger frame. I believe the unit is compatible with a vacuum press, at least the set up is illustrated in the brochure they sent.

I've seen a number of pictures, including this thread with black UV florescent bulbs, don't you get significantly faster exposure times with the non-black bulbs?

 

[sly]

For your contemplation - tanning bed light source

Here's 2 of my contact frames under my $50 tanning bed. I've had 3 frames under there at once and could fit more (or 1 or 2 REALLY big ones.) It seems a great waste of energy to put one contact print under there, so I always try to do a batch. The only difficulty being keeping track of which ones get 6 minutes, which 7 and a half, which 12 or whatever. Just have to stay organized and pay attention.