Loading film into stainless steel reels.

baachitraka · Oct 26, 2015

Ufff...I don't get it. Paterson is terrible for MF but loading into this like living on the shores of hell.

I have sacrified two rolls for practicing and never got it right. It overlaps.

I like this big kaiser tank for 2 rolls of 120 but loading into it is not easy for me. May be there are not designed to load in a changing bad.

It goes like,

- I clip the film first and try to get it straight.
- Gently turn the reel by slightly folding the film on both sides.

Kevin Caulfield · Oct 26, 2015

You need to try to clip and straighten in one motion. If it's close, you can fiddle it around a bit to make it just right. Even if it is not quite straight, you can still load a whole roll slightly wonky and it will be fine.

chriscrawfordphoto · Oct 26, 2015

[video]https://youtu.be/OzVU8XjcjvQ?list=PLsQTNpmJWGmQVQkSP8oYYgNDqLsxh_ix 9[/video]

Here's a video I made showing how to load 120 film on metal reels.

mfmike · Oct 26, 2015

You don't really need to clip - just get the beginning of the roll near the clip to make sure that there is room on the reel. You'll have to be a bit careful that the film doesn't move around the reel at first by restraining the edges. Another thing is to make sure that your reel has parallel spiral flanges. If the spirals aren't parallel, it makes the exercise much harder.
Cheers,
Mike

zanxion72 · Oct 26, 2015

Or you can use a loader like this:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/121797135719?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I have one, not like the one above, but it does makes it quick and easy. Also make sure that your reels are not deformed. If so it will be almost impossible to load film one them properly.

baachitraka · Oct 26, 2015

I think I got reels for 220.

I will practise again...

bsdunek · Oct 26, 2015

mfmike said:
You don't really need to clip - just get the beginning of the roll near the clip to make sure that there is room on the reel. You'll have to be a bit careful that the film doesn't move around the reel at first by restraining the edges. Another thing is to make sure that your reel has parallel spiral flanges. If the spirals aren't parallel, it makes the exercise much harder.
Cheers,
Mike

Agree. I never use the clip - I find it easier to just put the film end between the cross wires, hold it gently and roll. You might try rolling the reel on a surface rather than holding in your hand. Of course, that probably can't be done in a changing bag. You can curl the film quite a bit to go between the sides - it works better that way for me.

All the warnings about the reel being deformed are true. If it is bent in any way, even slightly, you many not be able to load the film at all. I have never had any luck straightening a bad reel - just pitch it and get a new one. The cost is a lot better than the frustration.

Truzi · Oct 26, 2015

I use the clip when I can, but on a couple occasions I had a roll that would bind no matter what I did on several reels (the reels were fine with other rolls). In these cases I did as Mike and Bruce have suggested, which seemed to remedy the situation.

SuzanneR · Oct 26, 2015

It's always easier to load stainless steel reels if you have really good ones. I struggled for a long time with cheap stainless reels, and it was never as fluid to get the film onto them as when I invested in some really well made reels. Also, if they've ever been dropped on the floor, you can have a difficult time getting the film on as well.

baachitraka · Oct 26, 2015

Its from Kindermann, I presume they are good ones.

I have some thing like this but without that green plastic thing.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kindermann-T...9704ed6&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=351555769979

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 26, 2015

One word: Hewes. Expensive and worth every penny. Even the ones for 120, but 35mm even more. Much less likely to bend if dropped (but they do! Ask me how I know). It's all I use when using SS reels.

baachitraka · Oct 26, 2015

...and mine is,

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kindermann-E...%2B9qCtfIBeTqtH%2BYSQ%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Mainecoonmaniac · Oct 26, 2015

Practice makes perfect. I processed some 120 last night. The first thing is to make sure the reel is oriented in the right direction. To start your film so it will load correctly, 3 things has to happen. First, The pointy metal clip should be pointed towards your film. Second, the film has to be centered on the reel. Third, the film has to load straight, not crooked. If your film is loaded right, your film should float between the wires. When loaded correctly, your film should load close to the end of your reel on the outer part. Last piece of advice, you don't have to clip your film on to the reel. Sometimes it's actually counter productive by keeping your film from centering and aligning with the reel. After decades of loading 120 and 135 film, I'm still flummoxed. Just face it, photographers are visual animals and working in the dark isn't idea.

fotch · Oct 26, 2015

For 120 I use either Nikor or Kinderman for SS and Jobo for plastic. All work well, never a problem.

baachitraka · Oct 26, 2015

I can give one more color film for practise. Let me see how it goes in this evening.

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 26, 2015

Mainecoonmaniac said:
First, The pointy metal clip should be pointed towards your film.

With all due respect, that is correct, except when it's not. I've used SS reels where the clip should point one way, and ones where it points the other...

Mainecoonmaniac · Oct 26, 2015

Thanks for the clarification

Richard S. (rich815) said:
With all due respect, that is correct, except when it's not. I've used SS reels where the clip should point one way, and ones where it points the other...

I've never a 120 reel like that before. I've seen 35mm reels that have metal prongs which point in the opposite direction that grab on to the film puncturing it. Learn something new everyday.

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 26, 2015

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I've never a 120 reel like that before. I've seen 35mm reels that have metal prongs which point in the opposite direction that grab on to the film puncturing it. Learn something new everyday.

Here you go:

Mainecoonmaniac · Oct 26, 2015

Thanks!

Richard S. (rich815) said:
Here you go:

The reel on the left would throw me off in the dark. Which one do you prefer?

MattKing · Oct 26, 2015

My favourite trick:

As you load the film, you regularly push it in and pull it back slightly (2-5 mm). It should move back and forth easily. If it doesn't, unwind the film slightly until it does move easily.

I can load the 120 films - I just cannot use the clips.

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 26, 2015

Mainecoonmaniac said:
The reel on the left would throw me off in the dark. Which one do you prefer?

The one on the left is a Hewes and what I use most often so I'm used to it, and either is fine based on what you're used to. That said I only have 3 Hewes 120 reels and on rare occasions I use a large tall SS tank that can hold 4-120 reels and a 35mm at once. On these occasions I use one of the non-Hewes reels (which I'm pretty sure is a Nikor) and feeling the shape of the "spring/prong" I can figure it out, besides doing it the wrong way won't work!

Mike Bates · Oct 27, 2015

It's a practice thing. When I first started loading stainless reels, I carried a reel and a junk roll of film around everywhere. While I was watching TV, I'd quietly load the reel near my lap without looking down. When I waiting in my car to pick up my wife from work, I'd load and unload the reel without looking down. You get the idea. I practiced hundreds of times until the feel was natural and sure.

I can load any reel that's not bent, but I bought new Hewes reels when I got serious about processing my own film. They are the best in my opinion. I always clip the film in. It's a simple operation once you learn the feel of it.

Sirius Glass · Oct 27, 2015

chriscrawfordphoto said:
[video]https://youtu.be/OzVU8XjcjvQ?list=PLsQTNpmJWGmQVQkSP8oYYgNDqLsxh_ix 9[/video]

Here's a video I made showing how to load 120 film on metal reels.

Well done video. I learned those things by trial and error. I use the clip by sliding the film over the clip and pushing the film into the spring space.

I started with the Hewes reels [I learned that from APUG] and based on my experience I would not try another metal reel.

ac12 · Oct 29, 2015

As with other, I do NOT use the clip in the reel.
You MUST get the film centered correctly under the clip, or it will KINK, and then become close to if not impossible to load.
After trying to use the clip with 35mm film, I gave up and just stuck the film in the center, just like I do with the reels without the clip.
I've used the old Honeywell Nikor reels since the 70s.

For 35mm, the reels that hook onto the film sprockets would be better than the clips, as it won't get the film off-centered, which leads to kinking the film.

Vaughn · Oct 29, 2015

Richard S. (rich815) said:
Here you go:...

We had an odd reel with the opposite pointing clip like that -- I hid it away as it would torture the students!

I am a clip-user. Hewes if possible, but I think the four 120 SS reels I have are a mixture of brands. The SS tanks I have (each holds two 120 reels) have SS lids and caps. After years of plastic lids on SS tanks, I have come to appreciate them. No leaks when inverting, and the drain and fill times are much faster...and they do not wear out or crack!

Loading film into stainless steel reels.

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