This might be of interest (127 content)

[SteveH]

http://www.pathcom.com/~vhchan/slitters/slitters.html

Seems a bit painful, but it looks like it works.

Just a thought.

 

[battra92]

I've done something similar with a dollar store camera to make a 35mm to 110 film slitter. Someday I want to make one for 120 to 127. Then I'll buy up a bulk of outdated 120 chrome and get going. Of course, finding a lab to do 127 E-6 and return my spool would be difficult. ^_^;;

I do have a box of like 1000 superslide mounts and a Yashica 44 that is begging for some TLC and a CLA.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Battra, when you get that much 127 E-6 made up, you'll just have to spring for E-6 chemistry and do your own -- then never a problem getting your spool back...

I've been making 127 from 120 by a more, um, manual method -- but mine gives 16 exposures in a 4x4 camera, 12 in a 4x6.5, or 24 in a 4x3 (though one must mask the camera frame by a couple mm in the full frame or half frame to avoid overlaps, especially when advancing with a double window half frame).

I use a snap-blade utility knife with the blade fully extended to cut the film while still on the spool. Instead of cutting both edges, I keep the 6x4.5 track intact (though cutting the center would work, maybe even better, in the camera, it's twice as much hand-aching effort). I mark carefully, all the way around the roll, and then roll the 120 roll under the knife blade until I begin to cut into the plastic spool core all the way around. This part is done in subdued light -- the edge fogging produced has been trivial.

Next, into the darkroom: I recut the leader to a centered point and start it on the 127 spool, turn out the lights, and start rolling. When I come to the film start, I untape the film and tuck it into the 127 roll. When I come to the film tail, I tape it to the backing with a previously cut strip of masking tape (it's fairly hard to get the tape straight, so it pays to cut it a bit shorter than 46 mm -- I usually keep it under 1 1/2 inches). Once I wind off to the end of the roll, I temporarily tape down the end and, still in the dark, salvage the 16 mm strip left behind to make reloads for my Minolta 16 format cameras -- this goes into a black 35 mm film can for later use. Once the lights are back on, I recut the film tail to a centered point, fold it under, and tape down the end, then store the 127 roll so produced in a 120 film can until ready to use.

Though it produces considerable hand stress, and I keep thinking I need to adapt a tubing cutter with a rolling knife type blade to simplify the cutting process, it works, takes only about ten minutes per roll, and, with the film backward on the spool, puts the 6x4.5 framing track under the 4x4 window. The frame numbers count down instead of up, but that's no big deal. I haven't noticed significant edge fogging, but again, I store my film in 120 film cans before loading and after unloading, until processing. That other page didn't mention that his cut-down 127 wasn't usable in a 4x4 camera without a frame counter...

 

[battra92]

Battra, when you get that much 127 E-6 made up, you'll just have to spring for E-6 chemistry and do your own -- then never a problem getting your spool back...

True. If I had a darkroom, I might. The big drawbacks are that: 1) I'm using the college darkroom and I graduate in a year and 2) My Yashica 44 has a broken aperature setting (the Aperature works but I have no idea what the settings are as the little ring that rotates is broken)

I've been making 127 from 120 by a more, um, manual method

It all sounds so interesting and yet, so complicated. ^_^;;

That other page didn't mention that his cut-down 127 wasn't usable in a 4x4 camera without a frame counter...

If you cut the edges, wouldn't it line up with 4x4?

 

[Greg_E]

There is always the other way to get 127 film:
http://www.filmforclassics.com
There are probably others too, though it really would be nice to be able to cut it down myself. I had a Yashica 44 for a while, it was a neat little camera, and I wouldn't mind having another (if it was easier to get film for it). I tried cutting it myself, but that didn't work out as well as I had wanted.

 

[Donald Qualls]

If you cut the edges, wouldn't it line up with 4x4?

The problem is that the 6x4.5 framing track (what you want, if your camera doesn't have an automatic counter) is on the wrong edge of the film if you cut from the center and simply respool -- the 4x4 track on 127 is on the same edge, relative to the film travel, as the 6x9 track on 120. Now, if your camera has a counter (like some 4x4 TLRs), you only need to be able to start the film at the correct point, though you'll also only get 12 frames of the 16-18 that are possible on this film, unless it's a friction-roll type that can be reset mid-roll. By reversing the roll, you put the 6x4.5 track under the 4x4 framing window, and cameras without counters will frame correctly (albeit with wide spaces between frames).

Either way, you get the 6x6 track under the center window (or at least visible in it, even if you cut from one edge to leave a usable 16 mm strip); that window is for the 4x6.5 full frame, and will overlap frames slightly (a couple mm) on a full frame camera without masking, or give wide/narrow with overlaps on the narrow spacing with a half frame using two red windows, like my Baby Ikonta. Masking the frame by a couple mm, in either case, will give usable frame spacing without cropping the original frame much -- in my Baby Ikonta, I can still get a frame the same size as 828 (and 30% bigger than 35 mm), but get 24 on a roll from a camera comparable in size to a Minox 35.

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Have you considered counting turns of the wind knob from the start line? I'd be conservative to avoid cutting off the first shot but I'll bet you lose less shots that way.

Cost would be one roll of 127 film, assuming you don't have a testing roll already.

 

[k_jupiter]

Though it produces considerable hand stress, and I keep thinking I need to adapt a tubing cutter with a rolling knife type blade to simplify the cutting process, it works, takes only about ten minutes per roll, and, with the film backward on the spool, puts the 6x4.5 framing track under the 4x4 window. The frame numbers count down instead of up, but that's no big deal. I haven't noticed significant edge fogging, but again, I store my film in 120 film cans before loading and after unloading, until processing. That other page didn't mention that his cut-down 127 wasn't usable in a 4x4 camera without a frame counter...

Okie Dokie. Problem with a tubing cutter is the blade isn't long enough to cut to the plastic core. So... I went out today and got a rolling fabric cutter. 60mm. The 45mm probably would have worked as well but I wanted the larger size for cutting... fabric. Now, I am going to take the winding post from a discarded folder and mount it in my mini wood lathe ( a Technitool 'Comet' if anyone is interested) using a #2 morse taper keyed drill chuck. The other end will fit nicely onto the live tail point. After careful measuring the 46 mm, I'll use the tool rest to stabilize the fabric cutter and should easily cut down the film in seconds, clean as a whistle.

My question to you Donald is... did you trim the ends on the 120 roll before winding onto the 127 spool? It seems there is a fair amount of extra leader there and it won't all fit onto a 127 spool. How did you measure it if you did?

tim in san jose (dreaming of cheap B&W film for his Yashica 44)(Hell, dreaming of panF and Tri-X 400 in his Yashica).

 

[Donald Qualls]

I only cut the leader to a centered point, I don't reduce length at all. It all fits nicely on the 127 spool (which has a *much* smaller core than the 120 your'e taking the film from). In fact, I've been using the full film length, with the leader and tail cut in half, on 828 spools (my Bantam RF gives 18 frames on a roll, though it's a little tricky knowing when you've come to the end since the 16 frame number winds past the window on the last advance).

I like your idea on using your lathe -- it hadn't even occurred to me I could use the dead center to support the free end of the spool; the 3-jaw chuck on my Homier Speedway metal lathe should hold one flange just as nicely as the drill chuck you're using, and not require me to have leftover camera parts around (I'd been thinking of a sleeve to grip directly on the film, but that puts the cutter awfully close to the chuck jaws). I can probably even cobble up a way to grip the handle of the Olfa or similar cutter in my tool rest and feed it with the cross slide... Heh...