Moving After 17 Years in My Studio.

A couple things I wish I had planned for are a dedicated space for toning and alternative process junk (bromoil bleaching, etc.) I do have a space for finishing with a drafting table I use to spot prints and a drymount press (worth it's weight in gold!) I would really like some more counter space so I could have a small extra enlarger for flashing, borders, and easier vignetting.

Things I love having.. a daylight color lighting fixture just outside the dark space for viewing prints in process. A microwave is wonderful for judging drydown on fiber. I also built the table the 4x5 enlarger sits on into a drop table for large prints.
 
I've always had 10ft ceilings in my darkrooms but I used a 240mm G Claron as an enlarging lens for 8x10. It's slow but it's an APO wide field process lens. You could also use a 210mm G Claron most likely and make 20x24 with no problems with a low ceiling.
 
Plumber has been in and delivered my water lines, I've got some plaster patching to finish upstairs then the darkroom begins.

Don't know that a circular door could make it into this basement Chinasaur! I've been working with great daylight balanced lighting over my sink since the last round of 'fixes' to this darkroom- priceless. There will be room outside the darkroom for the drymount press and drying racks. Just running through the electrical set-up today in prep for a meeting tomorrow withe the electrician. Will get some pics tomorrow of the raw space before the floor is opened up to put in the stairs.
 
x-ray said:
I've always had 10ft ceilings in my darkrooms but I used a 240mm G Claron as an enlarging lens for 8x10. It's slow but it's an APO wide field process lens. You could also use a 210mm G Claron most likely and make 20x24 with no problems with a low ceiling.
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Alas the column of the Zone VI is the problem, it's huge. I've got a sloped ceiling in my current space and it will only fit in the tallest end. I've got the 240 Nikkor on the Zone VI. I'm thinking I'll get a second LPL 4500 after I sell my tractor- no need for that on a .21 acre lot. 😀 The 810 will have to wait to go back in service for the next darkroom.
 
How about some photos of the space as it comes along?

Here's my space, wet side. 2 4x5 enlargers out of view on the right. This was an upstairs spare bedroom next to the bathroom so I was able to put plumbing through the common wall.
 

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Here is the raw space:

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Construction will likely start on the space next week.
 
it it possible to mount the 8x10 enlarger sideways like a projector , then use horizontal space instead on vertical?
 
marcr1230 said:
it it possible to mount the 8x10 enlarger sideways like a projector , then use horizontal space instead on vertical?
Click to expand...

No, the Zone Vi is upright only. I'm ok with losing the 810 for a while, this is not likely a permanent move, and if it turns out to be I'll figure out a way to make it work down the road.

FrankS said:
This will be fascinating to watch evolve. Hopefully it will serve to inspire others.
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You realize this is me Frank...
 
I can see it now, at least this would be my thought process: Cut hole in ceiling...cant do that wife may notice...if I cut hole how to hide the hole: hang lampshade on top...no spouse would pick up shade or wonder why I made a lamp shade out of blackout material that goes to the ground...cover it in darkcloth and call it a 'conversation piece'...box it in...hmm has possibilities

Option 2: yellow pages where to rent jack hammer...better get goggles with that thing...honestly how hard could it be?

Option 3: how do I convert a Zone VI to horizontal...

yeah I would be doomed in a cloud of sawdust, cement dust and left over pieces from me taking apart the enlarger.

./e
 
I did consider digging a trench!

for the amount of enlarging I ever do from 810 I don't think it's worth the compromises, and I can get a second LPL 4500 in there, so can still do all my fancy flashing...

via Tapatalk.
 
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The new basement stairs are going in today. Still haven't had time to finish the work I have to do upstairs as the semester winds down, but my grades went in yesterday at long last!


via Tapatalk.
 
Well. It has been a long trying summer thus far. Late May brought torrential rains on top of a very snowy late winter and somewhat quick thaw. St. Johnsbury got 5" of rain in the space of a few hours, and there was a huge amount of damage county wide. Several state highways had stretches that simply didn't exist anymore, downtown had some hillsides give way, and part of my neighbors yard became a sinkhole. I ended up with a large volume of mud in my basement. FEMA is finally setting up a center this coming week, so I may get some help for the clean-up. Not expecting much- but anything will help. So I've been delayed working on the darkroom waiting for a drainage trench to get dug and piped along my house. With all the damage to roads and driveways most everyone with any kind of excavator has been busier than ever.

But I have gotten started just this week. Put in a sheet of EPDM rubber as a bit of insurance against future leaks, and have gotten the walls framed up. 8'7" x 14'. The electrician will be there Monday or Tuesday, and then I can begin getting the sheetrock/plywood on the walls. I've got a air to air heat exchanger for use as my ventilation, that should go up tomorrow, and I'll get the vent cap through the wall likely Monday, weather permitting. A new window will go in tomorrow as well.

The cell-phone pics:
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I may suggest a safety measure for your basement: A small 2' x 2' concrete or polyurethane coated ditch of 8" depth at a corner near water comes to your basement. Install a small monophase centrifuge of 1KVA, for example, with a float triggered switch, automatic.. outlet to your drain pipe. You know with floods anything happens. In case of power cuts it can be operated also by a small generator.

(BTW, if I were you, I would be placing the Zone VI enlarger not on the regular bench but on a custom made smaller one according to the height of the column. )

Bob
 
Well, the Zone Vi is being shelved for the time being- I rarely shoot 810 any more, and can happily shoot 45 instead if I think I'm going to enlarge.

Plumber is in tomorrow for some unexpected plumbing changes- my pocket door is being interfered with by some existing pipes I thought were going to be in the clear. The electrician is running behind on another job but will be done in the darkroom on Wednesday afternoon. So I "should" (read could) have my walls done by Monday- too many other obligations again this week...

Looked into the ventilation more today, and my sink. An epoxy over plywood is the answer for the sink- and I found one that should be quite a bit easier to use than the one on my current sink was. I'll have ventilation exhausting from along the sink wall in three spots, with a larger inlet across the room on the adjacent wall, at the end of the wash sink. And the fan will be outside the darkroom, so won't be nearly as loud as my current Vent-Axia is.
 
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Electrician finished up the rough-in today. He squeezed all my safelights in despite lots of obstacles- beams, joists, heat pipes and wiring. Plumber got everything moved yesterday, and the rest of the framing for the pocket door went in then. I've got to run down to Boston briefly tomorrow, but am aiming to get drywall up on Friday and Saturday. Still some insulation to get in along the sill & brick part of the foundation wall (aboveground).
 
Argh, the light, it burns!


Sorry, all I could think when I saw the well-lit photos. Only good suggestion I can make is to say it's worth making sure your kit it at the perfect height. It made a big difference to me.
 
Tom A's story about Wynn Bullock is the extreme version of what I did to get Beseler 45 into my darkroom. I couldn't raise the ceiling, so I cut a 1 foot square hole into it and neatly boxed it out with sheetrock. I gave me 6 more inches of height, enough to do 16x20 inch prints. Perhaps you could do something like this to enable you to use the 8x10?
 
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