What fibre dryer? [irl/uk/eu models]

[Les McLean]

As Lee says rubber only harms the print if you manage to kink it. My Squeegee has a very heavy wedge of rubber attached to a plastic pipe and was purchased in the US. They are made in Chicago I think. Lee's suggestion to buy a wiper blade is good, that's what I used for many years until I had some money to burn?

[glbeas]

I made drying frames to slide into my drying cabinet using do it yourself window screens from Home Depot. They are extruded aluminum rails you cut to size, plastic corners that the rails plug into, rubber bead to hold the mesh in and the mesh itself, standard nylon black mesh. It was very easy work, just took a little time to get the knack of proper tension on the mesh and it will disassemble if a mistake is made.

[lee]

the first drying rack I made was made out of artists canvas strechers. They were bought at an artists store here in Cowtown,TX USA. Garys idea is much better and cheaper. I need to make a new set as mine are starting to warp after 10 years. The strecher frames are still good though.

lee\c

[Fintan]

I've finally got the mesh ordered.

Would 2 inch by 3/4 inch planed white deal wood be sturdy enough for 80cm square frames? Given how tight I'm going to have to pull the mesh across it.

[couldnt find any artist stretchers here in Ireland and with our Irish climate we never use window screens]

[shicks5319]

Hi Les, I see Silverprint sell the mesh, have you any idea how to make racks from it?

I note that reference is made to a particular specified mesh. Is there any risk in using ordinary plastic screed sold at the hardware store for replacement on household insect screens?


Thanks

[L Gebhardt]

I note that reference is made to a particular specified mesh. Is there any risk in using ordinary plastic screed sold at the hardware store for replacement on household insect screens?


Thanks

I have some home screens from storm windows that I use with no problems. Just make sure you use fiberglass and not aluminum. I don't know firsthand of problems with aluminum, but it does oxidize of shed particles over time so I doubt it would be good.

I also use a wiper blade from an old VW Bug for a squeegee (no moveable parts).

[Fintan]

The mesh I'm buying is here http://www.silverprint.co.uk/dark26.html

[Les McLean]

I used 1/2" nylon mesh sold at a garden centre, been no problem for over 20 years.

[FrankB]

The one time I tried drying a FB print face down on a screen (Okay, it was a towel! I was experimenting!) it curled like a Scottish Olympic hopeful. I now dry them clipped back to back on a line which minimises the curl but now they warp like the Starship Enterprise (all right, enough of the crap similes!).

Basically, I still haven't found a method that works for me, I have no press and a couple of sheets of museum board and all my reference books took weeks to flatten them. I know Aggie recommends ironing them, which I've yet to try (despite being male I'll give it a go!).

All suggestions on this thread very welcome...!

[Les McLean]

The one time I tried drying a FB print face down on a screen (Okay, it was a towel! I was experimenting!) it curled like a Scottish Olympic hopeful. I now dry them clipped back to back on a line which minimises the curl but now they warp like the Starship Enterprise (all right, enough of the crap similes!).

Basically, I still haven't found a method that works for me, I have no press and a couple of sheets of museum board and all my reference books took weeks to flatten them. I know Aggie recommends ironing them, which I've yet to try (despite being male I'll give it a go!).

All suggestions on this thread very welcome...!

Frank when you tried drying them face down did you remove the excess water from both back and front of the print, if not that's one reason why they curled significantly. Another factor in the equasion is not to use too much heat in the room where you are drying them. Normal room temperature is OK. A slow rate of drying is much better than a fast one. The reason the print curles is that the emulsion dries at a different speed from the actual paper base which is why you place the print face down, the weight of the paper base helps keep the print reasonably flat. I have used drying screens for over 20 years and my prints dry much flatter than when hung back to back as you do. However, you will never get them to dry perfectly flat so you're going to have look out for a dry mounting press.