Groan, what am I getting myself into?

[rxmd]

Excellent idea, thanks!

A very quick Google search seems to indicate that bulbs are easily available and cheap, is that so? With all this moving around I doubt I'll get a lot of life out of them.

They should be pretty robust. Just let them cool down before moving the thing. In the long run if you do end up printing a lot, you could get a colour head for easier gradation control (or mount the whole thing on the wall 😉)

 

[shadowfox]

Guys and gals, you may be reading a little too much enthusiasm into my posts. I'm very thankful for your help but I just want to be clear about one thing: I don't expect B&W to be more than an interesting side show for me.

I guess we did read too much... pity.
I thought we're witnessing the birth of another master printer 😉

 

[batterytypehah!]

On to part 2 of this saga: Upon inspection, it turned out that the lamp socket (ceramic) was broken. I removed the "lid" that it hangs in to show my neighbor, who's a retired electrician, and ask if he thought it might be a standard part I could still find. He says, hmm, dunno, but I think I have an old enlarger for you... My son-in-law's been trying to sell it at our annual yard sale for a couple of years now, it's just taking up space in the barn. Come back tomorrow.

So, I now have a compact enlarger, too. It's labeled Lentar L35, but I can't seem to find much info about those. Probably the kind of thing that was sold under many names. I'm looking at enlargers on the 'bay right now but haven't found one yet that looks like it.

It came with a 50/5.6 lens, one 35mm carrier, a 4-in-1 easel, and yet another tank. The slot for the filter drawer is empty, though. Maybe more stuff will turn up once I get a hold of son-in-law himself.

Anyway, this should be a much more manageable setup. The Beseler would only fit on top of the tub, blocking access to the trays below, but this one I can set up on the vanity or a small table.

 

[batterytypehah!]

Correction: The lens is f/3.5

It says Made in Japan and is a standard 39mm thread. Awesome. I can go shopping for FSU enlarger lenses if I'm not happy with it.

I also got a print dryer in this deal, looks rather tired though.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I was getting closer to finally turning our bathroom into a darkroom because I'm sick and tired of changing bags

Well, if you do turn your bathroom into a darkroom, you better have a good replacement! What will you do without a bathroom? 😱

 

[batterytypehah!]

OK so the bathroom is now light-proofed. Went surprisingly well, considering my (next to) no-cost approach. I made a lightweight frame from some leftover lengths of wood with some cast-off, but good quality, window shade material stapled on. Spray-painted black for good measure. This fits snugly over the window trim.

The door still has big gaps but after dark I'm good on that side, and it will help with ventilation.

I got 250 sheets of Adorama house brand 5x7 that someone had cheap on ebay (a sealed box, hey, I'm not stupid), I'm pressing a set of organizer trays from Walmart into service, and I put a 25 watt red "party light" bulb into the overhead fixture. Which leads to my question -- can you good folks reassure me that my stack of paper will be safe under that? Direct line probably about 6 feet to my work surface, and a recessed light with milky glass, not a bare bulb.

No rush. Watching game 6 tonight, anyway. Thanks!

 

[ChrisN]

Congratulations! The paper might still be fogged (even a sealed box) from age or poor storage. Under the safelight, take a sheet from the box and cut it in half. Put the first half directly into the fixer (don't expose it to white light) for the standard fixing time, then wash it. That will be paper white, and is the whitest white the paper can produce. Then take the second half, and again without exposing it to white light, run it through the develop - stop - fix routine. If the paper is perfect the piece that went through the developer will show the same shade of paper white as the peice that went straight into the fixer. If it shows a shade of grey, that is fog, and it means you can't get a good white in your prints.

Edit - you might want to run this test in total darkness, then under your "safelight".

You can google for "safelight test" and get plenty of advice. I just take a half sheet of known good paper, place it on the bench under the safelight with one half covered, and a pair of scissors (or something similar) placed on the exposed half. Leave that for 5 minutes, then develop - stop - fix. If it shows any tone at all in the exposed section your safelight (or darkroom light sealing) is bad.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[batterytypehah!]

So, after repeated delays due to "Snowtober" and subsequent yard clean-up tasks, I finally managed to get my first two prints out last night. Hit one last snag when I mistakenly exposed and "developed" the backing sheet of the paper ream 😱

Considering I penny-pinched and cut corners every possible way, they came out fine. Now I can shop for some VC filters and 8x10 paper knowing that my set-up works.

Celebratory still-life; the blue cast is from the cheap digicam:

 

[ChrisN]

Well done! Welcome to the world of active darkroom workers!

 

[Roger Hicks]

So, after repeated delays due to "Snowtober" and subsequent yard clean-up tasks, I finally managed to get my first two prints out last night. Hit one last snag when I mistakenly exposed and "developed" the backing sheet of the paper ream 😱

Considering I penny-pinched and cut corners every possible way, they came out fine. Now I can shop for some VC filters and 8x10 paper knowing that my set-up works.

Celebratory still-life; the blue cast is from the cheap digicam:

God is Great! (Allah hu Akbar!)

Cheers,

R.

 

[rxmd]

Congratulations!
Enjoy 🙂

 

[jm51]

I used to use an old tape player as a process timer. Anything that will play back your voice will do as long as it doesn't emit light. It was the easiest way I found of making sure the development time was correct and that they got enough time in the fixer.

If you like a challenge, try glazing a couple of fb prints.

 

[mike rosenlof]

Good luck with the project!

Don't forget that dust is your enemy. Do your best to keep the exterior, and the interior of your enlarger clean. Store it covered, take things apart and clean occasionally. Dust in the light path above the neg matters some, below matters a lot. Dust anywhere above the neg can settle on the neg later.

Have fun!