From: Garet Denise (garet@rmi.net)
Date: 01/06/01-04:50:41 PM Z
I made a similar vacuum frame, substituting a piece of rubberized cloth for the
plywood back, and a thin piece of open-cell foam rubber for the pegboard, and a
piece of glass instead of the acetate. It works quite well.
A thin piece of open-cell foam as a pad may avoid the problems that Jeffery
described. I've gotten sheets as thin as 1/8" at furniture upholstery shops.
Garet Denise
Garet@Cornerstone-Inspection.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Rose <photo@wir.net>
To: alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca <alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca>
Date: January 04, 2001 10:07 PM
Subject: Re: Exposure unit
Dear Valerie:
The Nuarc unit should work fine, but since you've already invested in
components for the UV exposure unit, you may want to just concentrate on a
making/buying a vacuum easel. If you're handy with power tools, or have a
friend who is, you might consider the 'home-made' approach that I used:
Purchase a sheet of 3/4" birch plywood and cut it to size (mine is 20"x24",
to match my home-made fluorescent tube exposure unit). Cut a sheet of
masonite 'pegboard' material to the same size. Now mark the plywood to
enable cutting of channels into it, directly underneath the holes in the
pegboard. Use a router with a 1/4" bit to cut a series of shallow,
interconnected channels into the birch plywood. The channels should not
extend to the edges of the plywood. Now drill a hole through the edge of
the plywood so that it intersects a channel. Epoxy a metal tube into the
hole. Using epoxy, glue, or silicone caulk, laminate the pegboard onto the
plywood, taking care not to let excess glue drip into a channel, plugging it
up. The lamination is critical, there must be a perfect seal with no
leakage. Now rig up a vacuum cleaner to tubing attached to the brass tube.
(I used a small, inexpensive "Dirt Devil".... a noisy bastard but it works
great). Paint the entire vacuum easel flat black. Tape a sheet of clear
plastic (I use .005" "Kleer Base" polyester from a printer's supply house)
along one edge of the plywood. Place your negative and paper under the
plastic, turn on the vacuum, and watch that that baby suck it down tight!
For anything larger than 8x10", a vacuum easel is a must. With my unit, I
can easily print 16x20" negs onto rough, curly paper with perfect contact
and ideal sharpness. My easel is hinged onto the exposure unit for easy
loading, exposure, and storage. I've got the whole setup mounted on the
darkroom wall, so it requires very little space.
Best regards,
Dave Rose AKA Cactus Cowboy
Powell, Wyoming
> I have already purchased all the items to make a uv exposure unit for
> platinum printing. However in my search for a vacuum easel, I came
> across a local (and cheap!) source for a Nuarc N750 which uses mercury
> vapor. Does anyone know if this would be suitable for my needs?
>
> Valerie
>
>
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