Soap stone darkroom sink?

[Drew Wiley]

Once one adds up the cost of real marine plywood and epoxy, the alternate methods get very tempting. I just don't like in-place fiberglassing due to health risks. Your flooring installer was correct, not the dealer. Mahogany or ebony wood used for cameras needs to be seasoned up to 25 yrs in advance. But any remaining true pattern grade mahogany is going to be stored that long anyway, since all of it was cut long ago and nothing new is left to cut. Walnut cures faster, but that depends on several factors.

[John Layton]

Well...my last plywood and epoxy sink went strong for over thirty years in three different locations. Good thing we don't have many earthquakes I guess! As for expansion/contraction - my darkroom is pretty well climate controlled. I am able to manage around 68 to 70 degrees F, in a range of 45 to 55 percent humidity (de-humidified in summer), year round, so I don't anticipate things moving enough to cause problems.

I do confess that I do not use marine grade plywood - but a decent grade of 3/4 inch birch ply. Not too bad price-wise, no voids, dimensionally very stable and cuts very nicely.

Also regarding price...I chose the Rakka marine epoxy just for this reason - as it is significantly less expensive than the West System equivalent. Goes on a bit thin which is nice as it does allow the first coat to penetrate pretty well, and I do two coats over everything (inside and outside) then a third, slightly more generous coat (but not enough so that it cooks/bubbles) on the inside sink bottom. Finishes like glass (see photo with auxiliary large print processing tray), and is very tough and abrasion-resistant.

[Tin Can]

John

I like your wood boat sink and large tray with sluice gate, which looks big enough for 40X50" prints, I may make a smaller version for location 2

Next time, i will copy you, but right now I have a 7' Rosy Products sink, aka Arkay with OE insulation underneath, all I need

I sold my 10' Arkay which had all sides insulated as I knew my current DR would be smaller

I gave away 2 sinks when I left Chicago

[John Layton]

That's the 30x40 version. My 40x60 version also fits and works great - but 1/2 inch ply instead of 3/4 because otherwise it would weigh a ton! At any rate, I've included a photo of the other end of this which shows feed tanks - which get dumped in sequence into the large tray, after which the tray is rocked. After each step, the tray gets lifted/braced on the feed end, and I open the sluice gate to dump into the empty feed tank transferred from the feed side. I gently squeegee the print as it drains to ensure maximum solution transfer (and minimal waste), then un-brace and clamp the gate, and quickly pour in the next solution. The re-filled feed tanks get pushed underneath the large tray back to their original positions. I also use the feed tanks themselves to process test strips for the large print. At any rate...here's a photo of the other end:

[Tin Can]

Excellent! Sliding the recovery tanks back under the top tray was NOT obvious until you described it

Picture sure helps too

New plans are afoot!

[Drew Wiley]

I'll have to study up on that Rakka product, John. The newer marine products were sold by another dealer across the Bay who was really more of an ally rather than a competitor; we sent customers to each other. But just like me, he's now retired, certain products have already changed, and none of the younger personnel have equivalent product knowledge. Penetrating epoxies are used a lot for architectural structural repairs in this area, far more than even boats, but it's easy to get sensitized to them. And of course there are far less expensive alternative products than marine ply; but I always default to that recommendation to avoid ambiguity. Not every area has the huge selection of plywoods and marine products like we do here. I personally use high-quality maple shop plys that cost about a fourth as much as true marine, but I still have an inside track with pricing that the general public does not.

[John Layton]

The folks at Rakka are usually pretty helpful in terms of helping to match one of their products to a particular need. More recently, I tried one of their newer "low blush" formulas, and found it had a tendency to bubble - and if those bubbles aren't removed before drying, they pop and make sharp points. So I went back to their standard, long-set formula, which suits fine and penetrates quite well.

I have a good friend who has built a few boats and did become epoxy sensitive. I do think about this, but as a rule do not use raw epoxy all that much. I also have great ventilation which helps I'm sure.

I've never used maple plys but have thought about doing so. My guess is that they might be a bit heavier than birch. Does this sound right?

Finally...I do agree that finding folks that are truly knowledgeable about their products can be really tough these days - and when I do find someone who knows his or her stuff about something, I tend to ply them with as many questions I can think of while I have their attention!

[Drew Wiley]

Birch has gotten expensive but has that two-toned tan look if cabinetry is in mind. Most maple is now Russian and more consistently blonde. My habit of just going straight to overkill recommendation of marine ply is because in much of this country people go shopping at home centers and discount lumberyards where the choice is junk versus worse junk, yet arbitrarily marketed as premium, good, etc - meaningless or outright deceptive terms with respect to actual official engineering specs. And then the sales "associates" are generally about as well informed as an eggplant. So stating marine ply at least makes people think of going to an actual specialty dealer instead, where someone hopefully knows what they're actually selling, but that is by no means a sure bet these days, just as you have noted. I have to look at someone's yacht next week, and also have a friend needing something especially durable coating for a giant custom table. But I'm trying to get away from personal use of epoxies as much as I can. My Phillips 8x10 camera was made of a custom ply pickled with penetrating epoxy.
It's yellowed like crazy, and the finish would spall off if it was left continuously in sunlight; but the camera is pulled out of the pack just for shooting, and even then it's blanketed with a darkcloth; so I'm not worried.

[Ironage]

Update. Found a really old and good 2x3 soapstone sink near me. Went to see it and found that it was shallow and would have worked for 8x10 trays. A little small for me. I tried to move it but it was HEAVY! This is a no deal for me. I will not ruin my already poor back for a darkroom sink.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tin Can]

My 86" X 30" OD Calumet/ARKAY-Rosy Products stainless steel sink breaks down to 4 pieces. Tray, Backsplash, two leg panels. I can stand in it at 170 lbs, I found it used and assembled

I was able to dismantle, move to my new location and reassemble it myself. I am not strong. The insulated tray was carried by one hand 100ft, with stops for rest...

It can hold 3 20X24" standard plastic trays

Rosy Products was in business in Michigan for a long time, now I cannot find his website...

However, I think used SS sinks are still out there, as so many print Digi...