Building a small darkroom

[rxmd]

I think I will start with the stacking tray idea for the wet side, and build a rolling shelf/table that fits under the wet side, as shown in the diagram. Any recommendations for the amount of vertical space between each tray? I would guess that six inches (15cm) should be plenty?

I'm currently building a tray stack (I found it's the only practicable solution for a darkroom since we moved to Berlin; as long as my PhD isn't finished I'll have to continue on a student budget). So I'm very much in the same boat, my darkroom is in my "office" and that's a wedge-shaped room of 400 x 130 x 180 cm that my chemistry has to share with about twenty meters of bookshelves, two desks, and a computer with two large CRT displays. Maybe I'll send a picture around once I get it finished.

A friend of mine had this brilliant idea for a tray stack that I'll copy. I'm starting off with a storage rack from IKEA that looks like this:

They can be bought without basket drawers, too, and the overall height is about 70 cm. I take some drawer mounts that can be pulled out, and fix them to the sides of where the original basket drawers go. Then I build some simple drawers from thin wooden boards, with a bevel around the edge so that if I spill some chemistry it doesn't spill over the edge too much. After that, I can place development trays on these new drawers and work top to bottom, pulling out drawers and putting the paper from tray to tray.

My friend did a spaced out version with a little motor that rocks the whole rack once per thirty seconds or so for agitation, and with little LEDs and timers attached to the side of each tray for proper development times. But that's already the extended version, I guess 🙂

Leaving paper in water for extended amounts of time should be no problem, I used to do that in my other apartment; the only problem couls be that if RC paper floats vertically the corners tend to get bumpy. Putting some soda or hypo clearing agent in the water is a brilliant idea that I've got to try out 🙂

Philipp

 

[BJ Bignell]

I was also considering getting an Ikea rack as a starting point for the tray stack. I'll pass on the motor and LEDs, though. Knowing my luck, I would electrocute myself and fog the paper all at the same time... 🙄

 

[mbisc]

I think you are missing something on your "wet side:" you really need room for four trays, not three trays. You need Dev., Stop, Fix, plus a holding tank with water. Also keep in mind that even with printing tongs, your hands will get chemicals on them, so you'll need a way to rinse/dry your hands...
Cheers,
Mike

 

[mbisc]

A friend of mine had this brilliant idea for a tray stack that I'll copy. I'm starting off with a storage rack from IKEA that looks like this:
Philipp

When I built my darkroom (which also had considerable space constraints), I thought a tray rack was a great idea -- until I actually used my setup the first time. Maybe people have different experience, but I found it exceedingly difficult to get a (fiber-based) sheet of paper of size 8x10 (inches) or larger from one tray to the next.
Since then I switched to smaller trays that can just sit next to each other in my limited space...

Cheers,
Mike

 

[BJ Bignell]

Mike: I have all sizes of trays and equipment, so I can try a number of different things to get it "right". I don't know if I'll like the tray stack, either, but it would save a lot of space.

This afternoon, I think I'm going to shift some of these boxes around, and try laying everything out on the floor, just to get an idea...

 

[BJ Bignell]

Alright, I just re-organised all of the storage boxes in my office/darkroom space so that they roughly represent the darkroom layout in the second diagram. My impressions:
- The enlarger position will be excellent, as I'll have nothing behind me to bump into or restrict movement.
- It will be a bit snug when trying to access the far end of the dry side table. However, I'll likely being spending time at the enlarger end, anyways.
- The wet side is small, real small. But, if I had a folding arm on the side that extended the table surface across the closet door, it would be sufficient.
- Overall, there is enough room to do this, even if it's going to be small.

This is very exciting. I really need to get a proper office desk now, so that I know exactly how much space there will be.


I have another question, too: How high should the wet/dry benches be? I'm about six feet tall (~185cm), and was planning on having the surface of the tables at about 100cm. Any comments?

BJ

 

[rxmd]

When I built my darkroom (which also had considerable space constraints), I thought a tray rack was a great idea -- until I actually used my setup the first time.

That's why I intend to place them on moveable drawers. You can pull out the lower drawer entirely and the upper one halfways. Not more difficult than a Nova tank, anyway.

Philipp