So I have a crazy project underway that entails shooting long strips of film. I intend to buy some Hewes 35mm 75ft reels but I have no tank which will fit them. So I'm thinking about going to a hardware store and buying some wide diameter tubing and attempt to make one with tubes and connectors. The reels are 7" in diameter. My biggest question is: Should I be concerned about the material with which the tube is made? Regular PVC would work? Or should I strickly adhere to a stainless steel regimen? Anybody have any experience with this sort of project? Any ideas of heads up would be Welcome! And I'd be sure to share my good or ill fortune along the way! Thanks!
Use the ABS (black pipe) rather than PVC (white pipe). If you take a small flashlight, you can see how much light is able to leak through PVC. It's not a lot for thick-walled pipe, but it is significant. There's not a lot of price difference between ABS and PVC for these type of projects, so there's no reason to buy PVC and try lightproofing it in other ways. I've used ABS pipe for other photo projects (such as a spectrograph, where light leakage would compromise the integrity of spectra captured) and had success.
Make sure the material is light tight, I don't believe that standard white PVC is... I've used black ABS pipe to build developing tubes for sheet film. Good luck! And post some pictures, please.
If you're able to construct a useful daylight tank (light-lock for chemistry and all), do please show us how you did it!
Take a look at the homemade version of 4x5 tubes, it might give some inspiration: http://www.apug.org/forums/forum43/47756-btzs-tubes-diy-homemade-build-your-own.html That said, finding 7" interior diameter ABS pipe might be a challenge; anything that large will be for commercial/industrial use and probably sold in 20' lengths. And I think ABS pipe is slowly being phased out in favor of pvc. But you might be able to find scraps of pipe at a construction site. If not lightproof, you could try coating with multiple coats of paint or even wrap wide electrical tape around the pipe. I assume you can use the tank in very subdued light. Another thought would be the plastic containers for storing leftover food. You might be able to find opaque ones. Would likely require opening the top to change chemicals, so not truly "daylight" tanks.
I had to make this tank for my 70 mm reel which holds 15 feet which is still a lot. I just cut up a JOBO basically and stuck it in a pot lid. However 75 feet is a lot, are you able to Mayne skip frames and measure out 3 feet lengths to cut? Remember film sticks to itself and doesn't develop so you need a spiral to keep them separated or you'll have a lot if undeveloped spots. ~Stone Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk
The repurposed light lock is ingenious! I'm going to remember the inner-tube trick if I ever need to run a larger-diameter tank . . .
