Wet Darkroom not Dead?

I'm sick of reading articles and threads on how film and the wet darkroom is dead. For six months now I've been trying to buy a good 20x24 easel on e-bay. They keep going for over $300 bucks with two dozen bids. What's up with that? Who's buying them all? Come on it's an easel not a Cooke Triple used by AA. Can somebody give me a reasonable explaination other than I'm cheap?

My Beard was $50 -) Of course it was almost that to ship it across the province.

Not cheap.

Thrifty perhaps.

But not cheap.

But seriously, their are a few of us die-hards that want to improve our darkroom equipment and a 20 x 24 easel isn't cheap in the first place. Especially if it's a 4 blade adjustable.

But, I could be wrong.

I wouldn't pay that much - bit I AM cheap.

Just checked B&H's site - $500 new.

Hi Jim,

I made a very simple easle (16 by 20) out of plywood with an aluminum frame, held together with simple angles. I've used it for the last 12 years, simple and no problems. You almost don't even need an easle going that big. You can lay the paper right on the enlarging table and hold it down with metal strips on two sides.

I'd rather put money into fun things like lenses.

-Brad

I agree with Brad. I've used this simple and economical solution for years and it works great. $300.00+ dollars will buy alot of paper.

I've gone one step further and made my own vacuum easel. The top is a nice thick piece of MDF, pine for the sides and a thin piece of MDF for the bottom to keep the air out. A $20 mini vacuum cleaner sits on the floor and is connetced by some 25mm plastic tubing to a hole in the side of the easel. On the top I have drilled a series of holes that correspond to the edges of the common paper sizes, so an 8x10 will be held in place by holes near its edges and at 5x7 and 5x3.5. There is more than enough pressure to suck a piece of paper flat and hold it gently in place, regardless of the size of the paper. All up cost would be no more than $40 and it gave me an afternoon of happy power tool use.

an oldtimer here at the Hart House Camera club scoffed at the old mangled 20x24" easel that we had and said "you should just be using masking tape, it works just as well".

I looked at the easel prices then went... heeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....

Cheers
-vic

Jim,

You need to find a lab thats going digi. I bought a saunders easel for $25 and a portfolio box for $5. You should have seen my big armenian S M I L E !

Thanks guys. The reason I want, as John would say, a honk'in big easel is for 10x20 and 12x24 enlargements. I'm pretty handy with a table saw and wood clamps so I guess I'll make some for each size. Baltic birch of course.

But, if this game is dead, who is buying all the easels at such a high price? Even the speed easels are going for more than they are worth.