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The timber I used was Sapele hardwood sourced from a local timber merchant. All hardware was available using a general search on Amazon! Even the running gear was from Amazon - I used the generic carriage (worm gear) from a 3D printer.

Hi Robert, thanks for your support….It’s unusual to have water spots consistently on every plate (it is of course inevitable on the odd one or two)! My own method is to soak the plates in clean water tray for about an hour rather than run under water. Then I leave them to dry in a rack (vertically) overnight. If you still have issues try gently wiping them with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud. The isopropyl will evaporate quickly and shouldn’t affect your emulsion.

Have a little faith - it’s coming!

Also - is it okay to use paraffin on old wood plate and film holders to help them slide in and out if the camera back more easily? Thank you !

@@robertyoung1777 not too sure about using paraffin on wooden holders…..I only Zebra plate holders for my dry plates. I have modified a standard film holder to take glass plates for my ambrotype plates in the past and this works equally well. I may have to do another video!

Thank you for the reply. I’m using old wooden dry plate holders from 1900-1920. They are light tight but sticky going in and out of my century wood 5X7 camera.

Many thanks - I’ve been shooting a lot of alternative and Wet/dry plate for many years alongside the digital stuff, but using these cameras are so much more fulfilling!

Thank you my friend! The bellows were made for me by www.custombellows.co.uk/products.html - give them a call they are very helpful. The lens is a 300mm fujinon from Japan. Found on eBay at a reasonable price but had to pay import duty. A bit hard to swallow but I’ve found lenses from japan like these are exactly as described and good value.

Yep - all my own work…..Made from Hydroponics tent and blackout material. A hard rubylith perspex top allows work in safelight.

Thanks for your support….have you seen this one? th-cam.com/video/hDh8vV-Ln1Q/w-d-xo.html Also my friend from Lost Light Art (Nejc Uranker) has a great channel. I also get my Zebra dry plate from him. th-cam.com/channels/kgsi_Pxixghd8xluKSs9eQ.html

Thanks buddy.

Thanks Rob

Straight off Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TT6Q4DT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) 395-400nm

It's on its way. Thanks for your support.

@@TomLeePhoto It’s great! Thank you.

You can print from any negative in an enlarger without having to change the bulb, but you will have to do your own exposure tests and it will not give you the best tonal range. In order to print these plates with the best tonal range, you will need to produce a contact negative! You can find some useful download material on my website (Interesting Stuff Page).

@@TomLeePhoto Tom I'm going to buy a printer to make my digital negatives, I'm looking at an Epson ET8500, it's a dye based printer do you see any issues with that? Also for orotones what type of negative should I be shooting for? Flat, contrasty? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks

@@skytrooper506 Have a look at this and download the bit on digital negatives and glass plate positives www.tomleephoto.com/interesting-stuff. It's not the printer that makes a great negative - it's how it's printed. Best of luck.

All you need is 'Pure' Acetone (from the diy store), don't use nail varnish it contains water. Use 5g of Paraloid B72 crystals with 100ml acetone. Mix this solution with 3-5 g of powder to make your coating for the plate. You can buy premixed 5% Paraloid solution on Ebay. You only need plain 2mm float glass from the framers or glass store, but you will need to sensitise them with silver gelatine emulsion. I use Zebra plates which come pre-coated.

@@TomLeePhoto thanks Tom! I can't wait to try it.

Plenty of used models on Bay around £450 or you could try an intrepid 5x4 (new) for not much more! Best of luck.

Nope, just 2mm float glass from your picture framers.

Hi Fabien, thanks for taking time to look at the video! As far as the harmfulness of chemicals are concerned you are correct, some are quite toxic in their normal state, however, the silver is recycled and never thrown away and the cadmium bromide used in the collodion is not discarded but consumed by the process (ie there is no waste). What little that remains from washing process is so minuscule it can be disposed of in normal drainage facilities. I never dispose of water from washing in the field without collecting in a sealed bucket for disposal later. Hope this answers your query.

As mentioned in my previous reply.....you need to contact Nejc Uranker (zebradryplates@gmail.com). He does the workshops to order and you can most likely still arrange one this year directly.

Its a 10x8" sheet of 2mm thick plain glass.

Well done Francis - May the 4th be with you! Best wishes for other successes.

You need to mix 5g of Paraloid B-72 for every 100ml of pure acetone. Store in small brown bottles available from Amazon. You can get pure acetone from any hardware store but failing that, use nail varnish remover from the chemist! Thanks for your support.

The strip light used was bought from Amazon - www.amazon.co.uk/LightingWill-395nm-405nm-Non-Waterproof-Blacklight-Sterilization/dp/B07Q29MNVL/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=JHAHM280GKF2&keywords=uv+led+strip&qid=1679128554&s=lighting&sprefix=UV+LED%2Clighting%2C95&sr=1-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 - The exposure time will vary depending on the chemicals used, paper type, and negative density. You have to do your own experiments but generally it was about 12 minutes using the UV box shown in the video for Cyanotype. Other processes will vary. You need to experiment.

I wouldn't have got this far without your help and that of a great many others. I'm just holding the baton for the next person. Best wishes Nejc.