Has anyone built their own developing tank?

[beau_schwarz2]

I have recently bought several 8x10 sheet film hangers and one rubber tank. Has anyone here built a 3-5 slot tank (similar idea as as a"Nova" tank except for sheet film (maybe 2-3 hangers)? Seems like it would be a good idea as you could size the tank for the number of sheets you wanted to process at one time on a one shot basis (minimizing the volume of chemicals used). Or am I missing something? Was thinking of using plexiglass, any idea as what to use for glueing the pieces together?.

[dk_thompson]

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but you might be able to

find some used s.s. tanks for this purpose. They're not all the 3 1/2

gal. size you normally would use for a hanger that size. The

manufacturer of our deep tank, makes them in a whole range of sizes.

Like a 1 gal. tank for an 8x10 hanger. This is only 2 1/2 in. wide,

and would hold up to 6 hangers. One gal. is still alot of chemistry

for one shot use, but most people just run a replenished line in a

deep tank setup. It is possible to find used deep tanks, although they

might be a bit dirty. A new set up like this will be pretty expensive,

though. Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

[james___]

You can build any size tank you want out of plexiglass. By the glue

where you buy the plex. But I use a rotory drum(Unicolor) for my

processing. Much less chemistry and ease of use. Pretty cheap too.

James

[kevin_kolosky]

Beau

 

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I remember back when I used sheet film hangers. Unless I got things

exactly correct in my technique I used to get what is referred to

as "surge". It is especially noticeable when you have nice clean

skys. I was told it came from uneven circulation of developer around

the holes in the sheet film hangers. Down through the ages alot of

people have used hangers and probably had better luck with them then

I did with regard to surge, but you might want to try one tank first

with developer to see whether you are going to like that system

before you either buy or build more tanks for it. kevin

[doug_paramore]

Beau: I gotta agree with Lumberjack on the use of the Unicolor drums.

You can pick up a used and rotor base about as cheap as you can build

a tank if you have to buy all the stuff. I would recommend you buy

two of the drums and while you are washing the first one you can put

the other on the base to develop. As for the tanks, you may can find

a plastic tank or even a plastic file box if you shop around at

kitchen equipment stores, home centers or Walmart. There are all

kinds of narrow plastic boxes being made. You can use acetone to bond

Plexiglas and seal the seams with RTV if you decide to make them.

 

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Regards,

[dk_thompson]

Kevin, that is sometimes also referred to as "bromide drag"...deep

tanks are the kind of thing that you either love, or hate. I guess I'm

the odd man out on this forum, because most of you all hate them. If

you get your agitation down, and you have a clean/properly maintained

tank, you won't have this problem. We shoot on alot of studio gray

backdrops, and beieve me, you'd see it (and I have with some of our

interns in the past..), sometimes this is made worse if you're using a

developer that's over repl., or has alot of byproducts built up in it.

It will "surge" as you say, through the holes on a hanger, and drag

across the film. Resulting in that lovely streaking look. I guess I

haven't sold this idea very well, but it works for me...

[light-zone]

I'm going to try and answer your question Beau. I too

contemplated building tanks out of plexiglas. After pricing the

materials, (including having the pieces cut to insure that all

angles were square), I found it to be less expensive to buy used

tanks. Much less expensive for that matter. Clear plexi is the

least expensive, but not really suitable for tanks, and the solid

grays, in the appropriate thickness is, of course, alot more costly.

And I didn't need to go tot the trouble of building the tanks and

then see if they were all indeed water tight.

 

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If you do decide to build your own, check out glue manufactures

web sites. The German companies have a "program" in which

you specify what materials will be bonded, and under what

conditions they will be subject to, ie. water, heat ect. The correct

glue will then be reccomended.

[scott_walton1]

I had a friend who is a sheet metal worker to build several for me and

they are great... floating lids and all!!!

[dk_thompson]

I imagine you probably could get someone locally to make these for you

out of stainless steel and it might be cheaper than one of the big lab

suppliers. Personally, I have seen whole 1 gal deeptank (as I

described) lines, 4-5 tanks, with floating lids, and lids, plus

baskets, sell used for just a couple of hundred dollars. These have

been set up for nitrogen-burst, but that's no big deal no get around.

If you wanted to get someone to make these for you, you might want to

check out some of the catalogs by, for starters, Leedal, California

Stainless, Regal/Arkay, Calumet, and Kreonite. I'm sure there are

more. At least this way you might get an idea as to what dimensions

you might need for a tank. These would probably even help you if you

decided to use acrylic. Another good material for a dyi project, might

be Sintra. This is really just compacted PVC sold in a sheet like

you'd buy plywood. It's waterproof, you can drill it, route it. cut it

on a table saw, glue it, you name it. It's a great exhibit

construction material (our Wing Lynch cabinet is even made of this),

but it's pretty expensive. You shouldn't need too much for a tank

line, though. Check with local plastics suppliers if you're interested

in this, you can't get it in a Home Depot. Good luck.

[mark_rabiner1]

Having lots of epoxy resin left over from building my sink as well as

those "skills" I'm tempted to make some tanks out of quarter inch

plywood.

First i think I'd coat the whole sheet of plywood, both sides.

After it dried I'd cut it up and assemble it using the epoxy resin as a

"glue." this is how i made my 18 ft. sink and no leaks and its been a

decade. But much thicker plywood of course. The epoxy which coats it

also holds it together. The screws you use i don't thing hold it

together like the epoxy does. It just keeps it together so it can dry

intact.

[dan_smith]

You might check with an automotive battery recycling center. Some of

the bigger truck batteries with the top taken off will hold 8x10

sheet film hangars well. I have an older, home made 4x5 developing

tank with 3 slots that will take 6-8 4x5 hangars. It is an old BF

Goodrich commervial 6 volt battery. Works very well. I am not

original with the idea but got it from an old photographer who made

his own from farm tractor batteries that had died. They are hard

rubber, basically indestructable and with the slots work perfectly.

Some of the bigger truck & commercial heavy duty batteries will work

for larger sheet film sizes.

[george3]

I'll add a comment to this rather old thread. Yes, I once built a special tank from opaque black plexiglass. It was designed to develop two (2) sheets of 6x9cm sheet film. I made it with a light-tight top and a pouring arrangement so that it could process in room light once loaded. It worked very well, but I made it so small that the normal dilution of the developer I was using did not contain enough active developing agent to completely develop the film. This required either a mid-cycle change of developer, or working with a "richer" dilution.

 

Aside from that, the only drawback was that it took about two days of work on a small milling machine to make the parts and assemble them.

 

I still have the tank, even though I have moved on to process in in a JOBO CPP2.