Looking for hints for "Darkroom à la cheap" for beginners

[ethics_gradient]

The plastic drawer tower for the processing sequence is not a good idea. Have you ever actually FOUND a set of those towers that functioned correctly when EMPTY, let alone when they had chemical in them? Pulling the drawers out and laying them on a table is a really good idea,, adn then when dried out back into tower they go and become storage for the working containers of chemical...

Speaking from direct personal experience, it works fine. You don't whip the drawer all the way open when it's full of chemistry; you gently pull it open maybe four inches, and use the tongs to insert/remove your paper.

I melted off the little plastic stops at the end of each drawer with a soldering iron (and good ventillation) to make them easier to pull all the way out, which makes putting the chemicals away much easier.

[monochromeFan]

Speaking from direct personal experience, it works fine. You don't whip the drawer all the way open when it's full of chemistry; you gently pull it open maybe four inches, and use the tongs to insert/remove your paper.

I melted off the little plastic stops at the end of each drawer with a soldering iron (and good ventillation) to make them easier to pull all the way out, which makes putting the chemicals away much easier.

Every time i have tried to purchase those towers of plastic crap, they have always been defective. Right off the truck defective. And they have always seemed to sag over time.

Its alot easier to just get a hefty or sterilite branded 60-80 quart organizer bin and use that as the tray holder, or for bigger prints the tray.They have enough structural strength that you can install a drain valve in one end/corner

[ethics_gradient]

Every time i have tried to purchase those towers of plastic crap, they have always been defective. Right off the truck defective. And they have always seemed to sag over time.

Its alot easier to just get a hefty or sterilite branded 60-80 quart organizer bin and use that as the tray holder, or for bigger prints the tray.They have enough structural strength that you can install a drain valve in one end/corner

You might be thinking of the larger ones for storing clothes or that kind of thing. The A4 document organisers are pretty compact and sturdy; the body is usually a single-piece plastic shell. Here's an Amazon link to show what I'm talking about: A4 5-tier drawers

[r.e.]

Beginners will often have to adapt small space, developing and maybe printing -- probably contact for LF, enlarging smaller formats when they can find an affordable enlarger -- in a bathroom. (My darkroom was half a small bedroom for many decades, waterless, with lots of tray hauling and washing in the tub.)

B&H is currently selling Ilford’s popup darkroom for US$210, which is $130 off: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._darkroom.html

Also, see this thread: https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ually-reliable

Turns out that Tin Can has the Ilford. His view: https://www.largeformatphotography.i...=1#post1711552