[ithacaartist]

"Gas springs" such as seen on automobile hatchbacks and hoods might come in handy. Something off the shelf might work, but it's better to get help from the supplier to engineer its application, which will result in really slick operation. You'll have to submit lots of pertinent dimensions, weights, and calculated centers of gravity, but it's worth the trouble. I installed some on a large contact exposure table at Cornell that had two lids. The first lid was a steel-framed piece of glass that held the negative and paper in position. The second lid contained a bank of fluorescent bulbs of the proper color temperature, positioned as tightly together as possible. After I had moved their ballasts into an box I made and installed under the table, the sheet metal box/lid was still quite heavy. Bottom line, the lids stayed closed when shut, and could be raised to stay in any position with a little finger. The darkroom folks loved it, and I'll admit the results even impressed me!