When starting out with LF I used the tortilla method described above in my Paterson tank for a semi stand development of Rodinal 1:100. Really really great results with that, very little agitation led to fantastic tones, and I was using the tank I already had. I got some little scratches from time to time, but that was mostly sloppy handling of the delicate emulsion of the Fomapan 100 (which I can recomend for 4x5 esp. in Rodinal - cheap and beautifull in Rodinal).
My itch for perfection led me to getting a Jobo CPE2, consistant results, very fast and easy, load the drums and drink a good wine contemplating about this ancient technology... but Rodinal didn't work well with continous agitation, so for the portraits and such i do the occasional tortilla - Rodinal method.
I converted a Jobo Drum 4531 by gluing three rails into it, it can hold 6 sheets and the loading is fairly easy. If you want ease and consistency (and do all that film-testing insanity the LF people like to rant about) I can recomend that. But for the fun part, and the surprise, tortilla method just works fine.
Isn't doing sheet film photography like writing a novel on a typewriter? complicated, slow, and really not very convenient? The shere amount of time from loading the holders to developing them... my apartment looks like a museum of ancient technology now, with the 4/5 enlarger set up, the ugly Jobo besides it...
Have fun, Michael
