Darkroom sink plans

[welly]

Hi chaps,

Currently in the process of putting together a darkroom with a couple of mates (jars on this forum and one other). We've got some ideas in our heads for how to build a sink but would appreciate any tips, advice or plans for a sink.

That's all!

Thank you,

Welly

[bob carnie]

Wood - using West Systems as the final coat to water proof.

Do not make it too high or you will always staining your shirts.
Make it bigger than you think you need.
Also a T design is fantastic , took me 30 years to figure this one out.
Figure a way to feed two separate water lines into the sink

I use heavy duty garden hose , commercial grade to the mixing valve which is basically a shower control with thermostate, way better than running copper behind the
sink and to areas of the sink.

Make sure you vent the drain and oversize the drain, with grill over top to stop larger items from going into the drain.
If you can put the sink on wheels if you have space... and quick connectors for the drain if you want to move the sink around... No kidding if you have space there
are many reasons to have a portable sink.


bob

[jk0592]

Wood - using West Systems as the final coat to water proof

. This is what I used 25 years ago. It does resist water very well, but the Kodak Indicator stop baths stains the nice epoxy finish. Use it with care to preserve the sink, unless resanding and refinishing periodically. Recently switched to Ilford Ilfostop citric acid based, but did not spill any off tray yet...

[vinny]

What bob said. I coated all the edges of mine (west systems epoxy) before assembly as well. Mine has a wash basin buit in that drops down about 16", it make a good cleanup area. Use $40/sheet birch, not ac plywood. Make sure your assembled sink fits through the door and/or make the base it sits on as a separate unit. Mine was a bitch to get thru the door.

[Jim Noel]

I second the use of West Systems epoxy over plywood. I built one this way in 1989. I sanded and re-coated it last week.

Jim

[Peter Langham]

Depends on how big a space you have. Make it as big as you possibly can. Plywood with epoxy is the way to go. I used epoxy paint on top of epoxy resin. Utilize all the space underneath for storage or print drying racks. If the T shape doesn't work for your space consider an L shape.

[vinny]

here's the pics of the beast I built. I made it big enough to handle 20x24 trays (depth-wise).

[Ari]

I made one sink previously, and I went the PVC route.
A local store will cut all the pieces to the desired dimensions, add some corners and you're done.
You need to buy PVC glue and some Plumber's caulking to seal the joints.
But it can be assembled and built in an hour once you have all the cut pieces.

Mine was 7 feet long by 20 inches wide, and like many other sinks you'll see, the back was higher than the front.

[Michael Rosenberg]

I second the recommendation for PVC. I posted directions and pictures some years back on the LF Home page http://www.largeformatphotography.in...facturing.html

It has now been 11 years that I have used this sink and no leaks. Very durable. No regrets - I had two other sinks over the past 25 years, both were fiberglass and what a pain. And they eventually leaked. An hour after I finished I was using the sink.

Mike

[ROL]

A Darkroom Portrait –> Process Sink