Darkroom Finally Got A New Counter!

I am not sure if this is the right place for this post... Mods please move it if necessary. As the title suggests, after 20 years, I finally couldn't take it any longer and replaced the counter in my darkroom.

(Mods: my response below is purely personal and is in no way influenced by any political party or 'movement'.)

Hmm, not too sure about this video. I'm a digital photographer and I have no idea of the wear and tear that an 'analog darkroom counter' goes through in 20 years. Still - in principle - I'm much more in favor of 'refurbishment' rather than 'replacement'. I'm not sure whether this was possible. What I saw in the video was an old counter being dumped (waste) and replaced by a new counter (extra resources).

From the video, the 'old counter' looked to me as if hadn't been cleaned or maintained for many years. I may be quite wrong about this. So 3 questions are:

- how did the old counter get into its current state?

- what 'refurbishment' options were available?

- what was the motivation to replace it completely?

I fully realize that I'm nit-picking here and I truly don't intend any personal criticism! It's just that whenever I encounter 'refurbish/replace'' decisions, I'm tempted to question them. I fully accept that people make the right decisions for them!

Mike

(Mods: my response below is purely personal and is in no way influenced by any political party or 'movement'.)

 

Hmm, not too sure about this video. I'm a digital photographer and I have no idea of the wear and tear that an 'analog darkroom counter' goes through in 20 years. Still - in principle - I'm much more in favor of 'refurbishment' rather than 'replacement'. I'm not sure whether this was possible. What I saw in the video was an old counter being dumped (waste) and replaced by a new counter (extra resources).

 

From the video, the 'old counter' looked to me as if hadn't been cleaned or maintained for many years. I may be quite wrong about this. So 3 questions are:

- how did the old counter get into its current state?

- what 'refurbishment' options were available?

- what was the motivation to replace it completely?

 

I fully realize that I'm nit-picking here and I truly don't intend any personal criticism! It's just that whenever I encounter 'refurbish/replace'' decisions, I'm tempted to question them. I fully accept that people make the right decisions for them!

 

Mike

The counter was beyond repair. The only option was replacement. The new counter was in the seconds bin...it had binding strap indents along one edge, and gouge on the bottom side. It was probably going to be binned at some point anyways. I work mainly in alt processes such as carbon transfer. The black is pigmented gelatin. I was washing the counter top but over the years, too much water (mainly from spills) got in between where the two counters met, gradually eating through. The tap was worn out, and leaky. It's 50 years old. I salvaged it from a demolition site (along with the sink...which I reused). Same with the old countertops, and cupboards. The replacement tap was once in our bathroom. The rough state of the counter motivated me to replace it.