I'm told that I'll need about a 4 1/2 inch pipe for this size film (12"
by 17 or so inches), and I simply assume that readymade in that size, if
extant, would be so expensive as to be ridiculous (as I recall the 8 by 10
was some 60 or 70 dollars!)
I especially appreciated Maxim's detailed instructions & maxims (guess
nobody can resist that!), but here are a couple of questions:
On Thu, 21 Mar 1996, Maxim M. Muir wrote:
> I departed from the instructions Kachel supplied in that I had no
> burning desire spending hours (I am decidedly an UNhandyman) hacksawing PVC
> pipe and the subsequent sanding of the cut lengths of pipe. I went to a
> hardware store and had them cut 1 1/2 inch pvc pipe into 6 inch lengths. I
> ordered 24 of these 6 inch sections. I used schedule 40 pipe instead of the
> schedule 125 pipe Kachel recommended (the only difference between the two
> is that the schedule 40 pipe has thicker walls than the 125 pipe, it does
> not effect results) because nobody carried the 125 pipe in Omaha. The cuts
> were clean enough that I only needed to remove the "shards: from the edges
> of the pipe. No additional sanding was needed, although it will give the
> pipe a nicer finish.
>
> To insure good wetting of the film, I used a 2
> minute presoak in a bath containing 10 grams of sodium metaborate in 3
> liters of water.
What's the metaborate for (is that Kodalk?) Is it necessary?
But what I really fear is that prewetting this large, thin (.004 ml) floppy
film would make it very difficult to insert into the tube..... I think
4x5, which is also on a heavier base, would be much easier. I sure have
lots of spoiled film to practice with, but any hints on that operation
would be appreciated.
Also, when do you take the film out of the tube? For washing? Is there a
risk of mashing when you grab it? (Guess I could fasten one of those
little grippers to the end before inserting.)
>To ease the removal of the antihalation dye, I used two
> non hardening 1+3 dilution rapid fixing baths in sucession, followed by the
> stain development in the spent developer, and the wash. I became a believer
Not having the spare brain cells this month to attempt a new developer
(and uncertain how the famous pyro would react with lith & n31p) I expect
to at least attempt the dilute Dektol & D-76 we use for continuous tone on
these graphics arts films..... they both take a red safelight, so "doing
it in the dark" should be no worse than usual...... (As for the hands, I
wouldn't even pick up tongs in the darkroom without gloves on. My skin
reacts to all these chemicals with a schreck that makes the princess & the
pea look like Gravel Gertie.)
I found by the way that using a Jobo tank for 4x5 I had to rotate VERY
slowly to keep from getting the contrast too high (with Kodak
Professional Copy Film), so that may be a problem here, since contrast
was the problem to begin with.
Well, if all else fails, there is SLIMT -- Kachel's version of Sterry that
a couple of folks mention. I used it last year. Yes it really worked --
and once you get into it, isn't difficult. I guess the question is, which
is more aggravation, changing modes again or finding a *BIG* PVA tube. (If
I could see into the future I'd be so rich I could hire Luis Nadeau to
make these negatives for me!)
Anyway, MANY thanks for all the help so far. (And next time I'm only
going to photograph black stretch limos -- oops, that will kill me in the
positive!)
Judy