Yippie! A spinning darkroom door!

kwmullet · Aug 17, 2005

Yea! Lookie what I just scored for my upcoming darkroom construction!
A spinning darkroom door for US$67 !

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7537721496

I'll probably pay about that for the truck rental to go pick it up, but this is WAY cool. I would have never expected that I'd be have a genuine darkroom door for this darkroom.

Happy feet!

-KwM-

David Brown · Aug 17, 2005

Kevin:

Um, ... Wow!

David

Mongo · Aug 17, 2005

Kevin...you realize that some of us are going to have to struggle not to hate you for this, don't you?

Congratulations...a great score. Color me jealous!

df cardwell · Aug 17, 2005

KEVIN !

this really limits the size of a pizza you can get into the darkroom

and how will you ever get a 16x20 out ?

you just have to think before you Ebay !

Flotsam · Aug 17, 2005

A busy multi-image house that I worked at used those on all the darkrooms. If the door was turned away from you, the procedure was to smack the door a couple of times with your open palm as a warning and whip the door around practically in the same motion. If someone was half in the other side of the door, they knew they'd better jump in or out fast or they would become a door stop. Surprisingly, this actually worked pretty smoothly even with lots of people working frantically on different projects.

In a home DR, i can't think of a downside, a great light/dark transition in a minimum of space. As df mentioned, there is the pizza problem to consider but here's a trick: even the largest pizzas can be easily folded to fit through the door with room for a six pack to spare

ann · Aug 17, 2005

wait until you get some dust caught in the track the noise will drive you nuts

kwmullet · Aug 17, 2005

Flotsam said:
A busy multi-image house that I worked at used those on all the darkrooms. If the door was turned away from you, the procedure was to smack the door a couple of times with your open palm as a warning and whip the door around practically in the same motion. If someone was half in the other side of the door, they knew they'd better jump in or out fast or they would become a door stop. Surprisingly, this actually worked pretty smoothly even with lots of people working frantically on different projects.
[...]

When I was in the Navy, the print rooms I used on shore tended to have these doors, but the one onboard ship had a 3-door vestibule. (Hrm.. come to think of it, I think only the b&w printroom had a vestibule. The color printroom had a spinning door, I think)

My favorite story about these doors isn't really fit for direct transcription into apug, but when I went to a photo school in Key West, FL, we'd come back from lunch and, uh, editorialize as we were, uh, passing through the door and quickly close it back halfway to surprise the poor schmuck who came in next. (*smirk*)

Good point about 16x20s or larger mounted prints, not to mention large boxes of paper. Maybe I'll have to separate the structure into finishing and processing/printing areas so I mount outside the the darkroom and/or build some sort of a passthrough into the wall.

I anticipate this being just invaluable when I want to pop out of the darkroom for something during printing sessions or especially during lengthy DBI sessions.

-KwM-

Donald Qualls · Aug 18, 2005

Well, the classic way to install these doors was alongside a conventional door that locks from the dark side. That way, you could open the regular door (which can be light sealed in the usual way with weatherstrip material and such) to bring items in or out that wouldn't pass through the revolving door (like enlargers or large prints), but ensure against "surprises"; the only way to open the flat door without a key or a fire axe was to go through the revolving door, which facilitated ensuring the darkroom wasn't in use and checking that materials were all covered.

Fortunately for me, my darkroom is also my master bathroom, and I rent -- so I won't be jealous. Even better, I know how to make a 2-door vestibule that absolutely will not permit both doors to open at the same time, so if/when I ever get a darkroom I can call my own, I'll be able to make something that works as well as this.

Bighead · Aug 18, 2005

I had this auction in my watch list.... I wasn't ready for another "equipment road trip"... Thats great..

kwmullet · Aug 18, 2005

Bighead said:
I had this auction in my watch list.... I wasn't ready for another "equipment road trip"... Thats great..

I think there's another couple of doors, still new in box, for US$145 each somewhere on eBay, and a used one for US$450

The 'equipment road trip' can be fun sometimes, though. When I won my Beseler 4x5 enlarger, I borrowed my Bro-in-law's SUV, packed up my then 3-year old son in the back and drove to Waco, TX to collect it.

This door'll be sitting right next to it in the garage waiting for me to break ground on the new darkroom.

-KwM-

MikeS · Aug 18, 2005

I couldn't tell from the picture of this door, but some of the revolving doors are designed in such a way that they can be pushed out of the way, and opened sort of like a regular door for access with larger things.

As for Pizza in the darkroom, that's not a great idea, I tried it once, and I don't know which was worse, pizza sauce in the dektol, or dektol on the pizza!

-Mike

DKT · Aug 18, 2005

we have one of these where I work, actually it's a 2 person type size (probably large enough for a wheelchair almost)--and it connects three rooms together. 2 darkrooms and a studio, but each of the labs has it's own door as well, that is locked from the inside. we use the doors to get equipment & supplies in and out, and when the lab isn't in use, the doors are often open. we need an alternate way out for emergencies as well, because if the door was jammed, you'd be stuck in the lab...all it takes is like a broom handle or something to fall in the path of the door and you're stuck...

Bighead · Aug 18, 2005

kwmullet said:
IThe 'equipment road trip' can be fun sometimes-KwM-

My first APUG purchase was a huge, comercial sized print washer from someone in WI... Of course, this was an equipment / beer run trip... Yes, they are fun.

Flotsam · Aug 18, 2005

Also, remember the big downside is that people can walk in and out of your darkroom at will. No longer will you have the luxury of that hiding place. Give me a plain door with a "DARKROOM - DO NOT ENTER!" sign on it. That way I can enjoy my Pizza and Beer in peace.

OnlyTranslating · Aug 18, 2005

that's awesome! Lucky you!

Gay Larson · Aug 18, 2005

kwmullet said:
Yea! Lookie what I just scored for my upcoming darkroom construction!
A spinning darkroom door for US$67 !

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7537721496

I'll probably pay about that for the truck rental to go pick it up, but this is WAY cool. I would have never expected that I'd be have a genuine darkroom door for this darkroom.

Happy feet!

-KwM-

I bought one on e-bay several years ago but not for that price and the shipping was horrendous. I love my door though, make me feel superior over my friends with their ordinary door.

thedarkroomstudios · Aug 18, 2005

I remeber our high school one... beware if there is a drilled hole on the light side for a padlock (good to keep children from getting hurt, others out of darkroom... bad for pranksters locking you in!!!) and always remember to step on the bottom track to avoid the aforementioned "smack & whip" syndrome Congrats.

-Brad

Calamity Jane · Aug 18, 2005

Good grab!

I'm still in the process of moving my darkroom from the main floor to the basement for more room. Working on a light-trap door right now and the do take up a LOT of space. (Also including a straight-thru door for when the darkroom is not in use.)

Only down-side of a revolving door would be the lack of air movement, if that's a problem.

Good catch!

dancqu · Aug 19, 2005

Calamity Jane said:
Only down-side of a revolving door would be the
lack of air movement, if that's a problem.

Air movement is no problem with the baffled entry.
Many years ago I did work short term in two labs
which did not use doors. Walk in, walk out; no
opening or closing and easy to ventilate. Dan

kwmullet · Aug 19, 2005

Calamity Jane said:
Good grab!
[...]
Only down-side of a revolving door would be the lack of air movement, if that's a problem.
Good catch!

Thanks, Jane.

Air supply (uh, the concept, not the group) is going to be something I'll have to handle separately than the door. I've gotten several good ideas both from apug and by sounding out the air conditioning guys when we got a new residential unit put in earlier this year.

Basically, I want to have positive ventilation so that when the straight-through door is open, air is basically blowing out of it and no dust can get in except what I carry in with me. I like Sean's idea of having a HEPA filter on the supply side, and I'll be trolling the local Habitat for Humanity shop here for vent hoods for each of the sinks. Then, I'll need to find just the right air conditioning / heating unit and it's off to the races.

-KwM-`

dancqu · Aug 20, 2005

Calamity Jane said:
Working on a light-trap door right now and they
do take up a LOT of space.

I think that "light-trap door" may be the same thing as the
baffled entry which I mentioned. That be the case, I don't
recall them taking "up a LOT of space". I recall an entry
then a few feet of baffled space opening into the
darkroom.

If the room is organized for such an in the darkroom
second wall baffle can be used. My tight quarters do
not allow for a baffled entry. Dan

Flotsam · Aug 20, 2005

I agree that a baffle entry is the best if you have a lot of traffic going from dark to light but it definitely eats up the floorspace. The darkroom where I used one was in a huge loft with a luxury of excess space and it worked great although for some strange reason, I was always disappointed that there wasn't a piece of cheese waiting for me at the end whenever I successfully negotiated it.

dancqu · Aug 20, 2005

Not mentioned so far are the light levels of adjacent areas.
When processing I leave only A or no light on in rooms on
either side. I can imagine areas where a darkroom is, you
might say, already in the dark or where hanging a brush
aside fabric curtain is all that is needed. Dan

Calamity Jane · Aug 20, 2005

I just finished my "baffle entry" with 3 90 degree turns. It occupies 6x8 feet of floor space (which isn't a problem) and includes a "straight-through door" that can be used for moving large items or when the basement darkroom isn't in use - that makes it wider than a simple entrance. The entry is at the bottom of a stairwell that opens into a porch with a south-facing window and a west-facing door.

I have checked it now in the a.m., at noon, and in the afternoon with the curtains and the west door open and I AM IMPRESSED! After sitting in the dark for 30 minutes, one can still not see ANY trace of light

Never had a light trap door of any kind before and it is REALLY nice!

(Did I mention that I decided to build the fancy entrance so my Hound can come and go without letting in light? )

Donald Qualls · Aug 21, 2005

Aaah. So now you can get fresh dog hair for that "rustic" look in your images without having to deal with changes in light level and so forth, eh?

Yippie! A spinning darkroom door!

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