How to check if hewes reel is actually bent?

[GarageBoy]

So I noticed two films in a row kept kinking in the corners, so I went ahead to check the reels. One quadrant of one of my hewes reels is half a wire diameter off (gap too small). I tried bending it back and it looks better, but is there a way of checking, without wasting a roll of film?

 

[Gerald C Koch]

The one problem with SS reels is that once they get bent they will never work right again.

 

[Vaughn]

I make enough errors to have various types of bad film laying around -- so I would use such a roll to test the reel in the light. Nice to have when getting a new reel, also. Even bought new, I would prefer to run a test roll on a reel before using my exposed film.

 

[bdial]

Use an exposed roll, if you have one that isn't cut. Just be careful with it if it has pic you care about.
Or else, process a roll using your known good reel then test the bent one.

However, as Gerald says, re-bending a bent one to improve it is difficult. The nature of steel is to harden in response to bending, so straightening a bend requires more force than the original bend did.

 

[GarageBoy]

Hmm, it's only about half a mm different
Could it be a loading error instead? Managed to snag two rolls on one of the stiffeners. I got my exposed film on it fine.

 

[Jeff Bradford]

One of my Hewes reels is slightly bent. It is enough to be noticeable to the eye, but it has had no effect on loading film.

 

[darkroommike]

The one problem with SS reels is that once they get bent they will never work right again.

I have managed to straighten wire reels but that's just the cheap ones, not sure I'm strong enough to bend back a Hewes reel.

 

[albada]

I've straightened a couple of cheap reels. Measure the inside-distance of the reel with a caliper at several locations around the circumference. A bent reel will be too small on one side and perhaps slightly larger on the opposite side. Measure a location 90 degrees away from the bent point, and lock the caliper. Then measure-and-bend repeatedly until the entire circumference is about the correct distance. Then try loading a scrap roll and see how it goes.

Mark Overton