[jgmotamedi]

I have been using a pair of boxes of a very similar design for many years also based on Jerry Spagnoli’s drawings. While I can understand the criticism voiced above, I have found this to be a excellent design, with the only flaw that it does tend to leak a bit when the holder is removed. But then again my strike-through box isn’t any better, as iodine accumulates on the slide and leaks when it is shifted.

My solution to the leak is to have a sheet of teflon resting on top of the plate holder. When I pull out the plate holder the teflon sheet slips down to cover the box. I suppose you could do this with the glass also. I wonder about rabeting a track for the plate holder and the glass slide. The glass slide could be partially pulled out (maybe include some sort of stop?) to expose the plate but keeping the fumes in. Then it could be simply slid back in. Or perhaps this is what you intended?

[jgmotamedi]

Irv,

I have yet to see one of your crappy images, but thanks. My suppose I was just feeling guilty about using my cell phone’s camera rather than a “real” digital camera.

Ty,

My tendency has always been towards function over form, with a big kowtow to budget, so my boxes are not pretty, but they seem to function pretty well. I am not sure how others feel, but I would recommend a similar approach to you Ty: build a small (half plate?) functional box–well sealed and easy to use–out of cheaper materials such as plywood and glass for a lower price, and I think you will have greater reach, particularly to the newcomers who are just getting their feet wet. You can also offer a deluxe pair, made of nice wood and with PTFE, perhaps with a matching wood camera.

Now we just need someone to start making mercury pots…

[jgmotamedi]

My “daily use” (yeah, right) fuming boxes are loaded with iodine and bromine, but I will try to take a few images sometime soon.

[jgmotamedi]

Pictures of my 4×5 iodine-only traveling box using the strike-through American design

The large strike-through slide is in place. As you can see, it takes a lot of space.

I have a smaller lid to use when not in use. It just pulls out and swaps with the large slide.

Slide pulled out an upside down, exposing the 1/16″ PTFE liner, unfortunately the PTFE was attached to the wood with brass screws, these will have to be replaced someday.

[jgmotamedi]

A few images of my acrylic 5×7 double fuming box

You can see that I used PTFE as a slide here, placed between a heavy acrylic slide and the glass container.

Here you can see how I drilled through the crossbar and used a expanding threaded insert to hold the thumb screw, which put pressure on the slide.

Here you can see the results of using metal screws. The hinge broke off and since I didn’t have the solvent glue, I repaired it with steel screws. Not a good idea.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures

[jgmotamedi]

I just looked at the site that Andy posted, and the prices are quite good, and much cheaper than McMaster-Carr. You would only use 1/16″ (.06″) PTFE sheet on a wooden slide, so a 12×48″ sheet for $41 would make at least four whole-plate box boxes. Plate holders–at least those which don’t remain inside the box when not in use–can be made out of wood or acrylic.

[jgmotamedi]

Hello Ty,

Teflon is a brand of Fluoropolymer. What I have found is that there is no reason to buy the branded version. Virgin electronic grade PTFE works as well, and is significantly cheaper. McMaster-Carr sells a 12×12 1/16″ sheet for about $38. I am sure you could get it cheaper.

Please feel free to contact me.

jason

[jgmotamedi]

I drilled a hole in the cross beam and put in an expanding brass threaded insert. I then used a stainless steel thumb screw to tighten it down. The brass is still fine, and the thumb screw is rusty but still functional. Everything else was put together with acrylic solvent cement and one acrylic hinge. I will try to post some images later, maybe this weekend if I have time to take them.

[jgmotamedi]

A few things I have learned;

First, none of the glass containers I have used have level beveled edges. To really seal the edges and prevent leaking these really need to be sanded down. I have tried a few ways of doing this and found the best way is using a oil-based grit (Clover) on a large sheet of glass. This takes a long time, but produces the best and most even results.

I have used both glass and Teflon/PTFE slides to seal the fumes and have found that Teflon/PTFE works better since it compresses while glass only breaks. However, it is not “period” and it can be difficult to glue onto a wood slide.

While the “strike-through” or American designs are authentic, they are not very convenient, as they take much more space to use. For those of us using small fumehoods this is an significant issue. I have also found that when NOT using adequate ventilation (bad bad bad, I know), the strike-through tend to produce more ambient fumes, as the iodine (I have never done this with bromine and am not about to try) sticks to the underside of the slide and escapes. Probably nothing significant, but it is noticeable.

Also, for what it is worth, I have built fuming boxes out of acrylic. I did this only because I had the material available and free of charge. Acrylic is not terribly resistant to bromine fumes, and did a poor job sealing, but they do look pretty cool!

In any case, I would love to see your results!

jason

[jgmotamedi]

Unfortunately it seems that iodine is no longer being stocked by either Artcraft or Photographer’s Formulary. Unless there is a source I am unaware of, this means that it must be purchased either from a chemical supply house (expensive) or through eBay (questionable quality). I used to get Gold Chloride through Blake Ferris at http://mostlymetals.com. I am not sure if he is still selling it, but his price was usually lower than elsewhere.

[jgmotamedi]

David came down on Saturday and we prepared 25 brass 4×5 plates to be sent to the plater. It was a very long day of filing, sanding, and buffing…

[jgmotamedi]

Photolytic is correct in that the danger of iodine with a good fuming box is fairly minimal, and for Becquerel development a decent vent and a sealed box is probably enough.

That said (I know it is not what you are asking), I am concerned that ductless hoods will be seen as a viable option for mercury. They are not. The reason for this is that there is too much room for error. The story of Sandy Barrie (sp?) should be a warning. He poisoned himself with mercury fumes because he waited too long to change the filter of his ductless hood, or perhaps just forgot to change it.

[jgmotamedi]

Hello David,

As far as I know there are only two Daguerreotypists in the Northwest. I am in Portland, and if you are willing to come down, and really mean that you are willing to do anything (Dag related of course), perhaps I can help. In a month or two I will be preparing a large batch of brass plates for silver plating. It is a lot of boring mindless labor, but it will teach you quite a bit about plate preparation. Plus you can make some for your self.

Not very exciting, I know.

jason

[jgmotamedi]

Ken, Thank you! I completely forgot about your article. I went back and reread it last night, and all the answers were there.

An interesting read Sun Leaf, although I am very skeptical of the the autism/mercury connection.

[jgmotamedi]

Ron,

Thanks for the response. That is an interesting idea, but I am not sure it makes sense to me. When I use lamp black more spots appear after developing than when I use just rouge. This suggests to me that there are more impurities or contaminants on the plate when I use lamp black than when I don’t. Similarly, I doubt it is the fixer, since I used the same fix with the lamp blacked plates as the rouge-only. In any case, I will investigate using a white microfiber cloth to determine the cleanliness of the plate. I generally don’t use Ultrasuede, except for an initial polish.

jason

[jgmotamedi]

Thanks for doing this Andy. I think there is quite a bit of promise in glass-plated daguerreotypes, and I hope to get back to it again. I have attached a larger version of my peeling plate.

 

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[jgmotamedi]

Thanks Andy!

The description the doctor found just noted that blood was good for “organic” mercury, which I took to mean methyl-mercury, but he wasn’t sure. Anyhow, I took the 3L pee-jug home with me, figuring someone here would know, and indeed they did.

[jgmotamedi]

I am confused. I have never had a problem scanning Daguerreotype plates. In fact I have found them much easier to scan than photograph. Normally–in every scanner I have used–the light reflects off the plate at 45 degrees, so it shouldn’t reflect at all. Is this a typical scanner in which the lens moves across the surface of the plate?

And congratulations to Larry! Make a plate while you can, newborns sleep enough so it is possible to do so. Between six months and the mid-twenties I don’t think it possible.

[jgmotamedi]

I am confused. I have never had a problem scanning Daguerreotype plates. In fact I have found them much easier to scan than photograph. Normally–in every scanner I have used–the light reflects off the plate at 45 degrees, so it shouldn’t reflect at all. Is this a typical scanner in which the lens moves across the surface of the plate?

And congratulations to Larry! Make a plate while you can, newborns sleep enough so it is possible to do so. Between six months and the mid-twenties I don’t think it possible.

[jgmotamedi]

Interesting. Based on my bellows extension, distance, and aperture I am using a GN of about 11, roughly half of yours. I suppose this is partially due to the difference in the reflectors we use. Notably yours is silver and thus reflects more light, while mine is white and has a built in diffuser.

[jgmotamedi]

I never thought of figuring out the guide number, nice idea! I will have to figure out what the guide number is for the reflector I use. Here is today’s plate. Sorry for the horrid through-the-cover-glass scan.

 

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[jgmotamedi]

I have heard from some stereo fans that part of the stereo illusion is dependent on a fairly wide depth of field, so working with f11 and beyond may be necessary. A few years back Ray made a stereo lens board (two lenses with a septum) for my 8×10 Deardorff; so you might want to look into this. I still have never used mine, but it looks nice. Steve Silipigni makes really beautiful cameras, including a nice stereo camera.

[jgmotamedi]

Brass works very well. When I had a hard time finding copper a few years back I tried brass and was pleasantly surprised with how much easier it was to work with than copper. It is harder, so takes a bit more time, but doesn’t “smear” (someone other contemporary Daguerreotypist used this adjective to describe copper, but I don’t remember who) like copper. Next time I make plates I will probably use brass.

[jgmotamedi]

After many experiments and lots of suggestions, I have resolved my problem; too much bromine. Against all advice I had been using color rather than time as a guide to bromine. I cut my bromine time down by a quarter (!) and everything looks great, for the moment…

Thanks for all the advice and help

[jgmotamedi]

Interesting, I never thought of that, thanks for the suggestion John. I will give it a try.

I have had one off-forum suggestion that high humidity, using sterling rather than pure silver, or extended time between exposure and development (more than 20 minutes) might be causes. I am almost positive that my plates are pure silver and not sterling, so I am looking into ways of reducing humidity (this is the pacific northwest!) and will ensure that my development takes place within 20 minutes.

Any other suggestions?

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