[crabe919]

After a previous thread i've started about lens choises, i had to find myself a sigma super wide for my pentax KR (love the 35mm ff format).
I bought the lens with an pentax super a attached to it, so the next "problem" began!
I needed to test and see if the super a still worked, and bought a developper kit for a guy who stopped developping his own film. In the badge i've got 5 ilford delta 400 (36exp) films, a fresh bottle of hc-110, ilford rapid fixer, 3 paterson tanks with the plastic paterson reels...

Before trying my first load in the changing bag, i've trained a couple of times with an old roll of color film i had lying arround. So far so good..
When i'm trying the same trick in the changing bag, everything goes well, loading no prob, winding no prob till a certain point when the film becomes difficult to get on the reel. Every time this is about on the same spot, +_ 6 a 8 frames before the film is fully loaded.
I'm very gentle at this point but the film bulges and get cracked and pops out of the reel at the back where loading happens.

First time i've tried to open the reel and rewind the film (what a messy film i've developped then!) But now i take the scissors and cut when it happens. This means i lose a coupe of frames and need to load 2 reels in one tank to develop one film.

I prepare my work carefully, cut the leader of between the film holes and even cut the corners at 45° (did not cut the corners at 45° the first time).
The film reels are perfectly dry, ball bearings are loose, i have 6 almost new reels, with no dirt or chemicals onto them, and used a different reel every time.

Still keeps hapening!! Anybody an idea why this happens?

If i try with the color film (24 exp) i have no trouble at all

[blackcloudbrew]

Are you cutting the leader (the first 4-5 inches) off the film first? You need to do that, IMHO.

[Kerrowdown]

I think it one of those things that will get easier with practice over time, trust me, it does become almost second nature.

[crabe919]

i hope so, i don't understand why it always goes wrong when i'm almost there. It's like some kind of force that keeps it form winding on propperly if i'm past the 24 frames.

[stevebrot]

I think it one of those things that will get easier with practice over time, trust me, it does become almost second nature.

Yep...I can do it with my eyes closed...


Steve

[crabe919]

@blackcloudbrew,

On the first rol i just cut the small leader off, but for all other rolls i've cut off about 4".

adam

[wombat2go]

I have gray plastic reels from a kit made in Germany. Apart from my lack of dexterity I think one problem is that the spindle tolerances are loose on the right hand side spiral (looking along the wind direction).
When the reel is hand held the spirals don't stay parallel and jam the film, especially when nearly full. Now I use a jig (photo on another thread) that firmly holds the left spiral and the canister in line and I just rotate the loose right spiral very gently. My success rate is now 100% so far both on 35mm and 120. I also found that cut chamfers actually help the film to jump out if it bows, so I use straight cuts now.

[crabe919]

wombat2go

thanks for the tip!, would it be possible to post al link to the thread with the picture?
Would be a great help.

Adam

[wombat2go]

Hi Adam, here is a shot of the jig, a bit dark, but you will get the idea. Its just made of bits from the scrap bin.
I think the main issue is getting the fixed side of the spiral in line with the film, and you can see at rear the adjustable 120 reel spindles, along with a slotted film container for holding the 35 mm canister in position.

This morning I was rewinding a roll of Fuji 800 C41 in the Ricoh KR-5 and the film broke off the spool in the canister. That is the first time I recall that happening.
I took the camera into the darkoom and was able to get most of the film into the spiral using the jig and then into the tank.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/film-processing-scanning-dark...ion-dr_jig.jpg

[crabe919]

thanks!

i get the idea, to bad i just have a changing bag and no place for a dark room at the moment :-).
But i will give the twisting of the reel more thought next time when i'm trying to get it on in one piece.

adam

[Not a Number]

Are you loading with the curl of the film (emulsion side in) or against the curl? It is usually easier to go with the curl but sometimes it is easier to go against it.

One of the plastic tanks I had used an adjustable size reel for different film formats. It had ratchets to hold the film and you loaded it by twisting the sides of the reel back and forth. Other plastic reels I had also twisted slightly like that and if the film jammed while loading it was a simple matter of twisting the sides slightly. The shaft of the reel was the axis of rotation.

I find steel reels easier to load.

[crabe919]

loading emulsion side in, straight form the rol.
My paterson's plastic reels are adjustable for different sizes of film, smallest is 35mm. It is indeed a "twist and load" reel.

[crabe919]

Processed a new film today, first time tri-x 400.
I've "pulled" both halves of the reel outwards while winding the film, i did not succeed totally, but ended on the last frame before the film "popped" out of the reel.
So the last frame is damaged, but all the other are ok.

I still keep finding it strange that the film gets hard to wind up when the end comes near.

Thanks for all the tips.

Adam

[Kerrowdown]

Least it sounds like your nearly there now, keeping taking the tablets, or even better, a large drink.

[crabe919]

Maybe the last one will do! :-)