Request advice on small bathroom darkroom

[daleeman]

Jeff I am on it.

 

[Neal]

Dear daleeman,

I used a bathroom just like that for years. However, everything but the shower had to be usable (I had to set up and take down after each session) pretty much all the time. I put a pipe cap in place of the shower head and left the enlarger set up on a cart with drawers. It only took a few minutes to move the enlarger and replace the shower head when necessary. Yes, opening and closing the shower door was a pain, but I could set up, make 1 print, and clean it all up in less than 30 minutes. I know that because I had to do it once just before darkroom night on the old Compuserve photography forum.

Have fun!

Neal Wydra

 

[daleeman]

Neal,
Good to hear set up and tear down can go so quick.
I too was on the Compuserve forum. I miss those days of no NSA tracking everything on the web. I do not miss my 300bps modem, but it also gave me 99 voice mail mailboxes. Suited my multiple personalities just right.

I am excited to be close to in-home printing again and looking forward to meeting Jeff.

 

[john_s]

Single tray processing might be worth considering if you're doing larger sizes in a small space. Have a look at:

http://heylloyd.com/technicl/technicl.html

and go to the link to single tray processing and also the one about cleaning.

 

[daleeman]

I assume you have seen this "Sticky" thread: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

You can make an effective shelf for trays that will fit in a shower if you use a folding ironing board.

Matt,
great reading, good ideas. Thanks

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Three darkrooms ago I had my Omega D-II on a typewriter table that I could roll into place over the commode. I put a second, thinner set of rubber feet on the baseboard to match the smaller footprint of the typewriter table without affecting my ability to put it on a larger table when I had more space.

In my last darkroom, I had the wet side in the otherwise unused shower stall of a spare bathroom and the dry side in the immediately adjacent room, which we used as a study, and I could black out the windows to the study and have the whole space as a very spacious darkroom when I was printing. The toilet and sink were still usable for guests.

 

[pdeeh]

a typewriter table

Dad, what's a "typewriter" ?

 

[daleeman]

Dad, what's a "typewriter" ?

A typewriter was a early Egyptain invention that had 26 scribes sitting in three rows with hammers and sharp bronze chisels who tapped out primative characters on stone tablets. Later in time they added ten more scribes to do numerical characters.

So a typerwriter table was a huge table to hold all 36 scribes, about 40 cubits by 40 cubits in area.

 

[baachitraka]

...and that can make enough noise to shatter the gates of hell.

 

[ac12]

Typewriters are supposed to be obsolete.
Then how do you fill in forms? You regress even further back and use a pen...with lousey handwriting, that makes you want a typewriter.

 

[smithdoor]

I still have one on a shelf from the 1930s made for newspapers the rest I had are gone.
It is one best thing out of the computer age the program Word and others My vet still uses one in his office
I am no typist I make lot of type-o's and delete and edit is great good luck on reading my handwriting too.

Dave

Typewriters are supposed to be obsolete.
Then how do you fill in forms? You regress even further back and use a pen...with lousey handwriting, that makes you want a typewriter.

 

[ac12]

Single tray processing might be worth considering if you're doing larger sizes in a small space. Have a look at:

http://heylloyd.com/technicl/technicl.html

and go to the link to single tray processing and also the one about cleaning.

Single tray processing will be easier if you can find a Honeywell Rocking Print tray or a Heath/Mitchell Color Canoe.
These are designed for that purpose.

This is a link to an old listing of the Honeywell Rocking Print Tray
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honeywell-N...027?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item485e6b5243

 

[Richard Jepsen]

I enlarge in a laundry room. I place a thin sheet of plywood over the washer for trays space. I agree with the single tray method....especially for images on 11x14. The chemicals are placed into wide mouth, 2L, plastic, all purpose mixing containers purchased at Sherwin Williams paint store. Fluids quickly transfer in and out of the 11x14 tray.

The tray is thoroughly washed after transferring the 11x14 print to a hold tray.

 

[daleeman]

Had to look at the rocker tray link. Never used one, actually never seen one before

 

[ac12]

Had to look at the rocker tray link. Never used one, actually never seen one before

For some reason (maybe cost), they were rarely used, even back in the 1970s when I got mine.
I got mine to do 11x14 in my small darkroom. I did not have the space for four 11x14 trays.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Dug up a photo of the old darkroom with the typewriter table. Scroll to post #56--

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

In the subsequent pages of that thread, there are more tiny darkrooms.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I know this isn't a temporary set up, but this link might give you some ideas.
http://thelightfarm.com/Map/Index/WendyMonahan/BuildingADarkroom.htm

 

[daleeman]

Nice site. Learned some things here.