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Thread: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

  1. #1
    Greg Greg Blank's Avatar
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    Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    I've seen a few darkroom sinks have a Redwood grid that lifts up stuff put inside to allow draining. Any thoughts why Redwood should be used versus say plastic used for the same reason?
    I've a good supply of Redwood, but it seems a waste of pretty wood for the purpose.
    "Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will
    accomplish them."
    Warren G. Bennis

    www.gbphotoworks.com

  2. #2

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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    I believe that Redwood is the traditional answer here because it decays more slowly when wet. I've worked in numerous darkroom sinks with wooden 'duckboards' and most of them were made of redwood... and had been in use for a long time.

  3. #3
    Photographer
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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    I used a material called Dri-Dek and is used on the floor behind bars. I found it at a local restaurant supply, but I’ve seen it on EBay. Works great.
    Keith Pitman

  4. #4

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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    Wouldn't teak work better?
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  5. #5

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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    It might. most of the duckboards that I remember were so grey-ed out by time and water that it wasn't obvious what they were made of. I'll be building a darkroom sink soon, and will probably go with something synthetic, although my thinking is far from done about this.

  6. #6
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    I had three stainless steel sinks. One with stainless steel duck boards. Never liked them.

    I sold 2 sinks and now use one 7 ft without duckboards as I clean up and wash it all down after every usage.

    The trays are cleaned too and stood up to drain.

    I also gave away a brown fiberglass photosink to a gardner. He drilled holes in it...

    I have my 16X20 print washer in a big laundry sink on rubber feet so water can drain out.

    My gas burst system is in a standard sized laundry tub.

    All 3 sinks have 1-1/2 P traps.
    Tin Can

  7. #7
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    Really bad idea. Redwood bleeds tannic acid. Most of it today is farmed second growth which can decay, esp if it contains sapwood. The type supposed to be used for hot tubs etc is all heart clear old growth, hard to get. A mistake of this nature probably won't ruin anything unless your prints come into actual contact with the wood, but expect sink stains, crud buildup etc. You'd have to assemble the thing with 316 stainless staples. Plastic is so much easier. Anything wooden would need to be pickled with penetrating marine epoxy to be made inert.

  8. #8
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    I agree with the last poster.
    Tin Can

  9. #9

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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    Made my "grid" with strips of Marine plywood (an overkill, Outdoor plywood costs less and would also work) and then applied 3 coats of BEHR Low Luster Enamel PORCH & PADIO Floor paint (a very, very thick paint). Has held up going on almost daily use for 2+ years with normal photo chemicals and alternative processes. Making Chemigrams definitely taxes it, but cleans up easily with a warm soapy water solution.
    One time came across a stainless steel grid in a used commercial kitchen supply house. Unfortunately it was gone when I went to purchase it a few days later.

  10. #10
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    Re: Redwood grid for Darkroom sink.

    In 1998, having no carpentry skills, I had a sink (8 feet long) built out of plywood. The bottom of the sink sloped down to one corner where the drain was located. On each of the long sides (the interior) was a 1X2 that was level with the one on the other side, and a minimum of 2 inches above the bottom of the sink. My duckboards (there were 2 to make removal easier) were of standard 1X2's, and the ends rested on those level pieces. Everything got multiple coats of polyurethane paint--with a couple of additional coats every few years for good measure. One mistake with the duckboards was to initially use regular wood screws, which very quickly had to be replaced with stainless steel. I could even stand on those duckboards--though it made me nervous to do so. The sink was still in great condition when we sold the house in 2014. The marine epoxy might have been a better choice, but I had heard it had strong fumes when being applied. and the sink had to be built in a room in the basement room after we moved into the house. Since the room remained dry due to a radiant heater near the ceiling, the new owner tore out the sink and used the room for dry storage. Note that my radiant-heater method of keeping the darkroom always at 68 degrees was feasible because I'm out on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. That would not have worked back in Virginia.
    Keith

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