Does PVC cement react in any unpleasant ways with the various chemicals used to process B&W film? Or can I hack my way through some plastic and glue it back together with abandon, concerned only with how light-tight the monstrosity will be rather than how deformed my emulsions will become? I need to build a tank to hold and develop 1 piece of 4x5.
PVC cement seems to work and not bother anything. If you're building something to process film though the white stuff isn't always safe(rumor) it's not completely opaque.
Make sure you get cement that lists PVC first as its applications.
I just built two tanks for 8x10 film, and there was no ill-effect from the cement/chemical mix.
It dries and sets very quickly, but make sure you give it time to air out a little, as the cement vapours are quite noxious
ARI:
Went fishing with the right bait, here. To wit: what did you build the tanks out of? I plan on getting a hanger in the mail and building a PVC fortress around it. Do they sell PVC in anything other than tubular form?
Damn, I fell for it!
David, I used PVC, and to answer your question, finding PVC sheets depends on where you live.
I had no luck at Home Depot et al., but I found a plastics manufacturer in town who also supplied PVC, and even cut it to my specs at no extra charge.
You might have to order online if you're in a remote area, but make sure that the cutting is done with the proper tool, i.e. no hand saws or the like; the edges must be close to perfect in order to bond well.
As stated previously, get the right cement, and I added Plumber's Goop on all the joints to make sure it was watertight.
You'll find that once you make the first tank, you'll want to make everything out of PVC, because it bonds so well and so quickly (hello, darkroom sink...).
Good luck!
ps: Might I ask why you want a tank for only one piece of film? You could get by easily with a 5x7 tray in the dark, or taco method in a 120 tank.
Last edited by Ari; 30-Jul-2011 at 18:25.
Yep! It's been used safely for decades in the photofinishing industry. Sheets of PVC maybe purchased and welded together.Originally Posted by davidwrogers
You can also use ABS sheets. I've seen motion film processors built of the opaque gray sheets and it also come in black. Just set the sheet edges together and the thin ABS solvent/glue wicks right into the joints providing a waterproof seal and a rugged weld.
Thanks for the answers. Very informative. As for why I need to develop one piece at a time: economists would call it a scarcity of resources.
In that case, you might be better off, and a few dollars richer, by processing in a tray.
I'm not sure of how much volume you intend to process later on, but developing one sheet at a time will become very tedious.
Make a tank to hold four film hangers, perhaps, or learn how to process multiple sheets in a tray.
Good luck.
Or a Paterson Orbital... which is really just a fancy tray.
Steve.
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