Drying set-up

[Paul Kierstead]

Currently, I use the piece-of-string + clothespins method of drying my 4x5 sheets. I don't care for it; the line is short, the sheets always want to touch each other, and I really have only line room for 6 sheets or so and I usually develop 12 at a time. I want a cabinet. I am cheap and a woodworker, so the obvious choice is to make a cabinet.

Where I could really use the help is in mounting the film inside the cabinet. *Ideally*, there would be some kind of removable rack I can take to the processing area, hang up the film, and then put into the cabinet. I seen lots of clips for sale, but many of those seem like they would be marginally better then clothes pins at best; the film will still tend to want to swivel, etc. and generally be a pest. I guess a double clip or a very wide clip would help there, one that is solidly fixed on a frame.

I would really appreciate anyones input on their experiences setting up this sort of thing on the cheap.

[John Kasaian]

Are we talking film or prints?

Stacking drying screens are easy to build for prints. For sheet film with limited space you can make a tree out of stiff, small diameter rod ( brass brazing rod wouldn't rust) A good heavy block of wood with 12 holes drilled in the top. Friction or cement the pieces of rod into the block and bend to suit your fancy so the sheets of film won't touch each other or the inside of the cabinet. affix clips to the ends and there you go! If it's too tippy, c-clamp it to a shelf.

[David A. Goldfarb]

For fitting lots of film on a short line--Jobo sheet film clips. They're expensive, but they hold the film perpendicular to the line, pierce the film with a pin for minimal contact and maximum strength, so you fit a lot of film of any format in a small space. It's not a cheap solution, but it works.

[Michael Gordon]

I definitely second the Jobo sheet film clips (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/25442-REG/Jobo_J3524_Sheet_film_clips_Pack.html).

[Don Hutton]

I just about pulled the trigger on the Jobo sheet film clips but then held back because they pierce the film - usually this leaves a little bit of film pushed out on the one side which makes wet mounting on a scanning drum much more difficult (the likelihood of bubbles goes up) - anyone using the Jobo sheet film clips and drum scanning?

[aduncanson]

I bought a pair of wire cake cooling racks with an approx. 0.5 inch pitch between wires and tied them to the top of my "drying cabinet" using wire tie-wraps. Actually the cabinet is a temporary/portable vinyl enclosure made for storing out-of-season clothes - an idea suggested here. I had looked for an unfinished cabinet at Lowe's and could find nothing under $199. The clothes storage unit is a little large, but I have the space. For good measure I cut vent holes near the top and bottom of the enclosure and suspended the vinyl business part of an old heating pad inside, mid way up, near the side without the vent holes. The heating pad would probably put out 50 Watts on high, but I keep it no higher than medium and I can never detect a temperature rise in the vinyl enclosure. I just like to imagine that the heat helps to move moist air out of the enclosure.

I wash & dry sheet film in hangers; I always have. Is that not a good idea? It seems to work well for me.

[lenser]

If this is for film, check with your local dentists and hospitals for x-ray film clips. They are all going or have gone to digital x-rays and these things are totally surplus and might be give away items like the muslin track (hospital bed curtain rails and rollers) that I got for free form the head of maintenance at one local hospital last month.

They are often already mounted on a stainless steel rail or rod of some sort that you could then build your drying cabinet around. I would opt for a wooden frame for the racks....one that you could lift into and out of the main cabinet for ease of loading.

Good Luck.

Tim

[Ralph Barker]

For 4x5 film, I use 1/4" office-supply binder clips, threaded onto wire clothes hangers, with small washers and soda-straw segments for spacers. The binder clip wings prevent the film from rotating, and there's enough room for 6 sheets per hanger. Although I suspend the hangers from a shower-style rod, the same rig could be used in a drying cabinet using a smaller rod. Large binder clips on the rod would prevent the hangers from rotating such that the films might touch.

http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/Misc/Photo-gear/4x5hanger-v2-0-01-650c.jpg

[vinny]

Ralph, looks like you shot the hell out of that scene! Anyway, i use the same setup as Ralph but without the straws and washers. If you stretch the line tight, the clips won't slide down the line into other sheets.
vinny

[Dan Schmidt]

I use a similar setup to Ralph, but with Bulldog clips like these

http://www.dickblick.com/zz573/05/

[Paul Kierstead]

This was indeed for film. That was clear to me, what y'all can't read my mind? :D Doh.

I have some good ideas now; many thanks for all the thoughtful replies!. I like the wider clip and the parallel stacking; so long as they don't twist and touch each other, it will actually get 12 sheets in my space, which can do the trick until I make a cabinet.

Just as an aside, it is interesting that I find Provia to be much more bothersome to dry then B&W film; the sheet seems quite a bit thinner and is much much softer out of the final rinse.

[Paul Kierstead]

Does anyone know someone who sells the Jobo clips in other quantities? The pack of 10 is really unfortunate ... I really do need 12, but the extra 8 would definitely go to waste.

[Keith Pitman]

I have always used wooden clothes pin (plastic pins do not hold well). Drill holes in the "handle" of the pins so you can hang film perpendicular to the line, and space them about three inches apart. I use a heavy picture frame wire strung above my sink so the sink catches the drips. Works great, and not expensive.

[Steve Barber]

Another solution for film clips are battery charging clips from ACE Hardware:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1292808&clickid=body_rv_img

No cheaper than JOBO clips, they do not put holes in the film and do not disfigure the image area, but you will have to modify the shanks to fit your method of hanging the film to dry.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Does anyone know someone who sells the Jobo clips in other quantities? The pack of 10 is really unfortunate ... I really do need 12, but the extra 8 would definitely go to waste.

Buy 20 and sell 8. Maybe post an ad in the classifieds here and see if someone will go in on them with you. I have 40 now, 20 purchased new and 20 purchased through classified ads.

[Louie Powell]

I have always used wooden clothes pin (plastic pins do not hold well).

I found some plastic clothes pins that have serrated jaws and hold quite well. To be on the safe side, I actually squeeze them closed so that they crimp the corner of the film a bit.

I have a drying cabinet that I made as a woodworking project. The sides and front are made from MDF, with a thin plywood backing. There is a plexiglass insert in the door so I can inspect the film without opening the cabinet. A small fan draws air into a chamber at the top of the cabinet through a layer of foam air conditioning filter material. The bottom of the chamber is a standard furnace filter, so the air that enters the film chamber is filtered twice. I have a 200 W light bulb in the air path that heats the air stream as well as lights the interior of the cabinet.

Just below the filter and light bulb is a wire rack - actually, a scrap of Cabinet Maid shelving left over from another project. My clips hang from this wire rack.

[shmoo]

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/big_product_pic.jhtml?PRODID=68595

try a lingerie dryer. You can also find these at a store that sells Japanese knick-knacks like Marukai or Mitsuwa in Los Angeles/San Diego. Cost about $5 for an all plastic one.

[Scott Schroeder]

I incorporated the jobo clips and portable file cabinet.
I mentioned it in this thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=11564).
For 8X10 I just used a bigger tub......
That lingerie dryer is pretty nifty also.
The good thing about the file cabinet is it gives you a decent dust free environment you can store anywhere....

[Lenny Eiger]

I use a similar setup to Ralph, but with Bulldog clips like these

http://www.dickblick.com/zz573/05/

Absolutely!

They are cheap and work well - with film at least to 8x10. Any office supply store carries them. They also have holes at the top. I have some some stiff wire they are strung thru and I'm done...

Lenny

[John Bowen]

I have always used wooden clothes pin (plastic pins do not hold well). Drill holes in the "handle" of the pins so you can hang film perpendicular to the line, and space them about three inches apart. I use a heavy picture frame wire strung above my sink so the sink catches the drips. Works great, and not expensive.

Ditto

I found some large plastic clothes pins that were predrilled. The problem with the plastic clothes pins is that some of them would NOT hold the negatives (NOT GOOD). I now alternate wooden pin, plastic pin, wooden pin, plastic pin. The wooden clothes pins will even hold 7x17 negatives with no problem. My print washer will hold 30 8x10 negatives, so I set up the drying line for 30 negatives.

Total cost for clothes line and clothes pins......about $5.

[Michael Graves]

I was at the "dollar store" and stumbled across (can you believe, for a dollar?) a nylon line with 12 plastic clothes pins. Each of the pins had a little wire loop that was easily strung into the top grill of my drying cabinet. I threw away the nylon string and gave away my fancy stainless steel film clips after that.