Reel loading problems: Plastic

T

Thardy

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What would cause this?

I developed a roll of FP4 (24 exp) a couple of days ago. All went well after I got the film onto the reel with just a little difficulty.

Today I tried to load the same type of film, but 36 exp (found in a camera I have not used for a long time.)

I tried many , many times but it just would not wind on the reel. I could feel it being taken up but all of a sudden it would just pop off. Other times it seemed to actually unwind once it got so far. In the light (I kept the bulk in darkness) I could see the film winding on the reel, and the same thing would happen once I turned off the lights and got so far.

Finally I cut the film in half and put it on two reels (mostly by pushing the film) just to end my frustration. The films are washing now and I could see that at least a few frames made it.


Has anyone had this problem before? Are some plastic reels better than others. I was using a kit from Arista. Also the film was very tightly wound, does that contribute? Sometimes the film seemed to have a hard time passing over the the ball bearing area properly. Would using steel reels prevent this?

Any help would bear appreciated.
 
I'm no expert on these problems but I do know that the plastic reels have to be absolutely dry to work right, any moisture at all leads to sticking film and frustration. If the reels are dry and there's still a problem, sometimes you can gently grasp the sides of the reel and help advance the film past sticky points because the very edges of the film are accessible. Good luck, Bob.
 
Maybe your reel was not perfectly dry. Even some traces of humidity will impair the loading of a plastic reel.

Which Arista do you have? I never had a problem with the "Arista Premium Plastic Developing Reel" :

55043.jpg


Cheers!

Abbazz
 
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Yep, I've had that happen. For me, it seems especially bad when it's humid.

Every so often I take a piece of regular kitchen waxed paper and buff the reels with the waxy side. The idea is to leaves just a tiny residue of wax in the ridges, just enough help the film glide through without sticking. (I've also used plain paraffin instead of waxed paper, but you have to be careful that there are no slivers of wax left behind to get stuck on your film.)
 
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@ Abbazz: I think I have the premium film reels. I bought the kit.

I guess it could be moisture causing the problem. Maybe I'll blow dry the reels before use and use the wax technique too.

Well many shots came through, stuff I've shot before looks like. By no means works of art.

Crossing my fingers that there are no water spots or dust .

Thanks.
 
I have had this problem... with both plastic and steel reels... that is why I went to 24 exp rolls. Best reels I have ever used are the Jobo stainless reels... with their unique clippless design longer rolls tend to stay straight all the way... if you are interested in going to steel... they are much more reliable, elegant and work even wet. (and there is a bit of snob appeal as well... wink!).
 
mh2000 said:
I have had this problem... with both plastic and steel reels... that is why I went to 24 exp rolls. Best reels I have ever used are the Jobo stainless reels... with their unique clippless design longer rolls tend to stay straight all the way... if you are interested in going to steel... they are much more reliable, elegant and work even wet. (and there is a bit of snob appeal as well... wink!).
Click to expand...

Hi

Do you think a steel reel will fit in a plastic tank? If it doesn't I'll just have an excuse to go shopping!

Thomas
 
I use the Jobo reels which come with a film seperation clip installed. If this clip isn't removed, a roll of 36 exposures will not fit on the reel. I'm not sure about a roll of 24 exposures. You might want to check for a film seperation clip on your reel.
 
I've had this happen too. I don't know if wetness has been my problem as it is pretty dry in this part of CA. I like the wax paper idea, has anyone tried sprays: like a silcon spray or maybe PAM.
 
Probably nobody has tired sprays, maybe I'll give it a try and report back. I notch my film in a sometimes futile attempt to make it slide on the reel, even that hasn't worked sometimes. I also seem to have more trouble with 120 than 35mm.
 
charjohncarter said:
Probably nobody has tired sprays, maybe I'll give it a try and report back. I notch my film in a sometimes futile attempt to make it slide on the reel, even that hasn't worked sometimes. I also seem to have more trouble with 120 than 35mm.
Click to expand...

I'll try anything. I like the idea of shooting a roll and having negs processed the same day, but if this is going to be a recurring problem. :eek:

A little OT. I would really love to scan a whole roll of film rather than 4-6 frames at a time. Any suggestions.
 
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charjohncarter said:
Probably nobody has tired sprays, maybe I'll give it a try and report back. I notch my film in a sometimes futile attempt to make it slide on the reel, even that hasn't worked sometimes. I also seem to have more trouble with 120 than 35mm.
Click to expand...


The problem with using lubricants, particularly cooking oil, is that they are waterproof and they are DESIGNED to spread (in order to cover the bottom of a frying pan). I would expect to see undeveloped spots on the film.
 
Thardy said:
What would cause this?

I developed a roll of FP4 (24 exp) a couple of days ago. All went well after I got the film onto the reel with just a little difficulty.

Today I tried to load the same type of film, but 36 exp (found in a camera I have not used for a long time.)

I tried many , many times but it just would not wind on the reel. I could feel it being taken up but all of a sudden it would just pop off. Other times it seemed to actually unwind once it got so far. In the light (I kept the bulk in darkness) I could see the film winding on the reel, and the same thing would happen once I turned off the lights and got so far.

Finally I cut the film in half and put it on two reels (mostly by pushing the film) just to end my frustration. The films are washing now and I could see that at least a few frames made it.


Has anyone had this problem before? Are some plastic reels better than others. I was using a kit from Arista. Also the film was very tightly wound, does that contribute? Sometimes the film seemed to have a hard time passing over the the ball bearing area properly. Would using steel reels prevent this?

Any help would bear appreciated.
Click to expand...

Several possibilities, the two most common of which would be that it needs to be both dry AND absolutely clean. Try going over your reels with white vinegar and a toothbrush, paying close attention to the coils and to the ball bearings.

Here's another possibility: you have a burr somewhere in the coils. Take a 2 inch long segment of film and push it through the coils. Look for any places where it seems to get hung up and polish them smooth.

No, steel reels won't do that, but they have their own problems and it takes a while to learn to use them. If you ever drop one, it is ruined.
 
My hands sweat quickly and a changing bag is almost useless unless I get the 35mm on the reel right away. I have found 120 impossible in the bag. I also gave up early on steel and use the Paterson reels and tank, I think the Arista are similar if not the same.
 
Thardy said:
@ Abbazz: I think I have the premium film reels. I bought the kit.
Click to expand...

If your reels have the large tabs shown on the picture linked in my previous post, then it is the "Premium" type. I find it much easier to load than the ordinary type (the one that looks like the Patterson reels). I regularly load two 120 films taped end to end on one reel without any problem, while I never succeeded with the ordinary Patterson reels.

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
I use 50mm Pentax screwmount macro lens, I'm not sure which one. I had to give up on scanners. I get more tones, zones, gray scale, whatever with this device. I do have to do levels on almost every image, but not autolevels. But it is also fast: one minute for aroll of 24.

Here is one, recently done:

2720952400_ba6ae3b008.jpg
 
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Thardy said:
What would cause this?

I developed a roll of FP4 (24 exp) a couple of days ago. All went well after I got the film onto the reel with just a little difficulty.

Today I tried to load the same type of film, but 36 exp (found in a camera I have not used for a long time.)

I tried many , many times but it just would not wind on the reel. I could feel it being taken up but all of a sudden it would just pop off. Other times it seemed to actually unwind once it got so far. In the light (I kept the bulk in darkness) I could see the film winding on the reel, and the same thing would happen once I turned off the lights and got so far.

Finally I cut the film in half and put it on two reels (mostly by pushing the film) just to end my frustration. The films are washing now and I could see that at least a few frames made it.


Has anyone had this problem before? Are some plastic reels better than others. I was using a kit from Arista. Also the film was very tightly wound, does that contribute? Sometimes the film seemed to have a hard time passing over the the ball bearing area properly. Would using steel reels prevent this?

Any help would bear appreciated.
Click to expand...

This happened once to me: the film simply would not advance. I checked the reel and found that the day I used it last and dropped it, the casing that protected the ball-bearing broke and the little ball disappeared. If this is not your case, then it's humidity.

My hands sweat a little, so before doing anything in the black bag, I rub them against my hair. The little grease they get seems to block my pores long enough so my hands don't get too wet. But that's just barely enough to spool two rolls of film!

Take care!
 
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