Trouble Loading 35mm Stainless Steel Reels

I’ve just acquired some 35mm stainless steel reels and am having trouble loading them.

The reels are Hewes and have two little pins in the center core that are meant to engage the sprocket holes in the film to keep the film centered. My problem is I can’t reliably engage the sprocket holes with the pins in the dark.

I’ve watched various YouTube videos demonstrating how to load these reels, but they all use a piece of film that’s obviously been processed and hung to dry so that it’s straight with very little curl. Exposed film coming out of a 35mm cassette is definitely not straight and tends to curl up into a tight cylinder about an inch in diameter. Getting this unruly film into the center of the reel and onto the pins is defeating me. I spent two hours last night practicing and in over fifty attempts I managed to properly load the reel only once. Once I do get the film onto the pins, the rest of the loading process goes very fast and smooth.

Is there a secret or a trick for getting tightly curled 35mm film engaged on the pins on a Hewes reel?

Not everyones motor skills are the same. Consider Paterson reels if the physiology of Hewes doesn’t agree with you.

Nitroplait said:

Not everyones motor skills are the same. Consider Paterson reels if the physiology of Hewes doesn’t agree with you.

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I don’t give up that easily. I’m looking for tips on how to make the Hewes reels work, not recommendations to switch to another system.

SodaAnt said:

I’ve just acquired some 35mm stainless steel reels and am having trouble loading them.

The reels are Hewes and have two little pins in the center core that are meant to engage the sprocket holes in the film to keep the film centered. My problem is I can’t reliably engage the sprocket holes with the pins in the dark.

I’ve watched various YouTube videos demonstrating how to load these reels, but they all use a piece of film that’s obviously been processed and hung to dry so that it’s straight with very little curl. Exposed film coming out of a 35mm cassette is definitely not straight and tends to curl up into a tight cylinder about an inch in diameter. Getting this unruly film into the center of the reel and onto the pins is defeating me. I spent two hours last night practicing and in over fifty attempts I managed to properly load the reel only once. Once I do get the film onto the pins, the rest of the loading process goes very fast and smooth.

Is there a secret or a trick for getting tightly curled 35mm film engaged on the pins on a Hewes reel?

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I find the pins in the dark with my fingers. The first few thousand tens of times is not fun. Clipping the film corners first may help you.

Agree w Steve, Clipping the corners may help you manoeuvre the film onto the reel.
BTW, My only Hewes reels are for 220. I typically use the Kinderman stainless reels w/ their loader...... so as someone in another thread suggested. I sacrifice an old roll of film and have it handy to run through the loading on the Hewes a couple of times, to get the moves smooth before i load my film. Sort of like warming up with an instrument before a performance. That said, both Hewes & Nikkor reels load very smoothly (once you've got the film attachment nailed).

SodaAnt said:

I don’t give up that easily. I’m looking for tips on how to make the Hewes reels work, not recommendations to switch to another system.

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It sounds like you did all that can reasonably be expected.
Stainless reels are not for everyone. Much easier to adapt to what works than what doesn’t.
Not trying to sell you “my favorite” - I love Hewes. Just trying to save you from unnecessary pain.
Good luck.

I use a retriever to pull out the leader then trim it to the first sprocket hole past the leader. The upper part of the film has the curve cut for the leader, then I trim a corner off of the bottom part. I set the reel in my changing tent so I can feel the pins. I'll give the film a little squeeze then catch the pins with the first sprocket holes.
A trick I learned on the forum is while your loading the reel, give a gentle push back on the film after every five or six turns and the film will slide back a bit. This is an indication the film is loading the tracks properly.
A lot of practice really helps. Don't give up!

I also have Kinderman reels but just the same. As mentioned clip the corners. Practice with a sacrificed roll in the light and once you get the hang of it try with your eyes closed. Once you have that down if you slightly curve the edges of the film with your fingers and with the reel on edge push the film so it pretty much rolls itself on to the reel

I trim the corners, as already suggested, then I cup a short length of the film (enough length that it will reach just past the pins), slide it into the reel slightly past the pins, lower it and pull back until I feel it drop onto the pins. The tricky part is enough cup to get the film into the reel, but not so much that the film edges are inside the width of the pins. Once you get the feel for it, I think you'll find these reels pretty easy to load; much easier than my old 35mm reels that have the spring clip!

Practice with an unexposed roll of film in the light so that you can have the assistance of your eyes in getting the feel of loading the reel.

It’s worth the cost of one roll to get the practice you need, and you can hold on to the ruined film and keep using it for practice for as long as you need.

IR goggles are my old guy solution. I can load anything.

I pull the leader out of the film cassette with the lights on. Do any trimming, Then hook the film onto the pins, turn the lights off and roll the film onto the reel. When it is all rolled on I fumble in the dark for the #$@! scissors and cut the cassette free.

The white lights in my darkroom are controlled by a footswitch - highly recommended.

I hate changing bags!
One reason I hate them is that you lose the auditory feedback that comes from the sound of film being loaded into the reel. If you load in a darkened room, you can hear when the film is going in correctly, and when it isn't.
The advice to practice is the best advice. First in the light, then in the dark. Unfortunately, practicing in the light and practicing in a changing bag are quite different.
I like loading 35mm film on steel reels without centre clips. In can't load 120 film on to steel reels no matter how I try.

mshchem said:

IR goggles are my old guy solution. I can load anything.

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That’s an interesting idea. Is there a set of goggles you can recommend?

MattKing said:

I hate changing bags!

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Me too! My hands sweat profusely in one of those. Fortunately, I have a bathroom without windows that I use as a darkroom. It’s got a spacious countertop and is completely light tight at night.

You might be making this more complicated than it really is. I've used steel reels all my life. Some days they just wont load while other days the film jumps on.
This isn't how I do it but this is how I suggest you do it. (I'll put how I do it in brackets).

It's easiest if you don't rewind the film all the way back into the can. (This doesn't work for me, since I'll mistakenly reload the film into the camera and shoot it all over again).
Some cameras have a setting that keeps the tail out when rewinding with a motor drive, I know my F3 has this option.

If you don't rewind all the way in, you can use scissors to cut the small part of the tail off and keep the film nice and straight/trim.

Now with the lights still on, start the film on the reel. If you want to use the pins just attach them in the light. This will cost you a frame or two, but I shoot a few extra blanks when loading the camera anyway.
Now the film is attached to the reel. Turn off the lights and load the reel.

Some days, the reel just wont load, it's on strike or something, so grab another reel and put that one aside. It will work great tomorrow.

If you insist on attaching the film in the dark and can't get the pins to catch... forget the pins. Just hold the film against the center of the reel with a finger until you get started. After a couple wraps, the pins aren't doing anything anyways.

It's easier with a roll of 20/24 than a roll of 36 exposures.

Now this is how I do it, which might not work for you.
I always wind the tails all the way in or I'll double expose the film.
I lay about six reels on the counter, although I only need four.
I kill the lights and grab the first roll. I break it open using a bottle opener, this ruins the cassette but I'm not bulk loading anyway.
I let the film fall out of the cassette and onto the counter, holding onto only the tail. I then rip the tail to remove the small part and have a rough, somewhat straight edge to start with. With High Speed Infrared Film it's very hard to rip the tail so I bite through with my teeth, but it's unlikely you're using a film with this base. Sometimes to keep things exciting I drop the loose film on the floor and have to search around in the dark for it but that's not the best plan.
I've used a number of reel brands, with different clips, but I try and get the film under the clips. If it won't go, I just hold it with a figure for a wrap or two and then it's fine. IF THE FILM WON'T LOAD FOR ANY REASON, I GRAB A DIFFERENT REEL AND USE THAT ONE. Not sure why this happens.

When I get to the end of the roll, I rip the tape off, put the reel in the tank and grab the next roll, repeat for each roll.

It takes about a minute to load a film providing you don't drop it on the floor. Again, keep it simple, as it's not really complicated.

I have used a film winder but that was forty years ago and haven't used one since. I've heard they scratch the film, but that was also forty years ago.

Final tip, Kindermann Reels are better than the rest.

I've never had any luck with plastic reels but had an assistant who could only load plastic so I bought a set for him to use, but don't use them myself.

When I had my first newspaper job in 1978 the photographers could load the reels so fast. They didn't turn the reels to wind the film on, they pushed the film on from the end, it would take about five seconds to load a reel. I could never get this to work, but they tried to teach me a number of times.

I have Kindermann and Hewes reels. The Kinderman have a clip that holds the film. Easy peasy. The Hewes have the tongs of course, but that creates a problem. The best way to know if the film is loading correctly or if it jumps the tracks so to speak, is to push it back onto the reel. If it moves freely then everything is good. If it won't move freely then it is loaded wrong. The problem with Hewes reels is when you push the film back on the reels, it also disengages the end of the film from the tongs! Drives me nuts. I'm thinking of bending the film back over then it should recatch if it loosens. They should have made the tongs with a spring mechanism or something that would positively engage the film.

When I load stainless reels I keep my fingers running on the rails to keep the film pinched. It doesn't need much pinching after you get it started but it does help.

I have a Kindermann loader but I never use it.

One thing to think about if you are having real problems with loading is the reel might be bent. Hewes are pretty strong but they can get bent. I check mine with a caliper. They can be a little off, but if it is too far off loading film can be extremely difficult. That is one reason to avoid cheap reels.

Kindermann reels have their own issues. The ones with the plastic center can get tweaked. I occasionally have to tweak one back.

SodaAnt said:

That’s an interesting idea. Is there a set of goggles you can recommend?

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MattKing said:

I hate changing bags!
One reason I hate them is that you lose the auditory feedback that comes from the sound of film being loaded into the reel. If you load in a darkened room, you can hear when the film is going in correctly, and when it isn't.
The advice to practice is the best advice. First in the light, then in the dark. Unfortunately, practicing in the light and practicing in a changing bag are quite different.
I like loading 35mm film on steel reels without centre clips. In can't load 120 film on to steel reels no matter how I try.

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In the darkroom or in a changing bag, close your eyes when loading film on to the reel. I really works for some reason.

Sirius Glass said:

In the darkroom or in a changing bag, close your eyes when loading film on to the reel. I really works for some reason.

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Just remember to turn off the lights before you close your eyes People like me need to be told stuff like this!

mshchem said:

Just remember to turn off the lights before you close your eyes People like me need to be told stuff like this!

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So true.

The simplest method is to nor rewind the leader back into the cassette. With the lights on, pull a couple of inches of film out of the cassette, trim it square and feed it into the reel and engage the pins. Turn off the light and wind the film on to the reel. No need to open the cassette to pull the film out.

Rick A said:

The simplest method is to nor rewind the leader back into the cassette. With the lights on, pull a couple of inches of film out of the cassette, trim it square and feed it into the reel and engage the pins. Turn off the light and wind the film on to the reel. No need to open the cassette to pull the film out.

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I never needed to do that. In the dark I removed the film from the cassette, cut off the leader saving it for testing the developer then or in the future, trim the corners, put the sprocket holes on the prints, hold the film in a slightly curved shape and start loading the reel. I do that in a changing bag.

Sirius Glass said:

I never needed to do that. In the dark I removed the film from the cassette, cut off the leader saving it for testing the developer then or in the future, trim the corners, put the sprocket holes on the prints, hold the film in a slightly curved shape and start loading the reel. I do that in a changing bag.

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Just like that.... sprocket holes on the "pins"..... and even smoother with 120 w a centre clip.

My 35 mm SS reels are all Nikkor, but getting some used ones I found two that I couldn't load (after 50 years experience). They looked OK, but a micrometer caliper showed they were slightly bent. I put them aside as didn't need them. May get to "adjusting" them some day to see if they will load again.
For 120 I prefer Hewes SS spirals.