the longest time you've spent loading a tank

[rolleistef]

Just spent 50 minutes loading a f****g HP5 rollfilm in a tank. "process promptly" : I will next time! Not wait for one year and 2 months for the film to be finished!

And now, the useless poll...

 

[Rob-F]

Normally not a problem, unless the film has a reverse curl, or is very thin. I generally have more trouble with 120 than 135. I use the stainless steel Nikor reels and tanks. The 120 film wants to crinkle, leaving little half-moon marks. I have to handle it very delicately to avoid this. Centering the film on the reel is very important with 120. Try to use the little clip on the reel to fasten the film to the reel makes it harder to center the film precisely. So I "skip the clip" and secure the film with masking tape after I get it started on the reel.

There have been times when I've had to set everything down to take a break, take a deep breath, and calm myself before resuming. But I never give up!

 

[DNG]

Nearly an hour.... before I figured out I could "Pre-Load" a Patterson reel in daylight, :bang:
and load the rest in a changing bag... 😀
Well, then, I had full dedicated darkroom my dad added on in the garage.

 

[RayPA]

50 minutes for one roll?! What the hell were you doing in there? 🙂 I voted 10 mins. I normally can load a roll on a reel in less than a minute, but I try to not to rush. I spend a little more time checking the wind and tapping the reels (ss). I think there's a point where if you get stuck winding a roll in a changing bag, it's best to pull out, and 50 minutes is well past that point. Things can get awfully sweaty in there, which only makes it harder to fix problems. It's very easy to to pull your arms out of a changing bag without fogging the film.


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[damien.murphy]

Spent the most frustrating 20-odd minutes trying to load a roll of HP5+ in 120. I've had several other problematic loads where a roll has taken up to about 10 minutes to get on the reel. Here's what I've found with regard to my own reel loading successes and failures;

- Peterson/ plastic reels with small guards are an almighty pain to load anything more than 35mm. Even with 35mm, loading is better with reels with bigger guards. I use AP Compact reels, and will never buy another Paterson reel.

- Wet reels. Any plastic reels that have not been absolutely bone dry will cause you to pull out your hair. I usually put more reels than I need in the changing bag, in case I have problems loading one.

Lastly, the longer your hands are in a changing bag, the easier it is for your hands to sweat, which makes loading your reel exponentially more difficult. I've been advised to wear latex gloves to prevent this, or else to invest in cotton changing bag, which breathes more easily, and prevents it from getting too hot in there while loading your film.

I've also done my film loading in a darkroom, and found this is great if you have a dark space, as it allows you to put everything down and take a few deep breaths, should the going get tough.

 

[vdonovan]

Loading 220, which is bad enough, on to a bent 220 reel, which it turned out I was holding backward for the first 20 minutes.

 

[pevelg]

10 minutes for me. I was loading five 120 rolls, had five reels with me and a massive tank. One roll would absolutely not wind correctly. Ended up putting it to the side and doing the other ones, which were perfect. Went back to the difficult roll and still couldn't do it. Gave up, put everything into the tanks except the extra reel. Turns out the reels SS was bent and was causing the film to miss wind. Got a new reel and instantly mounted the film. However, some how in the process I managed to EXTREMELY fog the film, with zero usable shots.

 

[DNG]

50 minutes for one roll?! What the hell were you doing in there? 🙂 I voted 10 mins. I normally can load a roll on a reel in less than a minute, but I try to not to rush. I spend a little more time checking the wind and tapping the reels (ss). I think there's a point where if you get stuck winding a roll in a changing bag, it's best to pull out, and 50 minutes is well past that point. Things can get awfully sweaty in there, which only makes it harder to fix problems. It's very easy to to pull your arms out of a changing bag without fogging the film.
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I think you misunderstood my reply....
At first (I was 15, now I'm 56), I had full darkroom, and I would pop the end off with a church key and attempt to load the film in total darkness...I had no choice but to load it at this point. I don't have good dexterity. So it took awhile.

When I figured out I could "Pre-Load" about 7 inches in daylight (On rewinding, I left some leader out), And THEN turn the lights off... it took 3 minutes flat! every time.

Yes, that's right, I kept the film in the closed canister, and pull some out -- in the dark/changing bag -- about a foot at a time until the film end, tare the end off, and close the tank.

Now, I have a kitchen darkroom, and I use the same technique with a changing bag. Still under 4 minutes.,

 

[RayPA]

I think you misunderstood my reply....
At first (I was 15, now I'm 56), I had full darkroom, and I would pop the end off with a church key and attempt to load the film in total darkness...I had no choice but to load it at this point. I don't have good dexterity. So it took awhile.

When I figured out I could "Pre-Load" about 7 inches in daylight (On rewinding, I left some leader out), And THEN turn the lights off... it took 3 minutes flat! every time. Yes, that's right, I kept the film in the closed canister, and pull some out -- in the dark/changing bag -- about a foot at a time until the film end, tare the end off, and close the tank.

Now, I have a kitchen darkroom, and I use the same technique with a changing bag. Still under 4 minutes.,

Actually, I was replying to the OP. Not you. 🙂 I understood your post, and your pre-load idea is a good one.



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[robklurfield]

I'll admit that more than once I took so long to load one or two reels that the elastic on the "arms" of my changing bag got so tight that my hands started to get numb. Adox CMS 20 has been the most bedeviling for me. I'll save the near-miss story about having some pointy scissors in the changing bag for another thread. Suffice to say that CMS 20 is not susceptible to tearing and must be cut. Time to buy some kiddie-safe scissors with rounded tips.

 

[Ezzie]

20 minutes for a 120 TMAX100 roll on a Paterson plastic reel. The last but one batch were OK, but this last batch has been a pain. I usually load straight from the take up spool, but the film is so curled it won´t load, no way. I now unroll the whole film, remove the backing and load it the other way round. The taped leading edge is much stiffer and easier to load. Since then, no mishaps.

 

[chrismoret]

Most of the time loading 35mm film is not a problem. Had my fair share of hick-ups. But last weekend I had new 'mishap'.
One Tri-X cassette didn't unwind that smoothly. At a point it felt, all is in a changing bag, the end was reached, so the film was cut.
To my horror I had to learn after processing the missing of 4 exposures. 😱
Next time I'll just mutter through until I feel the sticker on the end. There is always a mistake around the corner you could not foresee.

 

[Mablo]

Sometimes I have a problem loading the film. Usually that happens when I use a thin based film and the weather is hot and sweaty. My first trick is to try to load the film from the end. That usually works all right. My last trick is to carry the whole dark bag into the loo and ask my wife to fill a bucket with water. I'll put the stubborn film in the water bucket in the dark and reel it submerged. Works every time.

 

[ElectroWNED]

only time I had trouble was when I went into the dark-room to "show" this girl how to load her roll... ended up not being able to even get the thing on the roll and had to put it in the tank and try it again later (by myself).

performance anxiety!

 

[Tom A]

The longest time was with a roll of Kodak bl/w from 1931! It did not want to straighten out after having spent almost 80 years rolled up. In the end I loaded half on to the one reel - cut the film in half and loaded the other half on a second reel. This was accompanied by words not suitable for small children or mixed company. Did shoot it @ 0.5 iso/asa - developed in Rodinal 1:10 for 10 min. Did work too - though some emulsion was starting to chip off and contrast was a bit low. Exposure a blistering 1/4 sec at f1.4 midday in blazing sun! My scanner also had some words about trying to feed it through - it has the springiness of a large grand father clock mechanism!

 

[dfatty]

S I'll put the stubborn film in the water bucket in the dark and reel it submerged. Works every time.

That's interesting, never heard that one.

Probably about 15 minutes (including 10 minutes of strong cursing) for me with a stubborn roll of 120 Portra160 onto a Jobo plastic reel. I stopped part way into it and turned on the fan to blow on me and the changing bag, which helped at least mentally. After that experience I've started loading the film from the other end of the roll, which has tape and is stiffer as has been pointed out. Another tip that seems to help is to lightly pull apart the two sides of the reel as you're loading the film.

 

[user237428934]

Thanks for this thread. I thought I am the only one with some problems. The Zeiss Ikon takes up the film against the natural curl of the film. I always needed 20-30 minutes and 2 or 3 attempts to load the film. Solved it by letting the film now rest in its canister for two days before I load the film on a spool. Now it takes about 5-10 minutes.

 

[mathomas]

I've never spent longer than 30 minutes. That's because, on the one real problem roll I had (Efke 135), I had so many false starts on my plastic reel that after 30 minutes the film started sticking together, causing me to go totally bat**** insane, ripping my arms out of the changing bag and tearing the contents out of the bag and throwing the film on the floor several times, all the while cursing like mad.

I have since stopped using the changing bag because:
a) it somehow got a hole in it :angel:
b) I just use my dark(bath)room, which has been a pleasure

I actually had a tough time with a reverse curl on a roll of Plus-X pretty recently. It had sat in the camera on the take-up spool for too long. After a few attempts to get it on the reel, I realized it was impossible at that point, and just put it back into the canister and left it there a couple of weeks. Went on like butter on the next attempt.

 

[xwhatsit]

Probably 30 minutes plus, with Efke KB25 onto plastic reels. A nightmare! The thick soft emulsion (or strange thin clear base?) seems to go gooey at the slightest hint of moisture and then it sticks to the reels and will not move.

So I got a stainless tank and two reels and haven't had a problem. Much easier and faster even with an easy-loading film like Tri-X! I still use the Paterson tank for 120, I haven't got a 120 stainless steel reel yet. I haven't had any problems with the Shanhai GP3 yet, fingers crossed!

 

[benlees]

After cursing every damn thing a million times (a long time) while I was practicing loading 120 onto a Paterson reel for the first time, I have not spent more than 5 minutes loading a roll since that particular afternoon. 35mm has never taken longer than 2 minutes. After 120, 35mm is like a holiday!