Bulk loading 122m/400ft roll help

[Guy Pinhas]

Hello all.

I have been bulk loading for a few years and have no problem doing the usual 30.5m/100ft roll with my bulk loader.

But: I recently bought 122m/400ft roll as I could get it for a good price and I wasn’t really thinking of how to bulk load that monster. I kept the cores of my other bulk loading rolls so that’s a start. I am just not sure how proceed further. Doing that in a change bag doesn’t sound that feasible as it will take quite some time. Go into a dark room and take the film out of the can and meter it and split it in four equal smaller reels?

Any advice you bulk loading people out there could give would be very much appreciated!

Guy.

 

[PRJ]

Best thing to do is pick up some old movie film winders, especially since you hopefully saved the old reels and tins from other bulk rolls. If you wind it onto your smaller reels by hand it will take you forever. Trust me. I have two winders attached to a 1x2 (small board) and clamp that to a counter in the darkroom when I want to do the respooling. You might need a spacer to put in the 400' reel to make it a smoother operation.

 

[Guy Pinhas]

Best thing to do is pick up some old movie film winders, especially since you hopefully saved the old reels and tins from other bulk rolls. If you wind it onto your smaller reels by hand it will take you forever. Trust me. I have two winders attached to a 1x2 (small board) and clamp that to a counter in the darkroom when I want to do the respooling. You might need a spacer to put in the 400' reel to make it a smoother operation.

Thanks for the reply PRJ. Sounds like this is not going to be simple. I saved the cores, the plastic reel that the film is wound around but not the tins. I am not worried about the tins as I'll put those 30.5m/100ft rolls in several light tight thick black plastic bags and tape them nice and tight.
That said, I think I need to reach out to some movie industry folks and see if they can help. I "know" a few guys that still use projectors etc. I guess the darkness in which we need to operate is key.

 

[bob338]

Hey Guy. Where ya been?

I have done this with 400' rolls of Double XX many times. You can do it in a changing bag in a dark room, or in a darkroom with no lights on. I have always done it by hand, guessing at the length based on the size of the tin I put the film in.

If you can find an old 200' bulk loader, the job is so much easier, you just have to split the roll in half. 200' loaders are hard to find, but usually very cheap.



Bob

 

[bob338]

This.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alden-200-...083715?hash=item521c98a3c3:g:hu4AAOSw4OJc3xwi


You can order it sent to me and I'll forward it to you if they won't ship to A'dam.

 

[sepiareverb]

I use the movie film winder method above. Slow and steady.

 

[Guy Pinhas]

Hey Guy. Where ya been?

I have done this with 400' rolls of Double XX many times. You can do it in a changing bag in a dark room, or in a darkroom with no lights on. I have always done it by hand, guessing at the length based on the size of the tin I put the film in.

If you can find an old 200' bulk loader, the job is so much easier, you just have to split the roll in half. 200' loaders are hard to find, but usually very cheap.



Bob

Bob! Damn man it's been forever and a day! Thanks for the tip and will hit you up via PM!

 

[filmtwit]

Try getting ahold of 100' 35mm daylight reels.
They hold about 110' easily and will fit in most 35mm film dispenser.

 

[Nokton48]

I bought a 100' roll of current Tri-X and it came with the "100 foot daylight load Kodak" reel.

Like would go into a 100' 35mm Arriflex hollywood movie camera. Makes bulk loading 100 foot rolls from 400 foot slow, but very doable. Music helps 🙂

I have a formica table in my darkroom that I use for film loading of all types. All you need is a roll long enough to getstart. I do 100 feet or so at a time.

Go slowly and methodically.

 

[Guy Pinhas]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I think I am well on my way to a solution. Will show some results of bulk loading soon.

 

[doctorpepe]

A helpful tool for bulkloading 400' lengths

A helpful tool for bulkloading 400' lengths

I purchased a few 400' rolls of Kodak/Eastman Vision3 250D 35mm and was trying to figure out how to take 100-200' off the "master" roll and not have film all over the floor, full of fingerprints and/or dust. I thought that a standard CD or DVD was about the right diameter for a max 200' roll (for a Lloyd bulk loader) and an old 12" RCA video disc would be wide enough to accommodate the master 400' roll. I glued the disks (shiny side up) to a bamboo tray table (durable, water resistant and low dust generation) with an edge on it (i would be certain to have film or scissors fall off the edge otherwise) using some "Goop" glue, set the platters close enough that the film would slide directly from "platter to platter" with no gap, then screwed in two capstans to hold the film cores. Check the thickness of the RCA platter and your CD or DVD. I had to use 2 CDs so that the height matched that of the thicker RCA Video Disk. Once the glue is dry, the platter surfaces are very slick and scratch resistant. I have been trying to attach a photo of the finished product but I am having difficulty, even though it is a JPG and only 28K in size.

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=109262&stc=1&d=1583179398