Creating a home darkroom?

IamAshlyRose said:
@Mahoneyd187

I'm using a Paterson Universal Processing Tank with two 35mm reels, do you happen to know how many ML that contains? I'm having trouble finding where the measurements are, a couple of websites don't mention it in their descriptions. Thank you.
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i think it says on the bottom of the tank
 
@donutagain
Oh cheers, they haven't arrived just yet but I was assuming it should say somewhere!
 
s162216 said:
Most 'one shot' chemicals will keep for a good year or so if kept in tightly sealed bottles.
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Here's a daft question..

What type of bottles for what solutions?
- Glass/PET?
- Clear/brown/lightproof?

Apart from not yet having the sink plumbed in, I have a pack of "everything you need" b&w Ilford developer kit, and there's no storage indication for mixed solutions..
 
Right, I've ordered & paid for everything I need & finished shooting a roll of film today filled with the odd photographs that aren't going to break my heart if they don't come out ready for the first processing. I hope it all comes quickly, I'm dead looking forward to developing at home ~ :D!
Thanks to everyone on here with their amazing advice.
 
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Good luck :) I'm sure it will go fine :D
 
I'll make sure I post about the results {when everything eventually arrives} hahaha.
 
290ml per 35mm roll, 500ml (I think) per 120 roll. With stop & fix I usually just keep pouring 'til it just about overflows since they're reusable.

If you do manage not to end up in a morgue, try not to get fixer in your eye. Horrible experience :gag:
 
You don't even need to use stop anyway. :p I have a nearly full bottle sitting around, I really should start using it up.
 
Joenail said:
290ml per 35mm roll, 500ml (I think) per 120 roll.
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Thats it, says on the bottom of my system 4 tank. I tend to put a bit extra in to make sure i dont un-develop a strip on the top of the film.

I usually do 350ml per 35mm and 600 per 120... Seeing as i use rodinal for all of my devving it doesnt cost any more :)
 
I'll definitely be using stop, I've always been taught to use it & I'd prefer to continue to do so. I'll check the measurements on the bottom of the tank when everything finally gets here & work out the dilutions that way. Cheers for the confidence Mark! hahaha. Undoubtedly I'm anticipating dev'ing my film at home for the first time regardless.
 
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:lol: I've been processing films at home, in the sink, for the last 30+ years and never quite managed to poison myself or anyone else yet, so I'm sure you'll be fine... It's just the number of times you can actually make use of an image like ^^^ that one is limited - it's certainly not something i'd have hung on the wall :lol:
 
How are you planning on rinsing your negs? I live in a hard water area and had a right ballache drying my negs without crap on them. In the end I found the best method that worked perfectly was to pour distilled water down the hanging negatives (put a jug under them to catch the water... only forgot to do that once) and they were crystal clear every time.

FWIW I used the changing bag and patterson tank and found it was best to have two reels in the tank to stop the single reel moving up and down the 'axle' when inverted.

Good luck!
 
Oh and I found it easiest to use ID-11 made up to stock concentration and poured in enough to cover the reel (about 300ml as suggested). I re-used the stock about 11 times before I renewed it, just because I felt like it - it probably would have gone on for a lot longer.

When you get your method down it really is as easy as making a coffee and much more satisfying. Nothing quite beats hanging up the negs on the weighted clips and having a first look.

Since I sold my box containing a complete developing kit I haven't shot much 35mm.. but I'm moving to a bigger house in April so will probably look at making a space dedicated to developing!
 
ped said:
How are you planning on rinsing your negs? I live in a hard water area and had a right ballache drying my negs without crap on them. In the end I found the best method that worked perfectly was to pour distilled water down the hanging negatives (put a jug under them to catch the water... only forgot to do that once) and they were crystal clear every time.

FWIW I used the changing bag and patterson tank and found it was best to have two reels in the tank to stop the single reel moving up and down the 'axle' when inverted.

Good luck!
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I did a similar thing with my last set of negs. Stuck a bucket underneath and poured the final rinse (with wetting agent) down them, half over each roll. Cleanest negs I have ever had. And the OP will have hard water too- its either boggo London water which is hard or Sutton water (pulled up from its own aquifers and incidentally the best tasting tapwater ever) which is probably even harder. Wetting agent and careful washing required 100%.
 
I had a bit of hassle keeping negs clean as well. Best way I found was to, after washing, pour a small amount of Ilfotol, swish them about a bit in that, turn the shower on to fill the room with steam to keep dust from floating about too much & hang them above the bath.
 
I actually found wetting agent made the negs dirtier... I have no idea why! The water method worked a treat though because you aren't left with any drips on the negs and they dry very quickly.
 
ped said:
I actually found wetting agent made the negs dirtier... I have no idea why! The water method worked a treat though because you aren't left with any drips on the negs and they dry very quickly.
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Very odd- my negs have definately imporved since I started using it.
 
I'll be rinsing as I always have & using Ilfotol washing agent to try to avoid the marks. Using a squeegee can help
too. I'll probably do the same & rinse the negatives whilst they're hanging. Oh I like the idea of steaming the room
to prevent the dust!

Yeah I've ordered two reels to fit the tank, I had the same problem before! I've missed working in the darkroom
so much after dev'ing my own films for three years but this is the first time I've done the process at home.

It's interesting to hear everyone's different techniques.
 
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I've finally settled on final rinse with tiniest amount of wahsing up liquid follwed by hanging in a wet bathroom and no squeegeeing at all, not even fingers. Seems to be working well.
 
Bathroom in the new house is definitely dustier than the shower cubicle was in Cheltenham, even after running the shower. As a result of spending a lot of time over the last week cloning dust spots out of the scans, I got stuff for a home-made negative dryer. If it works and improves on the cleanliness of the negatives I'll let people know. Cost so far is about 30 quid, but could probably be done for a little less. I'll be building it at the weekend!
 
My medium format negatives dry cleanly, but the last two rolls of 35mm dried with marks even with the use of wetting agent. The water here is very hard - might have to invest in some distilled water :(
 
I've shot a 'test' roll of film as it were & I'll try out what seems to be the best method to get clean negatives.
I wish everything would hurry up & get delivered ~ I want to start experimenting hahaha.
 
I always avoid using a squeegee for film for fear of scratching or getting them dirty. If you use Ilfotol there shouldn't really be much need to use one anyway :)
 
I squeegee my film.

I'm too tight to shell out for Ilfotol etc and I once tried the tiniest drop of washing up liquid in my final rinse and that tank made suds for months after.

I always wet the squeegee thoroughly before use and have never had any scratching problems to date.
 
I've ruined a couple of films from squeegees that were either dirty or had split. I've never had any problems with the washing up liquid thing though!
 
Think I'll be using the Ilfotol & avoiding the squeegee this first time.
If I make an error then I'll change my technique of course.
 
I'm about to develop my first set of film! Wish me luck :}
 
IamAshlyRose said:
I'm about to develop my first set of film! Wish me luck :}
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Good luck! ;)

You will be fine. Just take your time and don't get worried. The hardest bit is putting the film on the reel and once that is done its just like following a recipe.
 
I always find putting the film on the spool fairly easy, it's the measurements & temperature I tend to struggle with ~ numbers definitely isn't my strong point! Took me a while to work it all out & then I noted everything down for next time so that I'm not left struggling again. Both films have come out just as I hoped they would & are now in their clips drying wonderfully. I'm pretty pleased with myself if I may say so!? hahaha.
 
IamAshlyRose said:
I always find putting the film on the spool fairly easy, it's the measurements & temperature I tend to struggle with ~ numbers definitely isn't my strong point! Took me a while to work it all out & then I noted everything down for next time so that I'm not left struggling again. Both films have come out just as I hoped they would & are now in their clips drying wonderfully. I'm pretty pleased with myself if I may say so!? hahaha.
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Congrats! I am totally the opposite- the chemistry bit is easy and the dextrous bit is hard. Makes a lot of sense just to note down the chemicals used, times and amounts. It means that you can generally reproduce what has gone before. I would also make notes about the negatives themselves, how they look, are they clean and how they scan/print. It all aids the learning process!
 
menthel said:
Makes a lot of sense just to note down the chemicals used, times and amounts. It means that you can generally reproduce what has gone before. I would also make notes about the negatives themselves, how they look, are they clean and how they scan/print. It all aids the learning process!
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Thank you :} & Yeah definitely!
I have three notebooks filled with little notes here & there that I still refer to, they helped me thru college as well as outside! I think now that I've worked out the dilutions & so forth next time should be much smoother. It's been a fun learning curve to dev a film completely independently, 'cause during college, altho I went thru the dev'ing process from film canister to drying, the chemicals were pre-prepared in the processing room for us. It's interesting now to work with the chemicals as well.
 
Yeah, I eventually managed to get everything within roughly 20 degrees celsius altho I actually ended up developing my film two minutes longer than I was supposed to with slightly less agitation & it came out just perfect so as long as I'm shooting with the same film I'll probably do the same next time. Just experimenting I suppose!
 
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