J Drew
Allowing Ads
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2009
- Messages
- 31
- Format
- 4x5 Format
I have an number of 120 & 35mm reels. More that I need / use. Hewes 35 mm are by far the ez-ist to load due to the 2 prongs to hook the 1st two film perforations on & the heavier wire.
Having said that, it's possible for any given steel reel to be almost or impossible to load. The usual cause is that the 2 sides are not parallel. I have an accurate digital caliper that I measure the I.D. of the flanges @ 4 different places around the reel. I haven't attempted to use all my reels, but of the 35mm Hewes reels that I have used successfully, 0.040" is the largest deviation I have measured. I would like to be able to say what the maximum deviation is that will make it very difficult to load. A few points of clarification:
It's not necessary to use a highly accurate caliper to measure this. In fact General Tool makes an < $10 ~4" vernier caliper that reads in 1/128th of an inch available in most hardware stores. These may or may not be accurate to 1/128th in. but it will more than accurate enough to show =/> 0.040"
I said I measure the I.D.; it may be better to measure the O.D. as the tines are longer to give a more representative reading. but if by chance 1 wire of the spiral is pushed in, it wouldn't be picked up by measuring the O.D. I suspect Hewes reels will allow more deviation that thinner wire reels.
The bottom line is that if one has a steel reel that is just about impossible to load in daylight, measure the parallelness of the 2 flanges, inspect it visually in a good light to look for any obvious distorted wires. You might also take a reasonably good straight edge & place on the inside of the spirals held up to a light & rotate it around the flange looking for gaps.
I believe SS reels are the best way to go, & if one has an extremely difficult time loading them, the problem is probably in the dimensions or possibly quality of the reel.
Having said that, it's possible for any given steel reel to be almost or impossible to load. The usual cause is that the 2 sides are not parallel. I have an accurate digital caliper that I measure the I.D. of the flanges @ 4 different places around the reel. I haven't attempted to use all my reels, but of the 35mm Hewes reels that I have used successfully, 0.040" is the largest deviation I have measured. I would like to be able to say what the maximum deviation is that will make it very difficult to load. A few points of clarification:
It's not necessary to use a highly accurate caliper to measure this. In fact General Tool makes an < $10 ~4" vernier caliper that reads in 1/128th of an inch available in most hardware stores. These may or may not be accurate to 1/128th in. but it will more than accurate enough to show =/> 0.040"
I said I measure the I.D.; it may be better to measure the O.D. as the tines are longer to give a more representative reading. but if by chance 1 wire of the spiral is pushed in, it wouldn't be picked up by measuring the O.D. I suspect Hewes reels will allow more deviation that thinner wire reels.
The bottom line is that if one has a steel reel that is just about impossible to load in daylight, measure the parallelness of the 2 flanges, inspect it visually in a good light to look for any obvious distorted wires. You might also take a reasonably good straight edge & place on the inside of the spirals held up to a light & rotate it around the flange looking for gaps.
I believe SS reels are the best way to go, & if one has an extremely difficult time loading them, the problem is probably in the dimensions or possibly quality of the reel.