Looking for 127 metal spools

[zonesys]

As I have jamming problems with plastic take-up spool sometimes in my Baby Rollei, I'm looking for metal ones (manufactured until the '90). An article in Frugalphotographer website confirms that Baby Rollei doesn't like 127 plastic spool...
Does somebody knows where I can get some ?
thank you
jean-bernard

 

[dschneller]

I got a few from B&H with their re-spool portra 160NC, they came with metal spools.

See the link here.

Dave

 

[battra92]

Go on ebay and buy some vintage film. 127 shows up more often than you think so as you get them in and use/process the film.

If you don't process yourself, just respool onto a plastic spool I guess.

What I'm looking for right now is 127 spools and backing paper for making my own 127 slide film from 120. Of course they would have to discontinue Macochrome just after I bought a huge box of NOS Super Slide mounts.

 

[dschneller]

Go on ebay and buy some vintage film. 127 shows up more often than you think so as you get them in and use/process the film.

If you don't process yourself, just respool onto a plastic spool I guess.

What I'm looking for right now is 127 spools and backing paper for making my own 127 slide film from 120. Of course they would have to discontinue Macochrome just after I bought a huge box of NOS Super Slide mounts.

PM me your address, I can send you some. I have been keeping the spools and backing from the Maco UP100 I have been shooting.

Dave

 

[Curt]

Do you what a hundred and twenty seven spools or 127 spools?

 

[127]

I've had no problems with my Rollei, though my komaflex has more problems.

I've got loads of spools - if anyone needs some just PM me.

Re - Macochrome. I saw the posts about six months ago that it was disapearing which looked well founded (ironically NOT because of the low demmand for 127, but that they couldn't source the E6!!! Hence the introduction of MacoColor). However it still seems to be on the shelves. Maybe it's just old stock running through the distribution channels but rumours of its death seem to be greatly exagerated.

Ian

 

[Donald Qualls]

127, take a look at the 127 film page on J&C Photo -- according to their supplier, whatever you have in stock anywhere is old stock, all same expiration.

Seems to me that if you have 127 spools, you don't even need backing paper to make 127 from 120, as long as you cut the correct side. I've recently done this with 828, and it looks to me as if you could keep the side with the 6x4.5 track and have that track show up in the 4x4 window, while the 6x6 track would (barely) show in the 4x6.5 window. If necessary, you could offset the strip -- cut a few mm off the 6x4.5 edge, in order to get the 6x6 track closer to center. You might get a few mm of frame overlap on the long frames, but not enough to put an old Vest Pocket Brownie (for instance) out of service. Bonus: you'll get 12 full frame exposures or 16 4x4; modern film is enough thinner than when the spools were specified (before WWI) that you can put the full 120 length on the spool (I've done it with 828, though there I did trim both leader and tail to half length while respooling; same trick should work with 127).

There are instructions on the web for converting 120 to 828, but instead of a bandsaw, I've used a utility knife (idea I got from a poster on another forum); almost no edge fogging at the cut line, though it's a lot of effort to make the cut straight. Now that I have a couple 127 cameras, I might try this; use $2/roll .EDU Ultra 100 instead of paying $5/roll to get Efke 100.

127, I'd be interested in some of those spools, but shipping from UK to USA might make it foolish -- I'll PM anyway...

 

[dschneller]

Seems to me that if you have 127 spools, you don't even need backing paper to make 127 from 120, as long as you cut the correct side. I've recently done this with 828, and it looks to me as if you could keep the side with the 6x4.5 track and have that track show up in the 4x4 window, while the 6x6 track would (barely) show in the 4x6.5 window.

120 film is significantly longer than 127 so having the proper paper backing will show the correct frame numbers in the window for full frame or half-frame 127 cameras. Although, if you cut down 120 to fit onto a 127 spool you will get an extra five full frames and some of the cameras have mechanical frame counters so why bother with the window other than to make sure you are on the first frame.

Dave

 

[Kino]

Seems like a good project for someone with a mini mill and a lathe; build a paper die cutter and a set of metal punchs and dies to make "obsolete" spools!

Oh to have a million and the free time...

 

[Donald Qualls]

Believe me, Kino, with the price 620 spools are fetching on eBay these days, I have seriously considered fabricating a bunch of them. Hobby brass tube and sheet, and a little jig to let me true up center drilled, rough cut end flanges on my lathe, two minutes with a torch and solder at each end, and another two minutes with a fine file, plus one minute with a Dremel -- if I could be sure of selling 'em for $10 each as sometimes happens on eBay, I'd start production tomorrow; I could probably turn out 50 of 'em in a week without eating into my photography time.

In a lot of ways, 127 and 828 spools are simpler, because they don't need a slot in the flange; nor does the little ratchet on the end actually need to be slanted; a single slot in the tube would work just as well to engage the drive on every 127 or 828 camera I can recall examining.

For backing paper, there's a material out there that's very suitable; it's called, IIRC, Exeter Paper; it's black, opaque, only slightly heavier than modern commercial backing paper, comes in rolls a foot wide, and one side is glossy (to protect the film) while the other side is plain (to take ink well). Find an ink that's visible against black and won't "wrapper offset" (fog the film from contact with the ink), and you coul d make backing for any paper backed format ever produced. Then it's just a matter of getting film wide enough to cut down for formats like 124 (3 3/4 wide, took eight 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 frame) and 125 (4 1/2 inches wide, 4x5 frames, IIRC 6 on a roll).

For now, though, I'll experiment with 127 and 828 -- 120 is easy to get and conveniently includes a backing roll...

BTW, Dave, I meant to use the 120 backing, not to discard it; I was just saying you don't need an original 127 backing to reload...

 

[CRhymer]

....

For backing paper, there's a material out there that's very suitable; it's called, IIRC, Exeter Paper; it's black, opaque, only slightly heavier than modern commercial backing paper, comes in rolls a foot wide, and one side is glossy (to protect the film) while the other side is plain (to take ink well). ...

Hi Donald,

Do you have a source for the Exeter Paper? Is it from the Semper/Exeter Paper Company LLC (came up on a google search)?

Thank you.
Clarence

 

[Donald Qualls]

Sorry, I don't even recall for certain where I read about its use as backing for making up rolls -- maybe over on nelsonfoto.com (an independent photography forum). You needn't be a member to look through the message base over there, and I *think* there's a search facility built in (or he might be letting the Goggle bot in, I'm not certain).

Okay, did a search and found the following link , from the eBay seller who sells the aerographic films on wide/long bulk rolls for amazing prices.