Rolling Cirkut film from bulk

[frobozz]

Yes I'm getting ahead of myself, before I've wrung out all the problems with the camera, but I'm trying to get prepared. I've got a little bulk 10" Portra, a couple of different kinds of 9.5" B&W aerial film, awaiting the 2015 Ilford ULF list to see if they have 10"x100' rolls again, etc.

I'm pretty handy with rerolling 16mm and 35mm film. I have all the right equipment: rewinds, split reels, cores, etc. So I figured rolling Cirkut film would be a snap. I even have a small pile of spare 10" Cirkut spools and leaders. First step: get a nice pair of "aerial rewinds" - basically like my existing rewinds, but with much longer shafts. I now have those in hand - a beautiful pair of Hollywood Film Company rewinds with 13" long shafts, sliding clamps, and adjustable friction knobs. Then I actually look at a Cirkut spool and smack my forehead in a serious DUH moment. The hole doesn't go all the way through! (And not to mention it's too small.) The aerial film spools will load right up on these shafts. I asume the Portra and Ilford spools do (anyone know?) But no such luck with the Cirkut spools.

Which leaves me with the question: how do you folks who roll your own Cirkut film do it? Just by hand? Some sort of other home-built rig? I can obviously still mount the supply spool on a rewind, and the friction adjustment will be nice, but clearly I'm not going to have the nice spinning handle for turning the take-up spool which ends up in the camera. Drat.

Duncan

 

[c.d.ewen]

By hand. I use a jig to make sure the film and leader paper are straight.

Charley

 

[jamie young]

I have a board set up as a jig and some other items to help spool film - I can try and take some pics but am swamped right now so it might be a little bit. Some people have those IR night vision googles which would help. You have to make sure you get ones that are for total darkness.
The two big issues are making the leader paper tight enough to minimize edge flare, and putting the tape on so the film doesn't stick to accidentally exposed sticky parts from poor taping after rolling it up. I've been using black 100% opaque plastic sheeting for leader/trailer

 

[c.d.ewen]

+1 on the IR googles. Get the binocular type; much easier than the monocular.

Jamie: Duncan (and I) have picked up some of the used backing paper and spindles sold on eBay by a pro Cirkut outfit (forgot which).

Charley

 

[NedL]

A cirkut photo on 10" porta would be amazing. I hope you will post some of your results. I have a panoramic photograph of my wife's grandfather driving a mule train in Oklahoma. I would have been between 1910 and 1920. I should post it and let you guys tell me what kind of camera it came from....

very cool, good luck with it!

 

[frobozz]

+1 on the IR googles. Get the binocular type; much easier than the monocular.

Jamie: Duncan (and I) have picked up some of the used backing paper and spindles sold on eBay by a pro Cirkut outfit (forgot which).

Charley

Brad LaPayne in Champaign, IL. Sounds like he's about out of his stash of spindles and paper, anyone wanting some better grab them on eBay while you can!

I visited him yesterday and made a deal on his #10 parts camera. Sounds like he might be getting ready to put one or more of his other 3 #10s on ebay soon. Plus he's looking to sell all the other accessories like printing tables and such - he's out of the film business entirely. He's also got what I believe is the only Cirkut enlarger (#10 and smaller) in existence, made by Seitz. I'll post a couple of pictures of that later, but he's already got it sold to someone out in California.

...and to keep this on topic for the thread, he just had a long table set up for spooling film with alignment guides marked in tape, pretty straightforward stuff.

Duncan

 

[frobozz]

OK, having finally looked at one of my used spools a little more closely, this clueless newbie has another question: why are the tails so long on these things? I could see if the film got wound onto another takeup spool and then stayed there, a la 120/220, but since it gets wound back onto the original spool, what's the need for more than the amount needed to allow the last bit of film to reach the slit? (Not that you'd even want to cut it that close anyway.)

Duncan

 

[jamie young]

I'm guessing it was easier to make tails from same size material as the front. Not really sure why. You don't really need the tails and could just spool with a leader. A bunch of people do it that way. Some people don't bother with that either and just load the magazine in the darkroom or a changing bag.I do have to wonder why other than paper is cheaper than film, and kodak is set up for it so it's not hard to do it.

 

[hired goon]

I had basically nothing to go by when I set mine up, so I made spools out of 2 different sized dowels, drilled a hole at one end the size of the bottom post on the camera, and carved an "I" notch with a chisel in the opposite end. I had no leader material, so I used, and continue to use, paper grocery bags which I've cut to the reel size. I just tape the film to the paper bag leader and footer in the darkroom. I was initially worried about light transmission through the paper bag, so just cut it longer to wrap it around the spool more times. I say "longer," but since I never had a proper leader and footer to go by in terms of length, I really have no idea if mine are longer than standard kodak issue. Shooting a Cirkut is a fun and rewarding experience, and thankfully Ilford is still making the film. I'm hoping to finally get 10" this year if enough people order it.

 

[frobozz]

I'm hoping to finally get 10" this year if enough people order it.

Have you ordered it before and not gotten it due to lack of orders? I'm definitely in for a roll this year!

Duncan