Unicolor UnidrumII film drum

[btaylor]

Is it a film drum or a print drum? A film drum is not designed to process paper. The film drum is insulated (much thicker drum wall), the print drums are not. The film drum has a gasket, an o-ring and a rubber cap, the print drum has only the gasket. I seem to recall the print drums had ridges to support the paper, but I haven’t used one in many years. I believe the Cibachrome and Beseler print drums did not have gaskets which solved that gasket problem.

 

[btaylor]

Got an error attaching files.

One usually has to resize files to upload them here.

 

[MaheshMC]

Is it a film drum or a print drum? A film drum is not designed to process paper. The film drum is insulated (much thicker drum wall), the print drums are not. The film drum has a gasket, an o-ring and a rubber cap, the print drum has only the gasket. I seem to recall the print drums had ridges to support the paper, but I haven’t used one in many years. I believe the Cibachrome and Beseler print drums did not have gaskets which solved that gasket problem.

Thank you for the quick response. Seems I have bought a film drum. I’ll look for a Cibachrome/Beseler drum.

 

[Nokton48]

OK I used the Unidrum and Unidrum II for decades to process high quality 4x5 and 8x10 sheet film negatives. I bought a sheet of brake pad material from the local auto parts store, and it only leaked a teeny bit. I use the Unirollers too, I simply put a 5x7 Paterson tray on each side of the Uniroller, which sits in a plastic dishwashing tub. So spillage is OK with me. Last week I received two more black 8x10 Unidrum II"s, I have two I've always been using. BTW you have to have the black rubber "thingee" which always in missing for these. So on the internet I learned to go to Harbor Freight, and bought a single black bungee cord, which can be sliced into the "rubber plug thingee" which separates 4x5 film sheets, and keeps the sheets from riding over each other in the soup. So really I would not use the Unidrums without the "rubber thingee". But I have plenty now including extras. Once Unicolor mailed me extra thingees but they have disappeared over the years. Hurray for Unicolor! Still works good after all these decades. "Poor Man's JOBO". LOL

3012 Metric 9x12cm JOBO Film Drum on Unicolor Uniroller by Nokton48, on Flickr

Uniroller works with JOBO and Paterson tanks too. I've been buying spares for everything

 

[Paul Howell]

I guess you can develop prints, I think a paper drum works better. I glued the end cap on with a silicon sealant, I've read that some have used the large plastic lids from a coffee can to make a gasket. For the plunger I still have one with the O ring that is still flexible, I have another that came apart, I tired a couple of different O rings so far not much luck. Thinking about trying 2 or even 3 O rings, have not spent time thinking about it as long I have good end cap. I don't know if anyone is 3D printing, the large gasket should be easy, the plunger end might more tricky, need the right plastic that will squeegee out to make the seal.

 

[Joel_L]

Hello all creative people - I just bought a Unicolor drum and the roller. The drum is all leaking and the seal cracked into pieces. Could you please help me with following (may be stupid) questions?
1. They said I can process photos(exposed paper) using this. Inside the drum it’s smooth surface. Is it true? Have I bought the wrong drum? I want to process the color prints, I already have a Paterson tank to develop reals.
2. Have you got any success with the 3D printed piston O’ring and the cap?

Thank you,
Mahesh

The 3d printed seals and cap have been working fine for me, that last incarnation seems to be golden.

The tank is a film tank but in the very distant past I have processed paper in it. The problem is that without the ridges to hold the paper, the paper does not stay on the wall of the drum very well. The chemicals may not cover the paper well.

 

[MaheshMC]

The 3d printed seals and cap have been working fine for me, that last incarnation seems to be golden.

The tank is a film tank but in the very distant past I have processed paper in it. The problem is that without the ridges to hold the paper, the paper does not stay on the wall of the drum very well. The chemicals may not cover the paper well.

Thank you. Would you be able to share the sketch/print file. I think the library has 3D printing service. I might be able to get it printed.

 

[MaheshMC]

I guess you can develop prints, I think a paper drum works better. I glued the end cap on with a silicon sealant, I've read that some have used the large plastic lids from a coffee can to make a gasket. For the plunger I still have one with the O ring that is still flexible, I have another that came apart, I tired a couple of different O rings so far not much luck. Thinking about trying 2 or even 3 O rings, have not spent time thinking about it as long I have good end cap. I don't know if anyone is 3D printing, the large gasket should be easy, the plunger end might more tricky, need the right plastic that will squeegee out to make the seal.

Thank you.

 

[Joel_L]

Thank you. Would you be able to share the sketch/print file. I think the library has 3D printing service. I might be able to get it printed.

Use the file from post 31, expand the X and Y to 94mm in the slicer software. Turn off the ratio lock so that it does not scale in the Z axis as well. Make sure you use a flexible filament.

 

[MaheshMC]

Use the file from post 31, expand the X and Y to 94mm in the slicer software. Turn off the ratio lock so that it does not scale in the Z axis as well. Make sure you use a flexible filament.

Thank you!

 

[Kilgallb]

I don't bother getting too fancy with the cut outs, just as long as it makes a seal on the drum, hangs on to the lid and lets the tank drain it is good enough for me. This is the print drum though, and not the film developing drum...




View attachment 289211

I did the same with 1mm Gasket material from Rockauto. Make sure you cut the gasket slightly less than 5” diameter or the ring buckles and leaks.

 

[Nokton48]

I also used auto gasket sheeting from the local auto parts store. In a Unidrum II print drum, cut to perfect size it dosen't leak. I use it for running four 4x5 B&W sheets, using the "rubber thingee" so that the sheets don't overlap each other during processing. Has done a perfect job for decades. Recently I bought a couple more 8x10 Unidrum II's, you can make the "rubber thingee" from a strip of rubber bungee strapping, I bought a single short one from harbor freight. Works great now I have extras. Use a carpet knife to cut the slot in the length of bungee cord. BTW if you have limited darkroom space the 16x20 Unidrum II works great for fibre paper development. I still have some 16x20 Ektalure to print on. The 11x14 Unidrum II will process two 5x7 film sheets, similar to the 4x5s in the 8x10 Unidrum II

 

[Kilgallb]

I also used auto gasket sheeting from the local auto parts store. In a Unidrum II print drum, cut to perfect size it dosen't leak. I use it for running four 4x5 B&W sheets, using the "rubber thingee" so that the sheets don't overlap each other during processing. Has done a perfect job for decades. Recently I bought a couple more 8x10 Unidrum II's, you can make the "rubber thingee" from a strip of rubber bungee strapping, I bought a single short one from harbor freight. Works great now I have extras. Use a carpet knife to cut the slot in the length of bungee cord. BTW if you have limited darkroom space the 16x20 Unidrum II works great for fibre paper development. I still have some 16x20 Ektalure to print on. The 11x14 Unidrum II will process two 5x7 film sheets, similar to the 4x5s in the 8x10 Unidrum II

What is this "rubber thingy", --maybe you could post a picture?

 

[reddesert]

What is this "rubber thingy", --maybe you could post a picture?

The rubber spacer lets you process 4x5 sheets in an 8x10 paper drum. It fits on an internal ridge of the drum. There is a photo of it partway down the page at https://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/ captioned "Original Unicolor sheet film spacer."

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

I use a Uniroller , one direction model, with Paterson tank to process B&W film with no issues.
That said i no longer use the 'minimum' amount of developer no matter what agitation method; too unreliable!

 

[Nokton48]

What is this "rubber thingy", --maybe you could post a picture?

The Rubber Thingee by Nokton48, on Flickr

On top is the original Unicolor Unidrum II "Rubber Thingee". One time Unicolor mailed me a few spares in an envelope. Now they are almost always missing. On the bottom, is the "rubber thingee" I made from a chunk of neoprene bungee cord, from Harbour Freight. I cut out the slots with a utility knife. This rubber piece keeps the 4x5 films seperated from each other during development. Otherwise these will "walk over" each other and will be ruined

 

[aparat]

I gave a Unicolor film drum a try a few years ago, but ran into the rubber parts crumbling. I wish I had come upon this thread back then. I switched to Jobo and never looked back. Still, the Unicolor system was a good design, with easy-to-load reels and a clever design.