Getting started - September 2021
I decided to turn a storage room into a darkroom. I've been meaning to do this for over 10 years but never got around to it. I decided that this would be a good project to work on during the lockdown. The room measures 6' x 4'6" so I should be able to put in two 2'x4' tables.
Cleaned out the storage room.
Still have a chest freezer that I don't know what to do with.
Resurfaced the 2'x4' table top with laminate.
Construction
Building legs for the table. The wood was recycled from an old Ikea bed.
Painting - October 2021
Painting the legs.
Installed shelf on the wetside table. Dryside table is almost finished. I used the 20"x48" board I had. I would later replace it with a wider surface. It turned out to be too narrow for the enlarger stand.
Assembling the Ventilation Housing - November 2021
Spray painted the interior surfaces black. On the left is a 95 cfm inline fan to vent air out of the darkroom. On the right are light tight baffles for the air intake. The center section is empty and will be covered over. I may use it to house a second fan or a swamp cooler in the future.
New Enlarger - November 2021
The reason why I started the darkroom build in the first place. In March 2021 I backed the Kickstarter campaign for Intrepid Camera's Compact Enlarger. At first I was going to use my bathroom to do prints, but it was too small. I also didn't want to constantly set up and take down the enlarger, so I decided to build a dedicated darkroom.
Setting up Enlarger
Copy stand with enlarger on the dryside table.
First Print Session - January 2022
Installed black out curtains in the doorway. The dry side table has a new, wider surface with a rounded corner.
First prints!
Work in Progress - March 2022
Installed a shelf for the chemicals and installed an eye wash station in the corner. Also got a roller and tank to do color prints. All together the build took about 6 months.
