Issue with beseler drum and 4x5 film...scratches

[wildbill]

I've gotten hooked on rotary processing lately and I began with single sheets of 8x10, no problems there. I'm using a beseler base as well. When doing 2-4 sheets of 4x5 film, one sheet often slips out of it's spot and lands on another, scratching it to hell. It seems that there's too much space for the film and they get loose even if I gently pour out chemicals. Anyone got a solution for this? Besides jobo drums.
vinny

 

[Andrew Moxom]

uniroller drums Vinny. They seem to work very well for me. That said, how are the beseler drums configured? The unirollers have v grooves in the middle and angled tabs either side. I can place a clothes pin on the on central V groove to keep my film sheets seperated. Maybe the Besler cna be set up the same way?

 

[Konical]

Good Afternoon, Vinny,

Check E-Bay for an 8 x 10 Chromega drum. They don't leak, and they hold the individual sheets of film securely in place. Just make sure that the three ribs and a spacer are included with the drum.

Konical

 

[wildbill]

The beseler drums have a slot that runs most of the length with a hard rubber rod that slides in to divide the tank in half. The other "side" has a lip built in to catch the film or paper. The think the distance between the two may be too great since the film has room to bow out a bit instead of being tight against the outer drum surface. The sheets seem to be falling out of the space, not sliding down. I have a plastic divider installed to keep them from sliding.

 

[Erik L]

Wildbill, that divider that goes down the center is supposed to have little plastic clips with slots in them. They clip on the hard rubber rod. Do you have any of those laying around you forgot about?

 

[nworth]

As mentioned, the 8X10 unidrum has a plastic piece that fits over the top ridge to divide it in half for developing 4X5 film or prints. From the original post, I think the poster has that part. The problem is that individual film sheets can still move laterally and overlap. I understand that there were small clips that fit on the fins in the drum and contacted the drum surface which prevented this movement. They have usually been lost when a drum is sold second hand. I haven't figured out how to build a replacement, but polystyrene foam is a possibility. So far I have managed by just developing two sheets at a time instead of four.

 

[wildbill]

Wildbill, that divider that goes down the center is supposed to have little plastic clips with slots in them. They clip on the hard rubber rod. Do you have any of those laying around you forgot about?

Erik, mine didn't come with the little clips you speak of. I made one to separate the length of the tube to keep the sheets from overlapping but I guess the missing clips are the issue. Anyone got a pic of those, or extras lying around?

 

[walter23]

I've gotten hooked on rotary processing lately and I began with single sheets of 8x10, no problems there. I'm using a beseler base as well. When doing 2-4 sheets of 4x5 film, one sheet often slips out of it's spot and lands on another, scratching it to hell. It seems that there's too much space for the film and they get loose even if I gently pour out chemicals. Anyone got a solution for this? Besides jobo drums.
vinny

You can add a clip of some kind, or use the original rubber separator thingy if you have one. Here's a description of a home made clip solution:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/


I have the original rubber separator but it doesn't do a very good job, so I just do two sheets at a time. However - I did end up getting a JOBO recently, because I was sick of the bottleneck when doing lots of sheets at once... but I waited until I found a used one for a good price.

 

[wildbill]

Separating the sheets isn't the issue, there's too much play on the 4 inch edges of the film which lets them fall out.

 

[wildbill]

Well, I fixed it with little globs of hot glue in four places along the permanent rails in the tank. I've done three batches so far with good results and no more loose sheets.
thanks fellas.

 

[Erik L]

hot glue gun and duct tape - can't live without them