Warning: squeegee method beat my fingers on sheet film, and I got 9 clean negatives out of 10
I picked up a 4x5 Speed Graphic at a garage sale in Tulsa for 80 bucks back in March, then found out the hard way that tray developing sheet film by hand is a nightmare. My first two batches came out with crescent shaped scratches on the emulsion side, probably from my fingertips dragging across the wet film in the dark. So I switched to a cheap Jobo 2521 tank with the ribbed insert and did the whole thing with 6 ml of HC-110 dilution B, rolling it on a $15 used Uniroller base in my laundry room. The difference was not even close. Ten sheets, one tiny scratch on one, and the rest came out clean with even density across the frame. The tank cost me less than a tank of gas and the roller base was a thrift store find, so I am out maybe 40 dollars total. Loading the sheets in the dark bag is fiddly, but once they are in the ribs they stay put and the chemistry does not touch your hands at all. Anyone else skip trays once they found a tank that fit 4x5, or am I late to this party?