Am on my days off again, thank goodness!! So much to do thou, today after my 7th 12 hour night shift and a short sleep I bought some groceries then cut the lawn at 2 homes I am taking care of. I have to do a third home tomorrow. Then do cleaning at sisiters home and reorganizing at another, plus work on 2 vehicles that need fixing up. One van to be sold and another truch with a bad battery. Tomorrow at 2pm I need to help a friend buy a cane and do some banking things. I have so much to do on my week off, my head is spinning, I do not even know where to start.
But on to more important stuff!. I have been checking nationally and internationally for cheaper chemical providers. I have one source in India who is willing to provide much of my needed chemistry but only if I buy in 15 kilo lots. So I would have to buy 3 chemicals of 5 Kilos each for a total of 15 kilos per purchase. The prices are MUCH MUCH cheaper than anything I else I have been able to find in Canada, a fraction of the cost. Going this way if it works could save me thousands of dollars in the end, even 10s of thousands if the project becomes what I hope it will be.
Since I am planning a 10-15 year project, I might be able to use these large amounts of chemicals, I did some rough math based on the type of collodion I might be using. According to my figuring if I bought 5 kilos of Cadmium Bromide it would probably be enough to make over 1000 bottles of 1000ml collodion. That is one hell of a lot of collodion!! I think I might be able to use up that much, or almost that much if I dive in and shoot ULF plates which use a lot of the product (500ml per plate?).
I contacted some of the ULF wet plate friends and asked them how much collodion it takes to cover big plates, how much they go through but their answers have been vague. I also contacted a PHD friend I work with who works in the laboratory at the plant. I asked him about storing a chemical I use in the process called Ammonium Iodide (a salt used to provide speed and contrast, density to the collodion), He said the chemical should be able to be stored for 5 years and then gave me a list of procedures I have should follow. I am trying to figure the best place to store the chemicals and also will separate them as he recommended into smaller containers.
So the plan is to order 15 kilos of chemicals this week. The 3 will be, Cadmium Bromide, Ammonium Iodide and probably either Potassium Bromide or Potassium Iodide. I thinking the Iodide might be more useful as it is used in many collodion formulas. Even if I do not use all the chemicals and some go to waste, shopping this way is probably going to save me money. The amount you save buy buying bulk makes up for anything left over or anything that does not age well. If you can use it all up, then alls the better!!
Today I also found a possible Canadian source for big buys of Sodium Thiosulfate (Hypo, Fixer)! They were out of stock but am inquiring about getting some. I am also asking trophy and metal shops to give me quotes about selling me black trophy aluminum for tintypes.
I hope to get started on AMBROTOS KANATA, my major retirement cross country wet plate project next month in September
Note* I will also need to get me some glass so I can start cutting it to do my own ambrotypes, in various sizes.
.
But on to more important stuff!. I have been checking nationally and internationally for cheaper chemical providers. I have one source in India who is willing to provide much of my needed chemistry but only if I buy in 15 kilo lots. So I would have to buy 3 chemicals of 5 Kilos each for a total of 15 kilos per purchase. The prices are MUCH MUCH cheaper than anything I else I have been able to find in Canada, a fraction of the cost. Going this way if it works could save me thousands of dollars in the end, even 10s of thousands if the project becomes what I hope it will be.
Since I am planning a 10-15 year project, I might be able to use these large amounts of chemicals, I did some rough math based on the type of collodion I might be using. According to my figuring if I bought 5 kilos of Cadmium Bromide it would probably be enough to make over 1000 bottles of 1000ml collodion. That is one hell of a lot of collodion!! I think I might be able to use up that much, or almost that much if I dive in and shoot ULF plates which use a lot of the product (500ml per plate?).
I contacted some of the ULF wet plate friends and asked them how much collodion it takes to cover big plates, how much they go through but their answers have been vague. I also contacted a PHD friend I work with who works in the laboratory at the plant. I asked him about storing a chemical I use in the process called Ammonium Iodide (a salt used to provide speed and contrast, density to the collodion), He said the chemical should be able to be stored for 5 years and then gave me a list of procedures I have should follow. I am trying to figure the best place to store the chemicals and also will separate them as he recommended into smaller containers.
So the plan is to order 15 kilos of chemicals this week. The 3 will be, Cadmium Bromide, Ammonium Iodide and probably either Potassium Bromide or Potassium Iodide. I thinking the Iodide might be more useful as it is used in many collodion formulas. Even if I do not use all the chemicals and some go to waste, shopping this way is probably going to save me money. The amount you save buy buying bulk makes up for anything left over or anything that does not age well. If you can use it all up, then alls the better!!
Today I also found a possible Canadian source for big buys of Sodium Thiosulfate (Hypo, Fixer)! They were out of stock but am inquiring about getting some. I am also asking trophy and metal shops to give me quotes about selling me black trophy aluminum for tintypes.
I hope to get started on AMBROTOS KANATA, my major retirement cross country wet plate project next month in September
Note* I will also need to get me some glass so I can start cutting it to do my own ambrotypes, in various sizes.
.
