Oops! Darkroom space issues.

[jeroldharter]

...Does the drop-in counter have a hole in it for the column or is it slightly thinner and just sits in front of it? ... What are the largest prints you can produce? I'll be able to single tray process 20x24's in the sink I reckon. The calculations on the whiteboard are frightening. ...

Jarvman,

The inserted piece of countertop has a rectangular notch to accomodate the enlarger column. If you have a carpenter, make sure that you check for level before he is gone. you might want him to install the stringers on the sides of the adjacent cabinets so that the level is adjustable in the future to account for any settling.

I can make 20 x 24 prints at maximum.

I use the single tray method of processing also. If you have any questions about how I do it, let me know. It is definitely the way to go, but if you are making 20 x 24 prints you need strong arms and steady hands.

The whiteboard is very handy. Most of the stuff on there is permanent such as US to metric conversions, base times for toning at various dilutions, how much stock solutions to make 2 liters of working solution for my chemicals, dry down percentages for the papers I use, flash times at a specific enlarger height for different papers, etc. That is on the right side. On the left side I sketch drawings of printing sequences as I am working. I do split grade printing also so the whiteboard helps me keep track of dodges and burns on each channel.

 

[RobC]

You need to know the dimensions of the easel you are going to use. Remember the lens axis stays where it is, so if you have a two bladed easel you need room to position it off centre if necessary. With a 4 bladed easel, the easel can usually be centred on the lens axis more or less depending on what size paper the paper slots were designed for. Just make sure you get an easel with slots for the paper sizes you want to use if you get a 4 bladed easel. Most of them have slots for the common US paper sizes and not the common UK sizes such as 12x16.

 

[jeroldharter]

Jerold:

Beautiful job on the darkroom, but I wasn't aware a good print could be made in an area that neat [grin]

Thanks Frank. I did pick up a little before I took the photos. And I am still working on getting consistently good prints.

 

[RobC]

just out of interest, how big are the prints you want to make?

 

[Jarvman]

Mostly 12x16's and 16x20's. I only became aware of 20x24" paper the other day so at a maximum this size I suppose. I'd also like to be able to print panoramics eventually on 20x30" paper cut in half. What easel should I be looking for? A saunders 20x24" is the best bet yeah. Can't seem to find anything larger than that. How do you plot the size of larger prints?

 

[Black Dog]

The only time I have any space issues with my darkroom is when I'm not in it....nice job BTW Jerold!

 

[Jarvman]

Thanks to your help Jerrod, my darkroom is now fully pimped-out. It cost £300 to do but it's a flippin' beauty of a job. Steve the carpenter worked from a print-out of one of your photos. Only took a day and a morning to complete. I'll stick this up in the darkroom portraits. I'm well pleased, will probably have a splash around in chemicals tonight. Just bought enough fotospeed lith to make 200 litres which is a life sentence. Cheers again for presenting a most excellent solution to my problem!

 

[jeroldharter]

Javman,

That looks great.

Be sure to check the alignment of your easel on both the countertop and the baseboard to make sure everything is squared up.

Jamie

 

[Jarvman]

Cheers, yeah checked the alignment with a spirit level today and the easel sits straight underneath it. Fogot to check it before he left like you said but trusted his craftsmanship. He usually makes a living building boats. The baseboard is screwed into the work surface and the enlarger has a small wooden bracket at the top of its column. It's really nice and rigid.