[Brad_Olson]

I often splice my 35mm negatives and am thinking that there has to be a better way than holding the 2 pieces down with my finger as I apply the tape. I looked at eBay and the splicers are mostly for movie film; can one of them be used for still film? Or are there better options?

What I picture is a carrier that has 2 sides, sprocket hole pins to properly align/space the pieces being spliced, a center gap to make it easy to use tape, and a non-scratch bar that bridges the gap and holds the film flat without blocking access to the edges. Remember those 35mm flimstrip projectors from the '60s and '70s? IIRC the carrier that fit between the lens and the light had teeth to keep the filmstrip in place, and a couple of them could be used to rig something up.

[aoeu]

My best guess is that you are trying to mass scan old film. I have the same goal. What kind of scanner are you using?

[TaoMaas]

The tv station where I used to work had film splicers for 16mm film so I assume there are similar set ups for 35mm movie film. However, the 16mm splicers were considered old technology back in 1979 when I started in tv, so I would search "antiques" for such a splicer today, if I were you.

[boriscleto]

A 35mm movie splicer won't help you unless you find one for 35mm double frame. 35mm full frame in cinema terms is what still shooters call 35mm half frame...

[Not a Number]

A 35mm movie splicer won't help you unless you find one for 35mm double frame. 35mm full frame in cinema terms is what still shooters call 35mm half frame..

Huh? Why should it matter? You're cutting between the frames in either case.

The VistaVision wide-screen process turned the image on the negative to the same orientation as still cameras but the same splicers were used on the negatives. The image was again turned and usually optically "squeezed" anamorphically for the projection prints.

Widescreen Museum - The VistaVision Wing

John R. Bishop, head of Paramount's camera and film processing departments acquired a William Fox "Natural Color" camera built in the late 1920's by the William P. Stein company. This camera exposed two frames of film at the same time through color filters. Bishop cut out the separation between the two frames, rolled the camera over on its side and fitted it with Leica 35mm still camera lenses. This camera, dubbed the "Lazy-8" because it pulled the film across horizontally in 8 perforation frames, provided a total negative area 2.66 times greater than the conventional 35mm camera with a 1.66:1 aspect ratio.

You can see contact prints made from the VistaVision camera negative from Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" vs 65mm interpositive and 35mm print.
Widescreen Museum - The VistaVision Wing 5

This page shows the ubiquitous C.I.R. ("Ciro") film splicer in use. You can splice the film at any length you wish.
Riparazione e restauro pellicole : Telecinema