Lets See Your Darkroom

[Luis-F-S]

No, actually it's just that I'm registered a Civil Engineer (my hobby) though I have supported myself as a commercial photographer now for some 35 years. I've had numerous one man shows though quite a while back since I have not had a working darkroom since Katrina. Hopefully, that may now change. My first darkroom was in place from around 1985 through 1992, the second from 1993 through 2005, and the third I'm finishing up now!

L

[Richard Wasserman]

My wife and I recently moved into a new home. When we bought it i thought that I would only have room for a small darkroom to develop film in and that I would scan and print digitally. This made me a bit nervous as I have been a darkroom printer since 1962, but my wife fell in love with this house and I didn't want to disappoint her.....

There is a room on the lower level that we planned on using for my computer/work room which had 1x8 pine tongue and groove paneling and a suspended ceiling. I took down the ceiling in preparation for replacing it with drywall—it took about 2 hours and went smoothly. The work had its rewards, I found an intact mummified mouse that I think is much more interesting than my wife does. I spent a long time staring at the paneling with a vague sense of unease and dread. Something about it bothered me, but I couldn't quite say what. After several hours of inaction spread over about 3 days I decided to remove some of the boards and see what was behind them. What I found was no insulation, a crack in the foundation, terrible wiring—the boxes were too far back, so they pulled the outlets flush with the thoroughly dried out wood and wrapped some tape around the screws and called it good, and easy access to plumbing. The short version is, I found a darkroom! Down came all the wood, and I now have a blank slate. I'll keep you all updated as this project progresses. This is the 3rd darkroom I'll be building and I think I know what I want, but any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

[David Swinnard]

Hi Richard

Really cool finding a darkroom hiding in plain sight once you start looking eh? Now the fun begins...

[Richard Wasserman]

Indeed!

Really cool finding a darkroom hiding in plain sight once you start looking eh? Now the fun begins...

[Tin Can]

Very nice and neat!

I know there's a word for the wood slats in the SS sink, but it eludes me. Duck boards?

Is that a good idea, I honestly don't know. I have 3 nice SS sinks and I have noticed I am scratching them sliding dip tanks on them. One sink has stainless waffle's in it that helps draining?

What kind f wood is best? I am sure it is not finished in any way. Correct?

Thanks!

This is my third and current darkroom currently under construction. It's in an RV garage next to the house. Thank goodness I don't own an RV! My wife wanted a new closet, so we built the closet on a loft and the darkroom on the ground at the end of the garage. I've been posting photos of it in another thread, but thought it was far enough along to show a couple.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...1ft-room/page2

The SM-183 enlarger is partly assembled, the head is still in boxes. The sink and wet side is complete, the mixing valve gave way to an Intellifaucet K250, I have 4 chilled faucets and one cold/hot faucet. The chiller is behind the wall on the floor all the piping is insulated through the wall. There are two Doran 12x12 exhaust fans mounted above the sink which discharge to the outside. The print drying cabinet is next to the door and barely fits in the approx 8' x 11' space. The Valloy II enlarger sits alongside a Saunders LPL 4500II with both VCCE and dichroic heads. I have an X-rite 301 densitometer (I plan to see if the MacBeth still works when I take it out of storage). I think it will work great as a one person space. The lighting is all LED's with dimmers, the two exhaust fans are speed controlled. All the outlets are GFI protected of course. I'll post some more photos of the other side when I put the Durst back together and hang a few cabinets. Much of my darkroom stuff is still in boxes, curious as to what I'll find when I open them.

Luis

Attachment 105942Attachment 105943

[Luis-F-S]

I did the slats over 20 years ago, and I'd be lying to you if I knew what I bought. I'm sure it' a self cured and looks like pine, or you could possibly use cypress or something similar. No finish, just make sure you use stainless screws to secure everything. My sink looks new since I've always had them in there.

[Luis-F-S]

Just an update on how the darkroom is coming. Have the Durst SM-183 put together, the LPL 4500II & Valloy II are shown in the previous post. I have the arm that extends the 5x7 head in the down position as otherwise, I it would raise the head about 18" above the top of the column and I wouldn't have enough ceiling head room. Even with the lower head, it still allows me to print up to just under 16x20 which is fine since most of my work is 8x10 to 11x14. Since I have a variety of lenses (50, 80 & 180 Apo-Rod, 100 Componon-S, 135, 150 & 210 Rodagons) I can use the lens needed for optimum elargement size.

And yes, that is an Original Thorn 300 W bulb on the easel. I have 3 of them that I bought 25 years ago when I bought the enlarger. A question; has anyone used a dimmer to very slightly dim the 300 W output? I know it will change the color temperature slightly, but it should also increase the very short bulb life. Just curious. I typically use the Aristo D57 cold lite that fits in place of the lower condenser. I just purchased a CLS 301 Dichroic head for it, so maybe those Thorn bulbs will last me another 20 years! Thomas Duplex is in place as are the print and film washers and the Zone VI developing timer (probably one of the most useful darkroom accessories!).

[Robert Hall]

I cut up a red wood 2x10 and made mine.


Hers an image from my Darkroom. .
http://www.roberthall.com/img/portfo...room/img/5.png

[Tin Can]

Yes, Robert I saw yours on http://www.localdarkroom.com/ Very nice! Any bites yet?

Did you connect them at 90 degrees somehow? Underneath?

My only thought is the wood could hold chems and be difficult to wash underneath. I actually live inside my darkroom, so I want to be able to get it all down the drain.

Then again, I don't really care if I add some patina as they will not be sold in my lifetime.

I cut up a red wood 2x10 and made mine.


Hers an image from my Darkroom. .
http://www.roberthall.com/img/portfo...room/img/5.png

[Tin Can]

Luis-F-S, very sano! Looks like you wired and plumbed the room to your spec. I see you bought the full digital Intellifaucet, I bought the analog. Next time I do PEX I will use the crimper, I also do somewhat artistic pipe runs, I did test lab plumbing for so long I got tired of straight lines and tend to curve flexible tubing.

I think a bulb dimmer is a good add-on idea. My Beseler 45MCRX and Beseler CB7 have it built in, brand named Resistrol with a 0-150 volt analog gauge. I turn them down to 100 volts. as you know good enlarger bulbs are becoming rare. Today I bought a dozen 250 watt PH213 for my 5x7 Elwood.

Just an update on how the darkroom is coming. Have the Durst SM-183 put together, the LPL 4500II & Valloy II are shown in the previous post. I have the arm that extends the 5x7 head in the down position as otherwise, I it would raise the head about 18" above the top of the column and I wouldn't have enough ceiling head room. Even with the lower head, it still allows me to print up to just under 16x20 which is fine since most of my work is 8x10 to 11x14. Since I have a variety of lenses (50, 80 & 180 Apo-Rod, 100 Componon-S, 135, 150 & 210 Rodagons) I can use the lens needed for optimum elargement size.

And yes, that is an Original Thorn 300 W bulb on the easel. I have 3 of them that I bought 25 years ago when I bought the enlarger. A question; has anyone used a dimmer to very slightly dim the 300 W output? I know it will change the color temperature slightly, but it should also increase the very short bulb life. Just curious. I typically use the Aristo D57 cold lite that fits in place of the lower condenser. I just purchased a CLS 301 Dichroic head for it, so maybe those Thorn bulbs will last me another 20 years! Thomas Duplex is in place as are the print and film washers and the Zone VI developing timer (probably one of the most useful darkroom accessories!).