Sunday, February 26, 2012

New, bigger and better UV Light Source for Cyanotypes and such

I had a UV source light source made from 2 UV bulbs and 6 inch reflectors. It worked ok but was cumbersome and not easily stored. I decided to make a larger unit, with four 14" tubes, and a timer. Here's a parts list of the electrical items:

From Bulbtronics:


 The first item are the T8 sockets, the second item is the T8 UV tubes, and the last item is a 4 Tube starter/ballast.

From Lowes I purchased a 120VAC 60 minute timer, and a metal box to put it in. I had an AC cord with 3 prong plug. The wood, glue, nails, and screws are also needed.

I began by building the box. Here's some images of the progress.






You can see I even covered the top with some decorative paper.  Also, note that I lined the area beneath the tubes with white poster board to reflect more of the light down.

The unit could be used as is, by propping it on books or whatever, so you could slide a negative and sensitized paper underneath. However, I think I will build a stand for it later.

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