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Darkroom Furniture: Paper safe
The purpose of this project is to create a safe place to easily store the paper you are using for printing. By using a sliding drawer papersafe, you can open the drawer in total darkness, remove the paper, and close the drawer, confidently and accurately. Every time the same way. DesignConstruction
Use
The safe is made within the drawer, and is self closing. I open the drawer, push back the lid, remove the paper, all with one hand, then close the drawer with my leg. Note: If you are using a pre-made drawer, you'll have to disassemble it completely, and only make the dadoes which your drawer does not already have.
Design
Drawer Front
This is the front of the drawer, not to be confused
with the false front, which is what is visible on the
front of the cabinet or the
table. It is
rabeted on the ends so that it will interlock
with the sides. The top dadoe
is wide enough to allow one thickness of hardboard to
slide over another. The bottom dadoe is wide enough to hold the
drawer bottom. Not so tight that it can't move, but not so
loose that the bottom flops around. The depths of the dadoes are 1/2 the thickness
of the wood used. The size of this piece is dependent on the size of the drawer opening in the
cabinet and the method of supporting the drawer. If you have a set of drawer slides, they usually
have a suggested gap spacing, if not allow about 1/4" on all 4 sides. The other pieces of the drawer
are all dependent on the size of this piece.
Drawer Back
This is the back of the drawer.
It is best if this fits inside the back of the drawer sides, so that the gaps left
by the dadoes are on the back of the drawer, and can be plugged without interfering with the drawer
slide mechanism. The top and bottom dadoes are the same widths as in the drawer front.
The depths of the dadoes are 1/2 the thickness of the wood used.
Drawer Sides
These are the drawer sides, one is the mirror image of the other. There are three
dadoes in each side. The top and bottom are the same
widths as in the drawer front, the third dadoe is vertical. It is set back
from the front of the side by the width of the rabbet in the drawer front. This allow the front to interlock
with the sides.
The depths of the dadoes are 1/2 the thickness of the wood used.
Drawer False Front
This is what is visible when the drawer is closed. It should be larger than the drawer cabinet opening by about 1/2 inch on all 4 sides. You can use a drawer pull (knob),
but what I do is angle the edges about 60 degrees, then I don't have anything sticking out from the front of the cabinet.
Hardboard Sliding Cover
These are drawings of the hardboard sliding cover. One piece has a handle, the other does not.
They are both cut so that they slide in the top dadoes in the drawer sides. The length is determined
as 2/3rds of the length of the opening, when the top is slid all the way back you have 1/3rd of the length
of the opening to reach paper, when the top is all the way forward, they overlap by 2/3rds of the
length of the opening. The handled piece goes on top, and slides, the bottom piece is stationary.
Assembled Drawer Side View
This view shows the important elements of the
drawer and cabinet when the drawer is installed. It shows how the slide handle is pushed toward the
front of the drawer as the drawer is closed, by a stop attached to the underside of the counter-top.
Storing Multiple Paper Grades in the Papersafe
If you want to put more than one grade of paper in the drawer papersafe, you need to be able to keep
them separated, and be able to identify them in the dark. Cut as many pieces of hardboard in the shape
on the left as you want to store grades of paper, take into account the depth of your drawer though.
Using 1x1's (3/4" by 3/4") separate the hardboard to make slots for storing paper.
Construction
- Cut the drawer sides, back, and front to size. All of the sizes will depend on the size of your drawer opening. It depends on the type of drawer slide you use, but you'll need about 1/4" to 1/2" of clearance on all sides of the drawer front, and the false front should overlap the opening by about 1/4" on all sides. The back should fit inside the sides, so that the resulting gaps from the dadoes will be in the back of the drawer, not on the sides. (You'll see and understand this when you get closer to completion, I didn't on the first drawer!) In pencil, mark the pieces as to their orientation when the drawer is assembled.
- Cut the rabbets into the front piece. The depth of the rabbet should be 1/2 the thickness of the front, the width should be 1/2 the thickness of the side. I've written a short piece on cutting rabbets and dadoes .
- Cut the matching dadoes into the sides pieces. The result should be a tight fit, not so tight that you have to hammer them together, but tight enough that you have to push them together.
- Cut the top and bottom dadoes in the front, sides, and back. Test fit the dadoes against pieces of material you will be using for the top and bottom. (two thickness of the top)
- Glue the sides to the front, and nail together with brads or thin nails. (The glue and interlocking dadoe holds the joints, the nails just hold it together while the glue dries) Clamp the sides together. (no clamp? Put drawer on side, heavy weight to compress joint) Do not glue the back at this time.
- When the glue is dry, cut the bottom and tops to fit the dimensions of drawer opening, allowing the top and bottom to slide in the dadoes.
- Cut a piece of 1x2 for use as the slide handle, sand well (you don't want a splinter while you are printing!) Glue and screw this to one of the top pieces.
- Cut the false front to fit, and bevel the edges if you are not going to use a drawer pull. Glue and screw this (from inside the drawer, 2 screws) onto the front of the drawer. If you don't have a clamp for the next step, you might want to do this after the drawer is all glued up. If you do have a clamp, do this now so you have more room to drive the screws.
- Slide the tops and bottom into the dadoes on the drawer. Glue the sides to the back. Clamp. Do not glue the bottoms or tops to the back or sides, you need to allow for different rates of expansion and contraction in different types of material, or different directions of grain
- Inspect the drawer for light leaks. The false front should have covered any in the front. There are probably some small openings on the back. Cut, glue and screw on a false back, or you can use putty or caulk or silicone to plug the holes.
- When the glue is dry, slide the top piece of the sliding top to the front of the drawer (it should slide right into the front dadoe), and the lower top piece all the way into the back dadoe. Using 1 brad or thin nail, secure the lower top piece to the back. Do this by nailing through the top of the back piece, through the dadoe, through the lower top piece, and into the middle of the back piece.
- Attach drawer slides. Instructions should have come with the package.
- Attach the drawer slide stop to the underside of the counter-top. Test the drawer to see that the stops do close the slides when the drawer is closed.
- Test it. In total darkness, put a piece of enlarger paper in the drawer, emulsion side up, put items on top of the paper, coins, keys, etc. Don't cover the paper completely, just a few items will be enough. Close the drawer, turn on the room lights, open the windows (if you have any), open the door(s) (wow more than one door!), let it sit for a long time, as long as you might want to leave the paper in the drawer between sessions. I gave mine 3 days. (Hey, you can always spend this time building some other neat things for your darkroom!).
- When you've given your paper enough time, and your sink is finished, develop the paper fully (2 full minutes if that is what you are using), stop, fix, rinse, and dry. Examine the paper very closely. If there is even the slightest hint of a shape on the paper, you need to figure out where the light leak is occurring.
Use
When you're ready to print, after you've focused the negative with your focus tool.- Turn out the room lights using the overhead pull cord
- Turn off the safelights using the overhead pull cord (you should only use the safelight when setting up to print)
- Open the drawer
- Slide back the drawer cover
- Remove a piece of paper. (when you put the paper in, always put it in the same way - emulsion side down works for me - and if you have multiple grades/weights, always put them in the same places)
- Place the paper on the easel.
- Close the drawer - I use my leg
- Print, develop, dry, repeat Have fun printing!
