Get some marine epoxy, paste-style. PC-11 works well.
Get some marine epoxy, paste-style. PC-11 works well.
Those are worth some money.
The nice thing about marine epoxy is that's tough, waterproof, won't interact with the metals, and if need be, can be removed... An ABS or PVC pipe fitting on them makes a good "stilt"...
SS or enamel trays are great in a water bath set-up, but seem to cool faster in a non-WB set-up...
And for me, metal trays drive my crazy when empty (and cleaning or putting them away), one tap on them and they GONG like Big Ben!!!!!!!
Steve K
To elevate trays I use the plastic diffusion grids from fluorescent lighting fixtures.
Ron McElroy
Memphis
I ran a university darkroom for 23 years, 1991 to 2014. We used the same set of SS trays for the whole time (two sets of three trays...Dev, stop and fix -- about 12"x16") - plus I used the same trays when I started taking photo classes in 1977 - plus some were marked Humboldt State College...the name changed to Humboldt State University in 1972. I do not know how long the darkroom had them before then. They looked almost new after a minimum of 43 years of constant use -- average of 125 students a semester with 75 to 80 hours of open darkroom time a week, plus another 30 hours a week of class time (not all in the darkroom, though.) That is why I likes the SS trays!
Sometimes we did not have heat, so I would flood the sink with water as a water bath.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
Newly made large format dry plates available! Look:
https://www.pictoriographica.com
Get some of the non-slip drawer liners from Harbor Freight, put those under your trays in the sink. Just rinse out and hang to dry when done, and they'll last you a good long while.
Stone Photo Gear
https://www.stonephotogear.com/
I think stainless is best for normal B&W processing. They last forever and are easy to clean and can be found relatively cheaply second hand these days. I've replaced most of my plastic trays with stainless.
I have some enamel trays as well, but I've used them mostly for floating albumen paper.
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