m film spools

I just rip off a bunch of more or less 4" (10cm) pieces of masking tape, stick 'em lightly on the front edge of my work bench, and tape the film end to the spool. Forget trying to trim the spool end with the ABLON. In the dark you'll slice your fingers. I don't even bother using scissors. Hold the bulk roll in one hand, the film end in the other. stretch out my arms, and tear the film against my thumbnail. This will work with most films except for somehigh speed recording and scientific films, which are on a polyester (Estar Kodak calls it) base. While you're winding the film on a spool stand the bulk roll on edge in the can so it's easy to grab and will neither unwind nor roll off the table.
 
The angle on the ABLON is a deep point. About 1-1,5 inches long and equal on both side. You simply stick this through the slot and check that it catches (pull back). What is critical is that you get the film straight between the flanges of the spool. If not, it will not pull out evenly and it can make it difficult to wind on. With some film stocks, it just rips!
When you unload the film for developing, just tear it off at the spool and load. Pull the little tongue that protrudes from the spool out, Occasionally it can get stuck inside the spool but it can be "poked" at with a small screwdriver or knife blade. The polyester based films do not tear off! Use a pair of small scissors to cut it off as close as possible to the center of the spool and then pull the cut-off " tongue" through.
Hmm I just loaded 400 ft of XX tonight - 50 IXMOO cassettes and 20 "regular". Took about as long as the Oscar's presentation! I will do another batch tomorrow, 40 Nikon re-loadables and maybe another 30 IXMOO's. Should last a while (5-6 weeks). Ouch, I forgot, there is also 100 ft of Tri X and 100 ft of Arista Premium 400 to do.
 
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The latest ABLON to end on the auction site went for $97.18. I think that's more than 4x more than what I'm willing to pay for a template!
 
It shouldn't be hard to make a functional duplicate of the ablon. You could probably do it out of the right sized hinge, trimming the end to the angle of the ablon end which is somewhere near 90 degrees. Joe
 
The ABLON is actually smart - but you can make your own quite easy. The key is the "pointed end" and a couple of register pins that holds the film in such a manner that when you trim it - you dont trim through a sprocket hole. This usually leads to film jamming on the pressure plate edge or in the rewind sequence. Also consider the fact that this is usually done in total darkness, with sharp scissors or a scalpel type knife. I dont bother with a cover - just the base of the template and then hold it down with a finger and trim.
 
I've loaded Ixmoo cassettes with Ablon cut ends while wearing night vision goggles (bought for large format darkroom work) which make rolling cassettes a breeze. Used the Leica cutting blade to do the deed and it works fine although the price of these are as high as the Ablons. I was lucky I found one relatively cheap on the auction site.

For regular cassettes I just tape the end and sacrifice the last frame to the lightbulb.
 
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