Paterson reel hard to move and jams

I am using them for long time, not much of a problems. I think Paterson is much better made then A&P (A&P might be handier for some stubborn 120 films). There are no ball bearings just two tiny balls in the function of pusher. If they rusty or sticky, as Andy said, remove it, you don't need it. But with long (36 frames) films the true problem is a slipperiness of the reels nylon. If you rinse the film in the same reel (and I think most of us do) there is no question of chemicals deposit other then soft bath. But it might be also hard water deposit and that is different in every location. If after addressing all that problems you reels are still hard to work with, there is an old trick to make them more slippery, run a soft pencil (B4-B6) along the spirals and push it. When you done and the spirals are nice and black rinse it energetically so loose stuff will go away, dry it and now you have lubricated reel.
 
One other thing, before heading into the dark, jostle the ball bearings with your finger to make sure they are free. Just a double check, but not a hard or time consuming act.
 
One thing that can bind a plastic reel is sharp corners on the film. They can dig in to the braces on the edges of the plastic grooves. The balls then have to move a bit to release on the film that is jammed tight and they squeak. I clip the corners, especially on 35mm. 120 seems a little more forgiving. Always tap your reels before loading to be sure the balls are loose.
 
Here is what I've noticed and it happened to me the other day...
I pulled the roll out of my Nikon F to develop and in this camera I get a tight upward curl (at the very beginning) due to how it winds on..the Paterson reels do not like upwards curl on the lead edge...they do not feed smoothly...I had to try three or four times with the roll to get it to load...
 
I had the sharp corners problem a few times as well, quite annoying as it can ruin a frame if the reel jams.

I round of the corners of the leading edge that goes into the reel, also load slowly rather than fast and never had problems since. I use a hairdryer if the reel isn't completely dry and need to reuse it immediately.
 
Never bring the plastic reels in any case in contact with wetting agents. They build up a gum-like film on plastic surfaces quickly, which can cause jam while trying to load the film. JOBO had issued a warning about this but I don't know if the PDF is still available on their web-site.

So if you are using plastic reels and wetting agent, fill the wetting agent in a different container and drop the film from the reels into the wetting solution.
 
maddoc said:
Never bring the plastic reels in any case in contact with wetting agents. They build up a gum-like film on plastic surfaces quickly, which can cause jam while trying to load the film. JOBO had issued a warning about this but I don't know if the PDF is still available on their web-site.

So if you are using plastic reels and wetting agent, fill the wetting agent in a different container and drop the film from the reels into the wetting solution.
Click to expand...

Good suggestion. Thanks, Gabor!
 
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