Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]"Mueller, Rob" wrote: > > I hope this will be my last darkroom I have to build, but who knows? > > I am writing the group to ask what improvements they would make to their > darkroom, if they were building anew. I hope to glean a few good suggestions > that I may implement. Ideas can run from the flooring, to the color, to the > ventilation, layout, anything is game. > > Thanks for helping, and I'll run a post with many of the suggestions. > Rob Mueller I read an article a long time ago about a sofa in the darkroom and how nice it was. Sounds ridiculous to bizarre but the article sure convinced me! But my darkroom is too long and skinny, 8x18 for a sofa! Next lifetime! This is my dream darkroom and I deserve it having printed in many a laundry room and closet and college group darkroom. I designed my entire darkroom around the largest sized print and tray I planned to be using. The dry side for the print the wet side for the tray. And that's 20x24. We have a rental lab here, U Develop which I learned a lot about Darkroom priorities from. I really wanted a light trap but no go. But I do have drop table for the enlarger, a mixing valve from Calumet for the sink which runs the length of my darkroom. I did some reading on boat building, wood boat building. I learned about epoxy's a and fiber glass. All the sinks built here in Portland Oregon by photographers end up leaking in short order I was told by a photographer whose dad owns the paintbrush company. But not mine in ten years it's holding up perfectly, I'd hide under it in an earthquake. It's like building a boat but you're keeping the water in instead of out. The wood is put together with the same stuff it is coated with. I used a high grade marine West Systems epoxy which had an option of all kinds of fillers graphite, cellulose you name it. With slow curing hardener. This site tells you how to do it now I did mine before the internet. I had to go to the LIBRARY!!! http://www.westsystem.com/ IF I had recessed lights, some of them safelights I'd be happier my ceiling in my basement is just a tad low. A complete stereo in a darkroom is a ridiculous necessity. Although I read How Cole Weston printed in deathly silence. Mark Rabiner my darkroom is rebuilt i didn't have my act together 16 years ago when I moved in here and I had deadlines.