Infrastructure
Many of us have heard in the news that the USA is in need of a major infrastructure rebuild. I decided to do my part these last two weeks and have completed two crucial upgrades to Castle Daguerre – power and a fume hood. (Well you didn’t expect me to build a bridge did you?) :) Project one was to complete the electric mains connection from the house so I can plug in all those power hungry and fun daguerreian related tools I foresee in my future – and also to warm up my tiny kingdom and drive out the evil foggy humidity that will seek to ruin my plates. Not much to say about this project – two 20 amp 110 V circuits with GFCI protection. Not extravagant but workable. My one actual extravagance was hiring a young neighbor to dig the trench for me. As it turned out Jorge was a tireless worker and was very helpful during the installation phase as well. I literally couldn’t have done it without him. A definite case of knowing my own limitations. If I hadn’t had his help I probably would have used up my whole two weeks on the one project. For a few pictures of the work click here.
The second project was all fidgety carpentry, painting and a bit of electrical – creating a permanent fume hood workbench for the nasty bits of the daguerreotype process. Castle Daguerre early on received two sturdy workbenches that take up about 2/3′s of the total floor space. Each bench is about 2 ft x 6 ft with 32 inches clearance overhead (61 cm x 182.9 cm with 81.3 cm over). Since the building was originally built from a combination of a forty year old fence that was taken down and salvaged and a mix of modern lumber it was a nightmare of full dimension pieces and more modern “planed” pieces. Nothing was standard. Since the fume hood was basically constructed of 1/2″ (19 mm) AC plywood, the support framing was 100% custom fit in all locations. I ended up with an interior space in the hood of approximately 18″ x 67″ x 32.5″ high (45.7 cm x 170.2 cm x 82.6 cm). The front is faced with assorted removable panels of black 3/16″ (4.7 mm) ABS plastic and clear sheets of acrylic of the same thickness. All panels are held in place with magnetic tape and can be removed at will. The center panel can be any mixture of clear or black pieces to control light levels inside.
Inside I have mounted a 465 cfm squirrel cage fan, a speed controller, two duplex outlets and a four foot flourescent tube for general lighting. Later I will add some kind of a safe light. Eventually the whole ”castle” will be light proofed, but the construction is pretty rough so there may be a few stray leaks. I figured that making one work area light tight would be useful. If need be I can add black cloth sleeves to the open window into the hood.
The general work opening into the hood is about 6″ x 32″ (15.2 cm x 81.3 cm). If I understand how this works I have a theoretical airflow through the opening of about 371 fpm. Which is more than enough I think. Unfortunately I forgot to order the flow gauge, so testing will be delayed. I am a bit shaky on the concepts however so any feedback is welcome. It seems to produce a pretty good breeze, but if I have to I can mount a larger fan, or even just add a second one. For many pictures of the work go to the gallery here.
It is a relief to have these two large projects done. I have many more steps to take along the way, but most of those projects are small in both size and scope. They will fit more easily into the 1-5 hour blocks of time I usually have to work with. Probably my next step will be making a lens board for the B&J camera and mounting the lens. Now to sleep – perhaps to have some daguerreian dreams. :)
Daguerreotype Process | andy | October 12, 2008
camera, camera construction, carpentry, castle, charcoal filter, electrical, fan, fume hood, GFCI, speed control
I wouldn’t worry TOO much about light tightness. My darkroom is a heavy black piece of plastic that wraps around a 2×2 foot section of my studio. Light leaks a’plenty. :-)
Well in reality if I worry about it too much – “that way lies madness”. The building is one big light leak – so I will patch up what I can and liberally use black plastic for the rest.
Have fun at “Dag Con”
LOL, Dag Con. It will be VERY fun, I’m sure. It will be nice to put faces to some names and maybe even find some goodies to buy!