Re: Daguerreotype: I was wrong


John Deluca (jdeluca@adm.schoolofvisualarts.edu)
Mon, 05 Apr 1999 16:14:20 -0500


Good Lord! Jerry O admitting he was wrong? Well there was a blue moon
last week so all things are possible. Mark Kessel, our resident knight
of Daguerre has started making images. For safety sake he has been
exiled to an outbuilding on the roof of our photo building. His fuming
boxes are airtight, made of rock maple with teflon sheeting covering all
surfaces exposed to the fuming chemicals and all mating surfaces. This
provides the necessary seal. The mercury box is similarly made. However,
a machined 316 stainless steel flange has been mounted into the bottom
of the box. The mercury is placed into a 2" diameter by 4" long 316SS
pipe that has had a cap welded on one end. The pipe has a sealed
thermowell welded into the side. Mark had all of this work done by "
someone who knows how to do it". Bravo for knowing your limits! I rigged
the microprocessor relay control for the mercury heater because Mark was
convinced he would electrocute himself if he wired it. His lab has a
high volume exhaust blower hooked up to a lab fume hood. All in all a
workable if not fashionable facility done with safety in mind. Marks
results have been astounding. His attempts under tutilage in Rochester
gave him exposures that were ten stops below ISO 25. His current set up
has been producing properly exposed Dags at 8 stops below ISO 25.



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