Bulk rolls with no center core?

I just when to load a 100ft bulk roll of film into my watson loader only to find that the film is not wound on to a central core. The last roll I loaded did have one and that slid snuggly on the spindle of the loader. What should I do with this new roll. Can I just place it loosly on the loaders spindle or do i need to find a core to wind it all onto?

Any ideas people?

You will screw up the film putting it on a core. Use as is. I would tape the inside trailer down if it is not already.

Now do a 12 exp test roll.

If you had a bench winder, you could transfer it safely, but then if you had that, you would not need the watson.

If you had a lathe, make a center core that just slides in. Maybe try the old center core?

Kodak still uses centers. Chinese ?

Kodak makes film in bulk that has no core or has a core. You might want to look on the can label. It may give you more information.

PE

Gritycityflicks said:

I just when to load a 100ft bulk roll of film into my watson loader only to find that the film is not wound on to a central core. The last roll I loaded did have one and that slid snuggly on the spindle of the loader. What should I do with this new roll. Can I just place it loosly on the loaders spindle or do i need to find a core to wind it all onto?

Any ideas people?

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Yes you can, and there will be no problem. Done it more than a few times myself with Watson, Alden, and Lloyd's loaders.

Its a roll of Ilford P4. I had another roll a while back and that had a core. This batch or rolls do not though for some reason. Cheers for the replys. I will just put it in the loader as is and give it a wiz

I would tape the inside trailer down if it is not already

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It is not taped down but the hole in the center is smaller than my little finger. I dont see how I would go about taping it down? I have plonked the roll in the loader to see if it works anyway. The roll seems to be hend together by its own tention but im guessing that as I reach the end it will become loose and possibly problimatic

Some bulk does not come on a core, some comes on a 1 inch core with a square hole. some comes on a 2or 3 inch core with a One inch hole, (for those I used a saved 1 inch core as a handy adaptor so they don't flop around) some come on a so called "Daylight spool" which can't be used in daylight if you are a still photographer.

Take this with a grain of salt. Your application is different from my usual situation but we might be able to figure something out.

Can you pack something in the center of the roll? Like a piece of foam rubber or similar?

In my work in the projection booth I sometimes come across film that's not on cores. I've got several tricks to handle the situation.
There are special reels with retractable hubs and reels that split apart. You can wind film on them and take the reel apart to remove the film without unwinding it.

I also have a 3" plastic film core that I have sawed in half with a band saw. Because of the material missing from the kerf where the blade went through, when you put the halves together they are just a bit smaller than they originally were. I can carefully slip those pieces into the center of a roll of film then put two wooden wedges into the slot to expand the core so it will hold tight.

Other times I just take clean paper and crumble it up and stuff it into the center of the roll. I can also do that with a piece of foam rubber which I keep on hand just for the purpose.

What if you took a piece of heavy photo paper and cut it into a strip 35mm wide then rolled it around a pencil until it was just a hair bit smaller than the diameter of the hole. Tape the end down to keep it from unraveling. Carefully slide it into the center of the coreless roll of film. It doesn't have to fit perfectly. It just has to keep the film from rattling around and getting scratched and dirty or getting cinch marks.

Now, I know your application is different than in the cinema. This has to be done in the dark and the film has to stay dust and scratch free whereas I can work in the light and, although cleanliness is important, the occasional minor imperfection will go unnoticed.

Good ideas Worker. The film seems to be loading fine without a core, but yes it dose rattle about a bit and I was thinking that the film will become scratched. I think I will try and bosh up some kind of home made core to stuff in the center. Il see what happens