What's the material of weight bar in weighted film hanging clips?

[Pentode]

My clips are old (kalt) and older (Burke & James Ingento) and are weighted with lead. I have a thin nylon cord stretched taut across my darkroom for hanging them.

 

[dante]

I'm fascinated by the fact that anyone would be using something heavier than a wooden/spring clothespin to weight a film at the bottom, unless you are in some ultra-dry environment that causes film to curl like spring steel. If you feel you need to go super heavy duty, just go in your closet, pull out 2 trouser hangers (the kind with the rod and spring clips that slide along it - I am attaching a picture of the cheapo ones Target sells), and hang two films from one and use the other (hanger with clips) to weight the films. Your films have to be the same length, but with 120, that's very easy.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Here is what I use (courtesy of the $1.00 store):

Nice wardrobe. Could use some yellow, red, and green, though.

 

[pentaxuser]

mine seem to be of stainless steel.

Mine too, Ralph and they are certainly heavy enough to do the job. In terms of weight of clips to weight of film it's probably the equivalent of Charles Atlas' 7 stone weakling,as in the 1950s advert, trying to curl against a 60 stone "incredible hulk" on top of him . I usually leave my film hanging on the clips overnight out of laziness and with that kind of weight the film is as straight as an arrow the next morning. Well, if you were film, you wouldn't want to risk a second day of that sort of treatment, would you ?

pentaxuser

 

[Eric Rose]

Mine has lead.

 

[canuhead]

keep in mind that some people are drying their film in drying cabinets and without the weights, the fan would wreak havoc as the fan tosses the tails around. ymmv

 

[MattKing]

If I use a wooden clothes pin or something of similar weight, the end of the film dries with a bit of a curve. That curve tends to trap water, which lengthens the drying time.
I like having extra weight down there.

 

[darkroommike]

The older weight were based off the larger ones commercial labs used in deep (very deep) tank dip and dunk machines, the clips are stainless but those weights will usually be lead, both for it's great sectional density and for cost. Lead is almost non-reactive in photo chemicals.

 

[John Earley]

I cut the ends off of the pant hangers that come with the item when you bring it home from the store. Some are not so good but most work just fine on either end of the film.

 

[GRHazelton]

If clothespins were good enough for St Ansel, they're good enough for me!

 

[KenS]

Kinderman 'dental clips' are (by far) the best of the many I have ever used... even tho' a bit more expensive.

Ken

 

[RauschenOderKorn]

I guess you not actually expected depleted Uranium in your clips...

That would be really useful for toning. But so is lead ...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Mine are soft so I believe they are lead.