How To: Make a Print Washer on a Budget

  Ah the early stirs of summer, the time when a man decides to re-open his toolbox and turns his mind to possibility.

  I'm tired of washing my prints in the kitchen sink.  It's just too small and i can't leave it alone because the prints sink to the bottom, block the tap; the sink fills and my kitchen starts to flood.  And woe betide me if i decide to print some 12 x 16 paper!

  Suffering from the same problem?  Lo, read on to see how you can make an inexpensive (really, it cost me about £20 in total) print washer.

  First off, materials.  Here's what you will need:

• Plastic storage container (any size you like),
• 2 x 2 metre lengths of plastic waste pipe (any diameter you fancy),
• Some 90 degree joints that will fit your pipe (get about 8),
• Hosing/tubing (approximately 2 metres),
• Drill
• Saw
• sandpaper
• Glue gun/silicon sealant

 So how do we build this washer i hear you cry?  Keep reading:

Step 1

  Grab your storage box (mine cost about £11 and can easily fit in 12 x 16 prints) and drill 2 holes roughly the same diameter as your waste pipe just an inch or so below the top of the container towards the left and right hand side.  To do this you may have to use a hole cutter (its like a round saw which you mount on your drill).  Unfortunately i didn't have a hole cutter the right size so i drilled my holes bigger.

Step 2

  Cut a small section off your pipe and feed it through the hole on your nearest side, push on a 90 degree joint (making sure you sandpaper down the edge you have just sawed) and then attach a vertical section of pipe which extends just shy of the base of the container.

Step3

   Now do exactly the same with the other hole, but this time saw the tip of the pipe at about 45 degrees to get a spout.

Step4

  Now go back to your first length of piping and measure along the base of your container then cut a length of pipe just a little less than the length you measured.  Smooth off the sawed edges of the pipe with sandpaper and attach it to the pipe you already have.

  At this stage i tried attaching a length of hose to cover the base of the container but it didn't quite work out.  Instead, keep attaching lengths of pipe and joints until you get good all round coverage along the base of the container.  You dont need to cap off the last piece, this will serve as an outlet for the water which flows through the system.

Not like this!

Like this!

Step 5

  Now take your drill and (using a small drill bit) drill holes every 2 inches or so apart along the entire length of the tubing which is sat in the base of the container.

Step 6

  Retreat to the bathroom (or wherever you're planning on setting up this washer) and check out your taps.  If you have the kind of taps you can just push hosing onto then all well and good, connect a length of hosing from the first piece of piping onto your taps.  This will mean water will flow in, down the vertical length and through the loop you have made in the base of your tub; flowing out from the last length to be picked up by the second vertical pipe which will act as a siphon.

  Now, my taps are mixers which means i cant push any hosing over them.  But, i can unscrew the shower and push the hosing onto the screw attachment (yay).

Like so!

Step 6

  Attach a length of hosing onto the second pipe and point it plugwards.  Turn your tap on and you should see water spurting out through the holes you have drilled and the container will start to fill.

  You should see some good agitation in the water as the container starts to fill (which is exciting isn't it).

Step 7

  Now, remember i drilled my holes for the pipe inlets bigger than the pipe?  I'm going to need to seal that up.  Take some plastic (e.g. from a bottle) and cut out a square which more than covers the holes you cut.  Cut out a hole as close to the diameter of the pipe as possible and use a glue gun or some silicon to attach the plastic to the container, with the pipe running through it.  If you don't do this then the water will just leak out of the holes you made and the second pipe won't act as a siphon.

Step 8

  Once that's all done you will have to ma the tap for a while to get the right flow.  Keep adjusting the amount of water coming out of the tap until what's going in matches what's heading out of the second pipe.  It helps to drill a small hole in the top of the second pipe and stick a match in it.  The match can be used to increase and decrease outflow.  Preferably you don't want the water to flow out over the top of the container.

Step 9

  The final step is to make something to support your prints.  It should be easy enough to source some acrylic or perspex sheets, cut them to size, attach them to some rods and put that in the tank.  As i already have a Paterson drying rack, however, i decided to use that.  These are cheap and come up relatively often on Ebay.

  And that's about it.  It's not the most hi-tech thing ever created but it's cheap and cheerful and should wash your prints sufficiently (i can't guarantee that of course).  It's certainly better than flooding my kitchen!

  The way it works is that the water flows in and goes through the loop at the base.  The drill holes allow water to spurt out which agitates the water, causing motion around the prints.  The water picks up the fixer and, as fixer-laden water is denser than clean water, it sinks to the bottom of the container.  It should then be picked up by the outflow pipe and siphoned out down the drain.  Science!  I haven't technically finished mine yet as i haven't sealed up the original drill holes so my siphon isn't really working but it will.  IT WILL I SAY!  Just for fun, here's a super-entertaining video of mine showing this mega-agitating washer in action (caution: may cause your mind to blow, it's that exciting):

  So that's it.  A print washer for those of us on a budget.  Those hundreds of pounds you have now just saved can go on something better like film, paper, chemicals or (woe of woes) rent!  As always keep printing and ill see you again soon.

Improving the Shed Darkrom

  If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that my darkroom is in a converted shed.  If you want to convert your own shed you can see how i did it here.  My current door situation has been really annoying me however.  I have strips of velcro all round the inside of the door frame to which i attach some thick blackout plastic.  The problem i have been having is that on hot days the heat is melting the glue from the sticky back of the velcro strips and so the blackout sheet is falling down.  It's just been a real pain to have to keep detaching and reattaching it every time i go in and out of the darkroom.

  When i first created my shed darkroom i had some spare chipboard sheets left over from paneling out the inside, and i had told Jess i was going to use them to create inner doors for the shed.  Well, that was months ago and ever since Jess had been dropping not-so-subtle hints that she wanted that wood out of the dining room.  As Jess was away at a wedding all day Saturday i decided to pull my finger out and gets these doors built.

  The first thing to do was measure the inner door frame, which for my shed was 1.00 x 1.65 metres.  Alas my leftover sheets of board weren't the right size, i would have to make 4 pieces and hinge them together, but that's ok - better than buying new wood.  So, i trimmed the bottom half of the doors into two sections, and the top half also.

 

  After making sure all 4 sections fit together roughly it was time to lightproof the seams.  I picked some weather insulation strips up from Lidl a few weeks ago for this purpose and so set about sealing up the relevant parts of the doors.

  After applying the seal to the bottom left section of the door i screwed it into the frame (i only want the right side of the door to be openable).  I did the same for the top left section, making sure i put some seal between the two so that the seam between them would be light-proof.

  Next i started to fit the bottom right section.  If you do end up doing this then make sure you raise the bottom section up a little, otherwise the base of the door will scrape along the floor.  Once i had made sure the section fitted i screwed the hinges onto the left section, attached the right section (making sure it was raised slightly) and attached the other side of the hinge.  Make sure you put some sealant between the two pieces, running down the hinges.

  Then i did the same with the top section, making sure to push the sealant strips into all the nooks and crannies of the wood.

  After going inside and shutting the door i noticed a few small light leaks on some of the seams, particularly around where the door shut.  I bought some wider foam strips from Lidl and put these around the edges where the leaks were.

  I folded some thick rubble sacks that i bought from B&Q ages ago and stapled these over the centre seam to block all remaining light.

  To hold the door shut tight against the light seal i bought some clips from the hardware shop and placed three down the length of the door.

(google images picture - not mine!)

  I just noticed this morning that some of the thicker foam has started peeling away as the adhesive on the back isn't very strong.  I may have to superglue it down.

  So, that's the door sorted, but i still have a little wood left.  I decided to turn my attention to the electrical outlet port, aka the hole in my shed through which i feed my extension cable.  Up until now i had been using a sheet of wood which i roughly shoved over the hole and then from the inside i stuffed some clothes to seal up the hole.  Not the best.  I had a hinge left over from the doors so i cut a small rectangle of wood and attached the hinge.  I smashed off the raised exterior of the vent hole so it was flush with the shed wall.  Then i attached the hinged wood to the shed.

  I cut a square out of the flap so that i could feed the cable through and the flap would lay flush to the shed side.  I also put a foam seal around the back of the flap and attached another clip to hold the flap shut.

  I should probably staple some plastic over the flap as when chipboard gets wet it tends to disintegrate.

  And that's it - a lightproof shed for a few hours work.  The doors should also help with insulation, especially with winter so close.  Hopefully this has given you some hints, tips and ideas for starting or improving your own darkroom.

For I Am Man!

  Being a man i am possessed with a regular need to build and fix things.  This mood tends to come in cycles where, after months of laziness, i suddenly decide to make some shelves for a cupboard, hang some mirrors on a wall or (in this case) convert a shed into a darkroom.

  As regular readers will know i recently moved house, downsizing from a 4 bed to a 2 bed house.  Naturally the spare bedroom would have the computer in and all my guitars, instruments, amplifiers and pedals; and my large collection of cd's and dvd's.  This left a minor problem - no darkroom.  Originally the plan was to use the little breakfast bar area at the end of the kitchen but Jess didn't seem to happy with this.  Being the devious, scheming lady that she is she suggested i get a shed - a suggestion i immediately dismissed as foolish.  However, as days went by i began warming to the idea.  Could a shed make an effective darkroom?  I began to investigate online and saw that it could indeed be done - but at great cost.  I found a few articles where people had converted a shed into a darkroom but they had gone the whole hog - electric supply, running water, insulation panels, kitchen units etc.  I needed to do mine at as small a cost as possible but still make it useable.

  First things first - find a shed.  I went to B&Q because i needed to get some gear for decorating the new house.  Special offer on a 4x6 shed - £120.  I considered it for a while but then came to the conclusion that it was too small.  I hit EBay and found a few but they were all too far away for me to collect.  I tried Preloved and Freecycle but to no avail.  Then i found one on Gumtree a mere 10 miles away.  It was an 8x6 and it was listed at £175 or nearest offer.  I offered £150 and got it!  The next problem was how to get it home.  Enter my good friend Steve who has a nice big estate car with roof racks.  We went to the house, dismantled the shed, loaded it onto the roof racks and took it home.  As a side note let me just say that if you ever need to dismantle a shed make sure you have an electric screwdriver.  And make sure the guy you buy it off doesn't keep letting the shed walls drop onto you - it hurts!

  So, after an hour or so the floor was down, the walls were up, the roof was on and the doors were attached:

  The next job was to get it insulated in some way as the weather here in England is very changeable, especially this year.  We've had snow follow by blazing sun followed by snow again followed by rain, it's mental!  If i'm putting electronic gear inside i want to make sure the temperature is as stable as possible or damp will get inside and destroy everything.  And fluctuating between hot and cold is definitely not good for photographic paper!  So, what were my options?  Well i could get loft insulation or polystyrene panels, or i could just use foil or bubble wrap.  In the end i went kind of in the middle.  The local B&Q sells this stuff - B&Q insulation which is basically bubble wrap coated in reflective aluminium on each side.  It's about £12 a roll which isn't too bad compared to other types of insulation, and each roll covers about 4.5m2.  There is a cheaper option available but only one side is coated in foil.  I decided that although more costly, the double sided stuff would be best.  So, i bought a few rolls and began stapling it to the inside of the shed.  The idea is that the foil would keep heat inside and reflect the heat coming in form the outside, thus keeping the temperature in the shed a bit more stable.  Make sure you buy a decent staple gun - i got a £5 one from B&Q and it died the next day.  An extra £5 would have got me a good sturdy metal one.  So, once the insulation was stapled in i had what looked like a set from Dr Who:

  Note the hole on the bottom left.  I left that open to use as a vent and to run an extension cable through from the kitchen.  There was no way i was going to be able to get a water and electric supply to the shed as i'm living in a rented house so couldn't do anything permanent.  This hole would be ideal for putting a cable and, potentially, a hosepipe through.  You can't see i

t in this photo but i also stapled insulation to the inside of the doors as there will be a lot of heat loss through there.  I had about half a roll spare so i put an extra strip over each side of the roof as this is where the majority of heat loss will be.

  Next job is to board up the walls.  I considered just using card but thought if i'm going to all this effort to make a darkroom i may as well fork out and do it properly.  So, i scoped around for prices for sheets of chipboard.  When it comes to sheets of timber it's best not to use B&Q or Homebase etc as you can get it cheaper from a local timber merchant.  In this case i was quoted £7 a sheet from Preston Plywood which was a great price.  If you can get oriented strand board (OSB) instead of chipboard that would be better as when chipboard gets wet it just crumbles whereas OSB is a lot more solid.  But i thought i would be ok with chipboard so went ahead and placed my order.  For a small extra fee they could cut the wood to size and deliver it to my house so i gave them the sizes i needed and my address.  When you're measuring out your sizes remember to deduct the thickness of the board from the adjacent piece e.g. the board at the back would need to be 24mm (2x12mm) narrower than the width of the shed so that the board for the two side walls could fit alongside it.  Once the wood arrived i started boarding up the walls:

  Next i had to board the roof.  Now, at such an angle 12mm chipboard was going to be a pain.  I just needed something to go over the insulation to add that little bit extra.  Preston Plywood came through again with some 3mm MDF/Hardwood.  I got two sheets delivered and cut them down to size myself.  It was easier not to saw them, i just used a sharp blade and scored down the sheet so i could just bend the wood and snap it in the right place.  I commandeered Jess to help me hold the sheets while i screwed them to the roof.  It was awkward but we got it done eventually.

  So, that was the whole inside of the shed boarded out now.  Although it was only cheap and thin insulation you could feel the difference in temperature compared to how it was with nothing on.  obviously, more expensive and thicker insulation would have a greater effect.  Insulation has a thermal resistance rating - the higher the rating the more insulation you get.  This stuff only has a rating of 1.5 but it is certainly enough to make a difference, especially with board covering it.

  At this point i turned my attention away from the shed and began to think about workbenches.  I'd need somewhere to put my enlarger and a surface to put my developing trays etc.  I thought about using computer desks, kitchen units and even considered buying a workbench.  it's shocking how much workbenches cost!  So, i decided to build my own.  For about £35 i got the materials required to build my own 2 shelf workbench that would measure 1.2 x 0.80 x 0.60m.  It was a squeeze to fit it all in the car but i managed it.  I spent the afternoon sawing, screwing and assembling all the pieces until i had my bench.  Solid as a rock and the perfect size.  I was so impressed with it that i went ahead and built another one but made it slightly shorter so that my enlarger would fit on it.

   I put them in the shed and then put in the shelving units i had from my previous house.  Then i started shifting in all my gear.  A few hours later and it was all done...

...well, almost.  I still need to figure out how to lightproof the vent but still pass an extension cable through it. and i still need to lightproof the doors.  Ill probably velcro some lightproof plastic over the inside when i'm in and hang a curtain there too to keep out some of the cold when the shed is locked up.

  So there you have it - a darkroom shed on a budget.  Hopefully this weekend ill be able to get in and start making some prints.  If there are any improvements i need to make i can do it as i go along.  It's nice and roomy though and i think i'll be happy printing in there.  The main thing is that, should we ever move house (which i have no plans to do), i can dismantle it and take it with me.  I really have to thank Jess for coming up with the suggestion and managing to cook me a delicious tea everyday despite the kitchen being full of darkroom gear!

  I don't know what my next bit of DIY will be (probably making some shelves for our towel cupboard), and i'm sure the mood won't strike again for many a month; but i know that when it does i'll be unstoppable - for i am man!