Spacers for drum processing! My Solution!

[Douglas P. Theall]

Hi Again, In the process of trying to come up with spacers for processing multiple 4x5 she ets in a unicolor drum I wanted to pass along what I found. The easiest and che apest solution was: I took a new wooden paint stirrer I got for free at the pai nt store and cut it in half. I then soaked the halves in hot water for about a half hour. I then cut it to fit the drum and left them in to dry. When dry the y slipped right in place. By the way I used an exacto knife to cut with. Total time was about 5 minutes not counting soaking and drying.

Thought I had a good one there but: Next I stopped at the automotive parts stor e and got a free putty knife. One of those plastic ones. You got it. Cut in h alf and cut to fit it was a perfect solution. It snaps into place like it was m ade for it. Took me 10 with the exacto knife.

I found these to be a little bit better than the eraser idea that seemed to work but I didn't want to buy the eraser to try it.

Good luck and let me know if these fixes work well for you. Doug

[Lyle Aldridge]

I have now read at least a dozen of these spacer descriptions on this forum, and I still have only a faint idea what you folks are describing! I guess it's that I'm basically a visual learner -- probably a common flaw among those drawn to photography. Anyway, I've figured out they must go on the INside with the wet stuff, but how do the two pieces of wood or plastic (or the erasers, for that matter) fit into the drum? Do they go across the diameter, around the circumference, longitudinally down the sides? At the end? In the middle? What edge or side of the film do they contact in use? Long edge, short edge, emulsion side or base side? Do they go in before the film, at the same time, or afterward? And what was the point of the hot-water-soaking step? Please be patient and gentle with me -- I'm slow.