[Leica] OT: Inexpensive light table? And storing slides?

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Scott McLoughlin asked:
Subject: [Leica] OT: Inexpensive light table? And storing slides?


 > I have a nice Mamiya loupe I like, but I don't have a light
> table. Holding the slides up to a table lamp is a real pain and
> the illumination isn't even in any case.
>
> So, light tables seem to go for peanuts to big bucks.
> I'm trying to be a little less wanton in my gear purchases
> these days.
>
> Any particularly good bargains or values out there in a
> light table?

Hi Scott,
If you want to do a little manual labour here's "quick-cheap-practical and 
it works just fine light table.

1: A trip to an electrical shop where they sell used fluorescent and other 
types of lamps usually from a house or building renovation.

You require a 4' ft. two bulb fluorescent fixture with "daylight balanced" 
tubes.  These can be expensive, so forget it. Get 2 "cool white" tubes 
they'll do just fine. This unit should be wired so all you have to do is 
plug it in. And hopefully with some kind of switch, if not wire it up 
yourself.

2: Now a couple of choices. Go to the local lumber yard buy a pine board 12" 
wide, 1/2" thick and long enough to cut two pieces 50'' long and two pieces 
about 2 inches wider than the fluorescent 2 lamp metal housing.  Nail the 
four pieces together, now you have a box to set the lamp housing into. 
Either fasten the lamp housing onto the box. Or get a piece of ply wood cut 
to make a bottom to your box.

Then all you have to do is set the lamp holder into it with only one more 
piece required. The frosted or opaque plastic. Don't buy "GLASS!"  Why?

Well sure as heck at some time you'll drop the loupe, smash the glass! Then 
the shards of glass, your slides and loupe land on the fluorescent tubes 
shattering them all over the place along with your slides...Trust me an ugly 
scene!

And yer left standing there screaming all kinds of un-repeatable words in 
nice company! ;-) Just go to the local plastic shop with the measurement to 
cover your light box, they cut it to size, you take it home and set it on 
the box....use duct tape on the ends to hold it in place, plug in electric 
cord and you have a quick and easy 4' long light table! :-)

It sounds like a lot of work, it isn't. Just a bit of running around.

I've built several of them varying sizes for friends.The light table we've 
used forever has 2, 4 lamp holder units and a bunch of lamps, it must be 
about 4'X8' and we can layout a mess of slides all at one time. Edit and cry 
over it when we've screwed-up a shoot!

Today it get's about the same amount of use as my R8 motor driven 
cameras.... not much to nil! Just a good place to pile junk! ;-) However 
sorry it's not for sale at the moment! ;-)

> Also, any preferred "sleeves" for storing slides in a binder?
> I'd like to store them along with my sleeved negs just to
> keep my life simple.<<<

Local photo shop where we buy boxes of a hundred pages at a time....

"Print File" archival preservers. 20 slides to a page. You can get them from 
Orlando Florida 407-886-3100 if your local store doesn't carry them.

ted