Developing:
As time goes by I’ve accumulated loads of tanks and reels, from a single 35mm 250ml Kinderman tank to a 4×120 tank that takes two litres of chemistry, and many in-between sizes. I’ve been picking stainless steel tanks and reels up off ebay as they become available, usually Nikor, Kinderman, Brooks and Hanimex. The move to 120 meant I had to scale up fairly quickly because everything is so much bigger.
I’ve also got the HP CombiPlan T for 5×4.
I cannot bear plastic tanks and reels which is all that seems available new. Stainless tanks are considerably smaller too, needing less material in their construction. I used the plastic gear to start out, it was allegedly easier to load the film in the big clunky plastic ratchet reels (oh yeah?). Then I used the Hewes 35mm stainless steel spirals with the two ‘horns’ to locate the film. Love at first sight wind, and even through the dark bag you can hear the whisper as you wind the film onto the spiral. Really good aural feedback because if anything is going wrong, you can hear it even before you can feel it (don’t forget it there is no light, it is all done by touch & feel!).
My wonderful Gralab process timer
Darkroom:
You have to be joking! There isn’t enough room to swing a cat here. However, I have made the bathroom light-tight and it is with relief that I can load tanks in there rather than the dark bag. No more sweaty hands and loads of space (relatively, and a bruised cat…). I don’t fancy loading four 120 reels into the tank in a dark bag the size of mine but in the bathroom it is a breeze. Funny thing is, I’ve had to make myself open my eyes in the dark. This helps me know the light is actually off. Duh.
I’m picking up stuff cheap on ebay for when/if I get the darkroom up and running. I made a big mistake though getting the Durst M 370 BW enlarger. I thought at the time I’d never go beyond 35mm. Now I hardly touch the smaller format and I need something that will handle 6×9 and 5×4. I only paid the postage on it but now I have to pass it on to somebody else!
Drying:
Clothes line in the shower. Brilliant, just run the shower for 5 mins before hanging the film out to dry and hey presto, dust free!
Misc:
Heaps of other stuff, graduates, thermometers etc. Lots of it can be sourced cheaply from the pound stores down Deptford High Street and the market.
Chemistry:
Currently favouring Rodinal, HC-110 and Ilford DD-X for developing. Ilfosol 3 is out of favour. Ilford Rapid Fix for the fixer and Adoflo for the wetting agent.
I’m using distilled water from the local car supplies shop in Deptford High Street. The guy thinks I’m running a crystal meth/amphetime lab because I’m always in there picking up the 25 litre cannisters. We laugh about it. Anywhere else, some fuckwit owner would probably report it as ‘suspicious’ behaviour to our Stasi like authorities. Luckily, these rules don’t apply to Deptford hehe.
by skinnyvoice
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