John Bragg
Well-known
What is your handiest tip for re-purposing everyday items and using them in your workflow? I have found that "Calpol" bottles and oral medicine syringes are just the most perfect things for storing, decanting and dispensing small quantities of Ilfotec HC or Ilfosol 3. The bottles are Winchester brown glass and come with a child proof airtight cap and a 5ml syringe. Tailor made to ensure that expensive film developer lasts as long as possible and you hardly waste a drop. Any more handy tips?
ruby.monkey
Veteran
Packaged but no-longer-sterile syringes are dirt cheap on eBay. Plug a bottle adaptor into your developer bottle and you have a quick, clean, and accurate way to measure out liquid chemicals.
KenR
Well-known
Kitchen stuff
Kitchen stuff
Half the stuff in my darkroom is repurposed - mostly from the kitchen aisle of my local grocery. Funnels, large and small measuring cups, a set of measuring spoons and various sized juice and other bottles. Does anybody buy that stuff in a photo store?
Kitchen stuff
Half the stuff in my darkroom is repurposed - mostly from the kitchen aisle of my local grocery. Funnels, large and small measuring cups, a set of measuring spoons and various sized juice and other bottles. Does anybody buy that stuff in a photo store?
Andrea Taurisano
il cimento
On a totally different type of item: I repurposed an old leather belt, turning it into a camera strap. It held my trousers up for 20 years, now it'll have to hold my camera for a few more.
Some medical facilities dispose of metal tweezers instead of running them through an autoclave. Wasteful, but whenever a family member or I are treated, I make a point of scrounging any that are used if possible. Occasionally, when I've asked nicely, I've been given the odd pair. Invaluable for camera repair tasks, particularly the needle tipped type. I'd be lost without mine.
Rubber inner tube can be very useful for loosening tight fasteners or resting a part on without damaging it while you are working on it, particularly if you have to apply force Eg to loosen something.
Rubber sink plugs from hardware stores come in various sizes. Some of the natural rubber ones can make decent tools for loosening the filter rings or optical groups of small to medium sized lenses. Remove any metal handles first, obviously.
Hardware stores and tool shops sell coloured mats made of rubber for lining tool boxes to protect tools. These are perfect for the top of your work space. Cameras and other parts you are working on will not be scratched or scuffed on a mat. They last for a year or two, are inexpensive. When one side is eventually looking tatty or discoloured, flip it over and re-use.
Auto paint polish may be used to restore a shine to painted camera bodies. Some can contain silicones, best kept away from optics. But only trace amounts are needed—I usually dab a cotton tip on the nozzle, and am still working my way through the small sample bottle of Autoglym I scored years ago. Whilst nowhere near as aggressive as a cutting compound they will remove surface deposits fairly effectively with the appropriate amount of finger pressure and leave enough of a protective coating that this will help protect surfaces from skin acids and sweat for a while. They're very handy for freshening up a camera in need of a proper clean, and I've returned numerous tired-looking examples to near new condition. Also useful for certain types of metal surfaces such as aluminium, if you want to polish them up without resorting to potentially more aggressive metal polishes—works a treat on Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, for example.
Rubber inner tube can be very useful for loosening tight fasteners or resting a part on without damaging it while you are working on it, particularly if you have to apply force Eg to loosen something.
Rubber sink plugs from hardware stores come in various sizes. Some of the natural rubber ones can make decent tools for loosening the filter rings or optical groups of small to medium sized lenses. Remove any metal handles first, obviously.
Hardware stores and tool shops sell coloured mats made of rubber for lining tool boxes to protect tools. These are perfect for the top of your work space. Cameras and other parts you are working on will not be scratched or scuffed on a mat. They last for a year or two, are inexpensive. When one side is eventually looking tatty or discoloured, flip it over and re-use.
Auto paint polish may be used to restore a shine to painted camera bodies. Some can contain silicones, best kept away from optics. But only trace amounts are needed—I usually dab a cotton tip on the nozzle, and am still working my way through the small sample bottle of Autoglym I scored years ago. Whilst nowhere near as aggressive as a cutting compound they will remove surface deposits fairly effectively with the appropriate amount of finger pressure and leave enough of a protective coating that this will help protect surfaces from skin acids and sweat for a while. They're very handy for freshening up a camera in need of a proper clean, and I've returned numerous tired-looking examples to near new condition. Also useful for certain types of metal surfaces such as aluminium, if you want to polish them up without resorting to potentially more aggressive metal polishes—works a treat on Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, for example.
andrewmore
Too many cameras....
If you need or want to make bespoke parts for tripod mounts that are based on 1/4" 20 tpi UNC screw threads try 1/4" BSW (British Standard Whitworth) threaded materials instead as these might be easier to find depending on where you live. They are interchangeable in 1/4" only differing in the shape of the screw-thread (slightly rounded v. pointy) which in reality makes no difference.
Regards
Andrew More
Regards
Andrew More
Kai-san
Filmwaster
Ikea has got some nice cheap stainless steel funnels that I use for photo chemicals, just pop them into the dishwasher afterwards.
John Bragg
Well-known
So many great ideas already. Perhaps this could become a sticky thread ?
Dralowid
Michael
The ring that holds the valve in place on a traditional bicycle wheel can, with a little modification, be made to act as the ring round the shutter release on a ltm Leica.
Plastic milk bottle tops replace hugely expensive metal lens caps on tradition Elmars.
Old socks (clean!) are great for protecting old Leicas, lenses etc etc.
Plastic milk bottle tops replace hugely expensive metal lens caps on tradition Elmars.
Old socks (clean!) are great for protecting old Leicas, lenses etc etc.
JeffS7444
Well-known
Recycled padded mailing envelopes can be used to provide a degree of protection for camera bodies and lenses which otherwise might be heaped together in a damage-prone pile. If padding isn't needed, sandwich-size plastic bags will keep less-used gear dust-free while allowing you to see the contents at a glance. Such items have become so ubiquitous that I've never actually needed to buy these things new.
Bill Clark
Veteran
I use empty soda bottles for liquid storage. The plastic doesn’t react to the chemicals I use, easy to rinse out and thelud can be used over and over again. 7-Up and a few others use green plastic and this works as well. And some sodas are available in various sized bottles.
Mark the contents of each bottle with masking tape written on with a sharpie pen.
Mark the contents of each bottle with masking tape written on with a sharpie pen.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Bamboo skewers are useful for cleaning inaccessible places without causing damage.
Erik.
Erik.
Doug A
Well-known
When a friend stopped trap shooting he gave me the small Filson field bag he used for live and spent shells. It had a noticeable odor of cordite at first but now, with an Ape Case insert, it makes a nice camera bag.
Dralowid
Michael
Of course, looking at things the other way round, film canisters can be used to deliver 'samples' to the doctor!
ruby.monkey
Veteran
Less disgustingly, they're also excellent single-serve vinaigrette containers for one's packed lunch.
I always gave my kids a cannister to put in any lost teeth. Far easier for the tooth fairy to find under a pillow in the dark, than is a milk tooth.
valdas
Veteran
I use those for cosmetics (shaving gel, after shave...) on short trips when traveling by plane (due to 100ml restrictions for liquids in non checked in luggage).
Joao
Negativistic forever
Some plastic boxes used for slides can hold six 35mm rolls.
Aquarium termometers are reasonably accurate; and electric heaters for aquaria can keep a large bowl of water at 20ºC for as long as you want - you can put your developing tank in, and be sure to have a constant temperature during all the development.
Joao
Aquarium termometers are reasonably accurate; and electric heaters for aquaria can keep a large bowl of water at 20ºC for as long as you want - you can put your developing tank in, and be sure to have a constant temperature during all the development.
Joao
Joao
Negativistic forever
Maybe a stupid idea but
Has anyone tried to use a leather cartridge belt for carrying rolls of 120 film ?? They do not seem to be very different in size from shotgun cartridges...
Joao
Has anyone tried to use a leather cartridge belt for carrying rolls of 120 film ?? They do not seem to be very different in size from shotgun cartridges...
Joao
John Bragg
Well-known
I use those for cosmetics (shaving gel, after shave...) on short trips when traveling by plane (due to 100ml restrictions for liquids in non checked in luggage).
Also suitable for keeping small quantities of instant coffee, sugar and whitener/creamer on an overnight or one day camping trip.
retinax
Well-known
Thermometers for kitchen (steak/roast/frying oil/chocolate tempering etc.) use are quite precise, although not necessarily accurate and fast. But good enough for me, at the prices they can be had for, I bought two will buy another once one breaks, so I have a backup and can assess any difference in metering to the new one.
T-shirts or towels are great camera equipment padding for travel. But don't pack with the other t-shirts or towels or you might be tempted to shake them out of the lumped together shape!
Cable tie -> focusing tab is known I think.
T-shirts or towels are great camera equipment padding for travel. But don't pack with the other t-shirts or towels or you might be tempted to shake them out of the lumped together shape!
Cable tie -> focusing tab is known I think.