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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Where does one buy marbles?
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04/11/2010 09:42:50 PM · #1
Silly question maybe. I looked at the dollar stores and places like Target, but nothing. I actually want to use them to keep air out of some of my photographic chemicals as I use them (developer and fixer). Thanks.
04/11/2010 09:44:19 PM · #2
Toys R Us carries them in the educational section.
04/11/2010 09:45:22 PM · #3
You could start Here...I think.

Ray
04/11/2010 09:46:28 PM · #4
I'd send you some... but I've lost mine ;-)

As for where to buy them, that's a heck of a good question... perhaps a hobby store?? One other possibility would be a store that sells aquarium supplies; they are sometimes used as decorative bottom cover.

Message edited by author 2010-04-11 21:46:34.
04/11/2010 09:47:04 PM · #5
How about the polished decorative stones for use in vases? It would serve the same purpose for you, but they are not located in the toy section, so you would have missed them if that's where you are looking. I've seen bags of them at Dollar Tree in the home decor section.
04/11/2010 09:48:29 PM · #6
I've seen them at Michaels and at Hobby Lobby...crafty type stores.
04/11/2010 10:03:22 PM · #7
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

How about the polished decorative stones for use in vases?


Funny. When I asked for marbles at the dollar store, they showed me these. I think large marbles, though, still might work better. But I'll keep these in mind as a last resort.

Marblesmarbles.com sure looks like a good idea. (Looking up marbles on eBay was dizzying.) And the toy stores and craft stores I hadn't really considered. Thanks for the ideas thus far.
04/11/2010 10:13:47 PM · #8
Any dollar store.
04/11/2010 10:14:12 PM · #9
this guy on ebay usually has good deals on large lots of marbles
04/11/2010 10:53:57 PM · #10
wally-world
04/11/2010 11:03:46 PM · #11
I actually bought marbles on ebay recently as I couldn't find them new anywhere.
04/11/2010 11:14:53 PM · #12
Google "buy Marbles." Lots there.
04/11/2010 11:15:30 PM · #13
I played a good game back in the day, had bags and bags.
04/11/2010 11:22:36 PM · #14
Our whole elementary school,went crazy for marbles on year. The whole baseball diamond was a minefield. Little pot holes, everywhere. My dad back then, made me a plinko board for marbles. Man the kids at school went nuts!
Oh and I cleaned up big time. I still ponder where they all went too... Maybe never never land.....or a dollar store...
04/11/2010 11:52:11 PM · #15
I would only use marbles for chemical work. Stop bath is acetic acid, and will eat limestone and contaminate the stop bath.
04/12/2010 08:40:05 AM · #16
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:

I would only use marbles for chemical work. Stop bath is acetic acid, and will eat limestone and contaminate the stop bath.


I just use table vinegar and water for my stop. It's the developer and fixer that I want to preserve. I just don't go throught it all real fast.

Thanks again, everyone. I'm looking around now...
04/12/2010 01:08:40 PM · #17
I used to fill my developer bottles with nitrogen to preserve it if I wasn't going to use it for a while since it's the reaction with the oxygen that makes it go bad. If it's film developer, you might consider a replenishment system. I used D76 and D76R replenisher and I could make a gallon of developer last for months (that's averaging 10 4x5 sheets/day). There's also a T-Max version, but I never used it.

Unless you buy new marbles for each batch of developer, you run the risk of your marbles contaminating your developer as you use them.

Another solution that might work for you is collapsible bottles, I remember seeing some specifically for photo chemicals. As you use the developer, you simply collapse the bottle to minimize or eliminate airspace.

Message edited by author 2010-04-12 13:12:57.
04/12/2010 01:58:14 PM · #18
Originally posted by bvy:

Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:

I would only use marbles for chemical work. Stop bath is acetic acid, and will eat limestone and contaminate the stop bath.


I just use table vinegar and water for my stop. It's the developer and fixer that I want to preserve. I just don't go throught it all real fast.

Vinegar is acetic acid, just already more dilute than that sold for stop-bath. It might be interesting to see what kind of toning you'd get on a print if you used some nice fruity balsamic instead of distilled white ... ;-)


You can get marbles at Oriental Trading Company.

If you want to go the nitrogen route you might see how much an injector would cost at a higher-end wine shop.
04/13/2010 09:20:20 AM · #19
no five and dimes in Pittsburgh?
04/13/2010 09:23:47 AM · #20
i would like 10,000 marbles please

Joe
04/13/2010 10:14:57 AM · #21
if you find out let me know, I lost mine years ago!
04/13/2010 10:49:30 AM · #22
Originally posted by Spork99:

I used to fill my developer bottles with nitrogen to preserve it if I wasn't going to use it for a while since it's the reaction with the oxygen that makes it go bad. If it's film developer, you might consider a replenishment system. I used D76 and D76R replenisher and I could make a gallon of developer last for months (that's averaging 10 4x5 sheets/day). There's also a T-Max version, but I never used it.


It's actually paper developer (Ilford PQ). I have some D76 here but haven't started developing film yet.

Originally posted by Spork99:

Unless you buy new marbles for each batch of developer, you run the risk of your marbles contaminating your developer as you use them.


Why is that? Are marbles porous? I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious. I would have expected glass marbles could be cleaned thoroughly enough to not cross-contaminate.

Originally posted by Spork99:

Another solution that might work for you is collapsible bottles, I remember seeing some specifically for photo chemicals. As you use the developer, you simply collapse the bottle to minimize or eliminate airspace.


I had read different things about the collapsible bottles -- that they weren't fully airtight and such. Maybe I'm being too fussy about this; marbles seemed like a quick and dirty answer.

Thanks for the tips. I might have to look into nitrogen.

Message edited by author 2010-04-13 12:20:06.
04/13/2010 10:53:56 AM · #23
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Vinegar is acetic acid, just already more dilute than that sold for stop-bath. It might be interesting to see what kind of toning you'd get on a print if you used some nice fruity balsamic instead of distilled white ... ;-)


Sounds like a Tom (tph1) experiment.

Thanks for the Oriental Trading link, by the way. A lot of marbles for one low price!
04/13/2010 12:01:42 PM · #24
Retailer Five Below usually has them (near the checkout counter).
04/13/2010 12:04:11 PM · #25
Just a thought about the nitrogen. It may be a worthwhile experiment to try using "Dustoff" or similar canned air. It may work just as good for displacing the oxygen, and be quite a bit less expensive than a nitrogen system. I remember using the plastic squeeze bottles, and they seemed to do a good job too.
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