Friday, July 26, 2013

Used Darkroom Equipment Buy

Did another darkroom equipment buy got the following

1) Old 4x5 wall mounted enlarger (will try to sell this as I already have 7 enlargers-2 in storage)
2) 3 20x24 trays
3) 3 16x20 trays
4) 2 11x14 trays
5) 6 foot plastic darkroom sink.
6) 300 Grab Lab timer
7) 20x24 RC Ilford glossy paper, 50 sheet box (opened)
8) 20x24 RC Ilford pearl paper, 10 sheet
9) 16x20 FB Ilford matt paper, 10 sheet
10) 16x20 FB Ilford glossy paper, 10 sheet (opened)
11) 16x20 FB Ilford warmtone glossy, 10 sheet (my favourite paper)
12) 16x20 FB Kodak Ektalure lustre, 10 sheet (opened)
13) 16x20 RC Ilford pearl paper, 10 sheet
14) 16x20 RC Ilford multigrade III paper, 50 sheet (opened)
15) 2000ml plastic handle graduate (same company/style as the 2-1000ml graduates I got last time)
16) 3 different types of small safe lights
17) 8x10 Soligor paper safe
18) 2 Polaroid Type 55 film pails (one missing a lid)
19) 1 box of unopened Type 55 film,  1 1/2 boxes Type 59 (probably no good, expired in 1993, 1997)
20) 3 negative carriers (35mm, 6x6 and 4x5)
21) Ilford filter set, nice Kostiner brush, metal and Paterson film tanks, Kodak rubber tanks, 4x5 metal sheet holders, focusing device, squee-jee, plastic and metal film reels.
22) 5 enlarger lens various sizes
23) Polaroid 4x5 film holder
24) 8x10 RC Ilford glossy paper, 250 sheet box (opened)
25) contact printing frame

Cost = $100

The enlarger was a throw in (maybe a throw out also!), what I was mostly interested in were the trays, my 16x20 trays are all cracked and broken up so I needed to get replacements. The 20x24 trays will be nice to have as backups or I could use them in my 2nd darkroom (still to be built)
for alternative process work. The sink is also nice, its old but in perfect working condition and is a professionally produced job not a home made thing. Not sure if any of the photo paper is still good (its quite old) but at worst I will use it to do contact sheets and to make masks for my larger fibre prints.

The type 55 film is probably all dried up but I will give it a shot, the lens carriers might be useful to try some filing on (you file the edges of the neg frame which gives interesting effects when printing the work). I hope the warmtone Ilford fibre paper is good, I paid $320 for a box of 50 sheets recently when I was printing my show, that would be a nice bonus that I could use to print the New Orleans PhotoNOLA work with I plan to use the brush, timer, paper, paper safe, trays, and maybe some of the lens immediately, most of the equipment doubles have gone into storage to use in the 2nd darkroom if  and when that happens.

I am quite happy with this purchase, I will use many of these new things daily/weekly for years to come, thanks Dan it was nice to meet you.

Update* Just washed all the trays and new gear, my darkroom count is 11-16x20 (some cracked and broken up) and 10-20x24. I now  have enough trays to last me the rest of my printing life. Lets go make some pics, I will use the 3 new 16x20 trays in tonight's darkroom session.

I thought of another option for the extra trays and equipment. In the future I hope to do very large format work in Thailand up to 20x24 inch gelatin silver contact prints and or wet plates up to 20x24. If I am doing negs and plates that big I will need to have 20x24 size trays in Thailand. This is all very what if-ish but I think there is a pretty decent chance it could happen but only if I end up buying a condo in Thailand and a 16x20 or 20x24 wet plate/film camera. Those same large trays could be used in Canada to do 20x24 wetplate if the Thai condo thing never happens.