"Short" reel for 35mm??

[sly]

I haven't shot much B&W 35mm lately, but loaded up the Nikon today and used up some film that's been rebuking me from the back of the fridge. Among the odds and ends that came with my enlarger last year, were a number of Nikkor (or Nikkor-type) tanks and reels. I set everything out on my tabletop and turned out the lights. Wound on the film, got to the end of the reel and had enough extra to go around the reel another full turn. Hmm, must have jumped a groove or 2 early on. Unwound and rewound, but still ended up with 7 or 8 inches too much film. Had a lot of fun fumbling in the dark for another reel, (should have put the film loose in the tank and turned on the lights, but didn't think of that 'til after). Eventually got film wound on another reel, where it fit fine.
It must be a reel that came as an extra last year. I've always shot rolls of 36and they've always fitted. Did somebody, at some point, make reels specifically for the shorter rolls of 24? Anybody want one?

 

[Ian Grant]

Something drastically wrong here, as the reels hold a longer 36 ex length, so a 42 ex should fit with plenty of spare reel left.

It can't have been feeding onto the reel correctly.

Ian

 

[Wishy]

Really old tanks (My Paterson Major 2) had only enough space for 120 film or 20 frames of 35mm. At the time most people used 120 and 20 frames tended to be the standard for 35mm cartidges. It also meant you could process your 120 with 300ml of dev rather than 500ml in a later system 4 type tank.

Unfortunately I didn't realise they didn't use heat resistant plastic until later and followed advise on using a hairdryer to warm up the reel before use. Last I could use that spool!

 

[Ian Grant]

I have a range of Paterson Major 2 tanks, including Double & Triple, and all my spirals take a full 36ex 35mm. I used to use them for E3 processing because the volume of chemistry was much less than my System 4 tanks.

Ian

 

[bdial]

There are Nikkor type reels that only held 20 exposures. On most of these I'm familiar with, the spirals are much thicker than the typical 36 exp. reeels. FWIW, these were easier for beginners to load, but now you'd need to bulk load to get rolls short enough to fit.

 

[Monophoto]

In the distant past, film manufacturers packaged film in 12, 20, and 36 exposure lengths. The 12 exposure length was intended mainly for photojournalists who would devote an entire roll to a single subject, and then get it processed immediately so a picture could appear in the newspaper. 20 exposure rolls were intended for "amateurs", while 36 exposure rolls were intended for everyone else.

Consistent with that, makers of stainless steel reels produced products designed for the shorter rolls - specifically, 20 exposure reels. As bdial noted, they were made of thicker wire, and were easier to load than the usual 36 exposure reel.

At some point in the 1970's, a marketing genius decided that the world needed 24 exposure rolls more than 20 exposure rolls, so Kodak changed the standard. That made the old 20 exposure reels obsolete. To my knowledge, no one every made 24 exposure reels (but you might check the Hewes catalog).

And to complete the story, Ilford briefly experimented with a 72 exposure packaging of HP-5, and it was also possible to purchase 72 exposure reels. The film was made on a thinner backing that was still strong enough to withstand processing, but it had a reputation for curling like crazy. The concept never gained much popularity and eventually disappeared, but you still occasionally see those 72 exposure reels at flea markets. They are a PITA to load!

 

[Phil]

I have a couple of 126 20 exposure Nikkor SS reels for Instamatic cartridge film. Those would be easily confused with 35mm reels. We sold them at a photo shop I worked in back in the early 70's.