I am about to chuck this !@#$ing tank.

Well, I never had any problems getting HIE and IR820c onto my A&P plastic reels...

Roman (steel camera & plastic reel user... ;))
 
Stepjanie:

Freestyle still sells a tank which uses the old style plastic apron (and extra aprons). It's a plastic strip with curly edges used to interleave the film and allow developer circulation. It's an Arista, and the basic design was old when I started developing back in the 1960's. It still works and is almost completlely fool proof albeit somewhat messier than stainless steel.

-Paul
 
Hrm. It looks to me like I'm going to have the water spot on film problem...is there a good way to get rid of those after you've dried the film? Can you use the no-spot chemicals after it's already been dried?
 
taffer said:
Steph, the 'beer glass bottle' opener (sorry, I don't know of a better name for it...) works pretty well (
Click to expand...

They're commonly called a "church key" and the rounded end works very well if the cassette isn't the "snap cap" type.

My local photo shop sells (or used to sell) "Lucky" film from China and they used cassettes that can be reloaded as the caps are not crimped in place. The other cassettes can also be used if the processor left a tongue of film sticking out of the felt lips to which the bulk film can be taped and then wound onto the spool.

Walker
 
Hi Steph. Congratulations on developing your own film! As for water spots, try using a few drops of PhotoFlow or a drop of ordinary dishwashing detergent (just one drop) in the final wash water. This decreases the surface tension of the water and allows it to slide off the film. If you still have water spots, which are dried mineral deposits from the wash water, you may have to use distilled water as your last wash. Good luck!
 
Steph,

To help remove water from your film:

Look for a cheap plastic "salad spinner". It is used for spinning lettuce to remove the water. After your final rinse in photoflow or dish soap take your roll of film still on the plastic spol and place it in the spinner and whirl away for a minute. Centrifugal force flings the water off of your film. :)

Wayne
 
Stephanie Brim said:
Hrm. It looks to me like I'm going to have the water spot on film problem...is there a good way to get rid of those after you've dried the film? Can you use the no-spot chemicals after it's already been dried?
Click to expand...

If they are 'real' water stops (drop-shaped whitish marks, from calcium in your water), they cannot be removed with water or photo-flo - you'll have to use something acidic - like the stop-bath you used for your film developing, or a solution of acetic acid (which you can also use as a one-shot replacement for stop bath - use a 2% solution); simply let the film sit for a few minutes in that stuff, and it will dissolve the calcium crystal deposits on your film; the wash the film like you would have done after fixing, use demineralized water for the final bath (you may add a drop or two of photo-flo or similar wetting agents - but don't overdo it or you'll get stains from the wetting agent - one to two drops per liter of water is literally enough!).

A trick that is very popular in Germany and Central Europe among amateur B&W photographers: use a salad spinner to spin off most of the remaining demineralized water - 1 min. of spinning, and almost all the water will be gone, so there's no chance of drying marks...

Roman
 
Argh! I just did that a few weeks ago. First time using FX-39. I was a little excited. Out came an empty roll :bang: . Then realization dawned. I knew there was an empty roll (mid-roll rewind/switch thing) lying around somewhere mixed up with exposed ones.

Still to do my second (first real) roll with FX-39. But it will happen soon.

Stephanie Brim said:
There's good news and bad news.

I had three rolls of T-Max, one of which I knew was blank. Guess which one I picked to develop this time?

The roll developed nicely, though, so now all I have to do is actually develop the right one this time. I think I'll do a roll of HP5 now.
Click to expand...
 
I got them back from the lab I had them scanned at and they're NICE. They developed perfectly. I even had a mishap; I developed a roll of color film in the chemicals and even those came out nice. Hopefully I'll be able to put some up tonight. :D
 
Roman said:
Well, I never had any problems getting HIE and IR820c onto my A&P plastic reels...

Roman (steel camera & plastic reel user... ;))
Click to expand...

Roman,
What's the trick with A&P reels? I bought a good quality plastic Jobo tank and reel, but when I feed a thick film onto the reel, it binds about halfway through.
 
I don't know what the 'trick' is - they just work for me; what I like about them are those broad 'lips' at the place where the film enters the reel, makes loading 120 film so much easier.
Unless I was not careful with getting the reels & my hands really try, I never have problems with binding films.

Roman
 
I'm about to chuck these steel reels through the window. I got it on once. Every other time it's been this horribly mangled gob of film on the reel. Why did I listen to you people?
 
XAos said:
I'm about to chuck these steel reels through the window. I got it on once. Every other time it's been this horribly mangled gob of film on the reel. Why did I listen to you people?
Click to expand...
Again, after you get the film started, try not squeezing the film as you roll it on the reel. Just hold the film loosely by the edges and guide it.
 
1st try to rewind the film and leave the leader out (if you do it manually)
Or get a leader retreiver, those are prety inexpensive and work fine.

I used to pry the cartridges open by ripping the cartreidge open pulling the felt-side of it.... it's a lot easier than you'd expect!

Stephanie Brim said:
I'm not using bulk rolled film unfortunately...I'm going to try soon since a guy can get me bulk rolls of Tri-X, T-Max and Pan-F, but I'm really wondering the best way to open the cartridges that are store bought. I've heard using a can opener works, but I don't know if I want to do it that way as I don't want to damage the film.
Click to expand...
 
XAos said:
I'm about to chuck these steel reels through the window. I got it on once. Every other time it's been this horribly mangled gob of film on the reel. Why did I listen to you people?
Click to expand...


First, what brand are the reels?

Second, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE... and it WILL become as easy as everyone told you it would. You ARE practicing with blank film, are you not?

Third, do you have anyone nearby that can demonstrate loading for you? My neighbor, George, called me one evening after he started developing his own B&W and I saw he was trying to spool the reels BACKWARD. I didn't think anything so simple could be so confusing but I guess if a mistake CAN be made it eventually WILL be made.

Persevere and it will all come together for you.

Tom
 
Nikkor, or at least the tank is and the reels were billed as such. I caught myself doing it backwards once - it's a lot sublter than plastic reels as to which way it winds.
 
XAos said:
Nikkor, or at least the tank is and the reels were billed as such. I caught myself doing it backwards once - it's a lot sublter than plastic reels as to which way it winds.
Click to expand...


Well, it is not unheard of to have a Nikkor tank and off-brand reels. Especially if you bought them on eBay or someplace similar.

Check the reels and make sure they are not twisted or bent.

If the reels are in good shape, even generic reels, than practice will make things easy in time.

Tom
 
XAos,
do yourself a favor and get a nice cheap A&P tank, despite the propaganda ;) here, there's nothing as easy to load (admittedly, I've never tried a steel reel - but then, I've never felt the need to try something new, which would take learning and practicing, when everything worked perfectly with what I had) - you just have to make sure that the reel is 100% dry before loading, and films will almost load themselves...
The only time I ever had problems was with my very first 120 film, where I spooled the backing paper instead of the film onto the reel... Now I find it even easier to load 120 than 35mm films.
BTW, make sure you get the A&P reels with the broad 'lips' at the entrance point, they are just so much easier to load in the dark than the regular Paterson reels (which are also included in some A&P tanks, a I found out when visitng a camera shop in Barcelona with Oscar).

Roman
 
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