| If you work with RC then all the mechanics of fixing, washing and drying become much easier. With RC you don't really need to worry about 2 bath fixing or HCA and wash times are 5 minutes or less vs. 1/2 or more for fiber. You can wash it adequately with just running water, though a tray and syphon make it easier. This time of year an RC print will dry in an hour sitting on your counter and it will be flat.
If you want to be economical, use cloth dish towls rather than paper. I use the stained ones that have been retired from the kitchen, but you can get them easily from thrift shops. Since you may have a cheap source, pro type shop rags would work fine too, though they are a little small.
Freestyle's Arista paper is good, inexpensive, but their sourcing varies over time. OTH, Ilford is consistant, more expensive but much easier to get. Many camera stores still sell it, even if they haven't sold a film camera for years. Buying Arista requires planning and waiting for a week.
You can get a window screen kit from one of the big home centers for 10 - 15 $'s to make drying screens, Paterson makes a vertical RC drying rack that is fairly common or you can make a similar one easily with a few dowels and a bit of lumber.
As 2F/2F says, much of the miscellaneous stuff is available cheaply from thrift shops, Craigslist, yard sales, or free. If you watch and ask around, you will probably find yourself accumulating too much of it, rather than not having enough.
If the enlarger is built for 35 only, it probably cannot be reasonably modded to do anything bigger, though many of the smaller ones are built for 35 and 6x6. Like the other stuff enlargers are easier to obtain than get rid of, so if you watch and ask around, a bigger one will come your way.
__________________
“We are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you any different.”
- Kurt Vonnegut
Last edited by bdial; 01-11-2009 at 07:29 AM..
|