120 Hewes reels - do I even need to use the clip?

[yossarian123]

I've been using Hewes reels for about a month now, they're pretty great and generally easy to use and load. The one exception is the spring clip, I've had some problems 1) getting the film into the clip and 2) getting the film centered.
So I took some dummy film tonight and started practicing. After a while, I noticed that I could load the reel with much greater accuracy if I completely bypassed the clip and just laid the film down and started rolling it on.

Has anyone else done this? Will it work once I put it in the tank and develop it for real? My main worry is that the film isn't anchored down so it might come loose while I'm agitating.

 

[PMCC]

I find it can actually be easier to load if you can bypass the clip. Leaving the starter end unanchored allows it more play to get centered and seated correctly in the rails, thus making the rest easier to load. Once it's all on, it's secure and won't come loose until you want to unwind it.

 

[sepiareverb]

I've found the clip on the Hewes 120 reel to be vastly superior to the one on those no-name reels. I've used the Hewes clip without problems. I never used the clip on my old reels and would have films creep out from time to time.

 

[Mablo]

I've found the clip on the Hewes 120 reel to be vastly superior to the one on those no-name reels. I've used the Hewes clip without problems. I never used the clip on my old reels and would have films creep out from time to time.

My thoughts exactly. I have some other SS reels (35mm and 120) with which the clip is almost useless.

 

[yossarian123]

I still had problems with the Hewes clips even after practicing for a good 30-40 minutes (admittedly while watching the nba playoffs so I was a bit distracted). I must have clumsy fingers. I wonder if I can bypass the clip and use the film tape to grip it to the reel. It would only need to hold for 10 minutes or so.

 

[pschauss]

NIkor 120 reels have a 3/16" wide strip of metal instead of a piece of spring wire for a clip. I find it much easier to get the film centered with that design.

 

[yossarian123]

I guess I'll keep practicing.

 

[Rob-F]

I have found that the clips on reels I have tried so far have caused a problem with centering, just as described above. Now, I use a reel that has no clip. instead, the wire used to form the coils is thicker. I believe this helps with loading.

And yes, I have tried taping the film to one of the crossbars. I have used the green high-adhesion masking tape with no problems. I center first and tape last.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Hewes reel, just to see if it is any better. Is it any easier to center the film with the Hewes clip?

 

[JChrome]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Hewes reel, just to see if it is any better. Is it any easier to center the film with the Hewes clip?

My technique, if I can adequately describe it, is to first make sure the reel is point in the right direction (I'm not loading it "backwards"). Then I take the leader and insert it into the clip. Now, when this happens, you have to do it at somewhat of an angle, so the film isn't centered on the reel. I then feel around on the edges of the reel to tell if it's not centered and if it's too bad, I'll just take it off and start again. But if it's close enough, I'll gently tug on the film (pulling outward) in the direction to make it centered. I find this does the trick and then the film generally centers itself.

I've never not* used the clip, but it sounds interesting to try.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Truth be told I haven't found Hewes 120 reels to be any better for loading the film straight, than any of the no-name reels I had before (the 35mm reels are a completely different case). They are sturdy and well-made, though, so worth a look if you can find 'em for a reasonable price.

 

[yossarian123]

Truth be told I haven't found Hewes 120 reels to be any better for loading the film straight, than any of the no-name reels I had before (the 35mm reels are a completely different case). They are sturdy and well-made, though, so worth a look if you can find 'em for a reasonable price.

After posting this thread I continued practicing and practicing. It's pretty straightforward now, but as you say it's not any easier than the reels I was using before.

 

[bdeyes]

I'm so glad to see this post. Now I won't feel quite so clumsy when it takes me 2 or 3 times to load my 120 Hewes reels. I load the film using my right thumb/middle finger grasping the leading edge of the film, my index finger on top of the slightly bowed film, guiding it toward the clip. Often find after a few winds that the film is skewed, then have to start all over. Have ~40 120 rolls under my belt...guess I'm still learning.

 

[Rob-F]

The main thing for me is to avoid handling the film with too much force, causing it to crinkle, which causes crescent shaped marks to appear in the developed image. I get them at the beginning, when I'm having a wrestling match to get it started right.

It helps to start with the more tightly curled end first, since the reel windings have a tighter radius at the beginning. Sometimes the film is tighter at the leader end, and sometimes at the tail.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I've had 120 film crawl outward on the reel when not using the clip on a Hewes reel. So when I open the tank after fixing, there would be a layer or two off of the reel to the outside of the tank. A few times there were two layers on top of each other, but the film didn't show obvious signs of not getting developed.

After this happened a few times I learned to use the clip. If you get the motion and hand right, it's not difficult; If you get it wrong, it's amazingly frustrating. I wish I could describe my motions, but I don't have the writing skills. Just go slow, handle only the end of the film and let other parts of the hand keep track of the rest of the film roll.

 

[Moto-Uno]

Or, just ignore the dam'ed clip, as I have pretty well every time, and never had a problem. The clip is EVIL. Peter

 

[john_s]

My guess is that the clip would be useful if doing rotation development. I do gentle inversion, and not a lot of them, and find that I don't need to use the clip.

 

[newsgrunt]

If the clip is the same as the 120 reels for Jobo cores, then it should be simple and centring film shouldn't be a problem. Bow the film, use those same fingers as guides on the reel and bob's your uncle 😉