Ground glass as plate

[cytoplasmic]

I am having trouble locating 1.5mm thick glass locally however I do have some old/cracked ground glass that is 1.5mm thick.

How about using that as the plate for my home-brew emulsion?

I suppose that it would provide a better grip for the emulsion - perhaps no subbing necessary, right?

I don't plan on keeping my negatives so I would wash/reuse the glass plates anyway.

[Kirk Keyes]

Have you looked for 1/16th inch glass instead. It's very close in thickness.

I'm sure ground glass would work. I don't think you would see a pattern from the ground surface, especially as you are going to put the gelatin against it and I think that would help "smooth" out the texture.

It probably would help give some more grip - but on the first set of plates I've done I added some chrome alum to the emulsion before I poured it and out of a 6 plates I made, only one had any separation of the emulsion and I used a very long development time - about 12 minutes on that one.

[jnanian]

hi there

you might look for regular old window pane ( plate ).
the dry plates i have made ( and the plates i enlarged onto )
were all window glass gotten from a demolished greenhouse
or windows left in the street. i never used alum hardener
but plan on using it next batch i coat. instead i used a mixture
of various things from urethane and varnish ( yellowed after a while )
to knox gel. before you coat the subb/binding agent, make sure
you scrub your glass clean so water sheets off.

have fun!
john

[argus]

Originally Posted by cytoplasmic

I am having trouble locating 1.5mm thick glass locally however I do have some old/cracked ground glass that is 1.5mm thick.

How about using that as the plate for my home-brew emulsion?

I suppose that it would provide a better grip for the emulsion - perhaps no subbing necessary, right?

I don't plan on keeping my negatives so I would wash/reuse the glass plates anyway.

Glass in 1,5mm is indeed hard to locate. The thinner glass is mostly used in technical environments, laboratories etc.
I think a well cleaned glass from a picture frame could suit your needs if it fits your holders.

G