Film reels jamming (Developer tank)

Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!

Christopher Loffredo wrote:
Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!

And also, when I have time to, I don't rewind the film completely and
carefully cut the leader off and bevel the corners - which doesn't seem
to make any difference.... :-(

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:36:13 +0100, Christopher Loffredo
wrote:

When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!

And also, when I have time to, I don't rewind the film completely and
carefully cut the leader off and bevel the corners - which doesn't seem
to make any difference.... :-(

I would try cleaning them with a toothbrush and some ammonia. They
might have a buildup of some sort. Usually a wetting agent.

JD

John wrote:
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:36:13 +0100, Christopher Loffredo
wrote:

When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!
And also, when I have time to, I don't rewind the film completely and
carefully cut the leader off and bevel the corners - which doesn't seem
to make any difference.... :-(

I would try cleaning them with a toothbrush and some ammonia. They
might have a buildup of some sort. Usually a wetting agent.

You may as well give that a try. I always wash my reels off with hot water
after each use and very much doubt there is a build-up of wetting agent.
Fear of wetting agent causing loading or developing problems seems
widespread. When Dr. Henry tested this by severe cleaning methods, it did
not affect irregular development he experienced with some size film (120 I
believe). So it was not the cause of that. PhotoFlo seems very water soluble
and it should wash off quite well with hot water if you do not allow it to
dry first.

I never have trouble loading Nikor reels. I have Jobo 2600 series reels and
they are usually (but not always) trouble-free. Sometimes I can just push
the 35mm film in from the end all at once without "rocking" the sides of the
reels. And once in a while I must remove all the film and start over. Grrr.
I usually nip the corners and perhaps this helps, but I do not know.

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 08:10:01 up 4 days, 14:14, 2 users, load average: 4.07, 4.12, 4.22

In article ,
Christopher Loffredo wrote:

Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!

Cut the film corners off at the beginning of the roll.

--
Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back.

Hi Christopher,
Try rounding off the corners of the film instead of beveling them.Also, if
your darkroom is in a damp basement, even the moisture in the air can cause
problems loading those reels.Try drying them with a hair dryer.This helped
me.



"Christopher Loffredo" wrote in message
...
Christopher Loffredo wrote:
Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!

And also, when I have time to, I don't rewind the film completely and
carefully cut the leader off and bevel the corners - which doesn't seem to
make any difference.... :-(

"Christopher Loffredo" wrote in message
...
Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and Patterson,
both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or knocking the reel,
I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!
You've already mentioned dry reels, and beveling the corners of the film, so
there's the first two suggestions! Along the line of dry reels, how's the
humidity in your darkroom? Any chance that moisture is condensing on the
reels or the film? Maybe bringing film in from a day of winter cold outdoor
shooting and immediately trying to load it in your warm, humid darkroom?

Do these have the little steel ball bearing at the point where you start the
film in? I have a couple reels where the ball has some rust/corrosion on it.
My trick is to not use those reels-- sorry!

Without getting into a stainless steel vs plastic war, The only time I use
the plastic reels is when I have more film to develope than my largest
stainless tank will hold. The only problem I've ever had with stainless is
if you drop a reel on the floor, you may as well trash it- the slightest
misalignment and it's toast.

... [film jamming in plastic reels]

I found it is critical to feed the film into the reel
so it is perfectly perpendicular to the spirals. If the roll
of unloaded film is off to the side then the film jams.

Another problem is wobbly reels: plastic reels aren't as well
fixed as SS reels and the two reels aren't necessarily parallel -
try wiggling the reels and see if this allows the film to
continue to slide in.

If the camera winds the film inside-out then the film can have
reverse curl that makes loading a problem. But then neither
should the leading edge of the film be tightly curved inwards.

I find the same film perpendicularity issues with SS reels. If
the film isn't perfectly centered in the reel or isn't feeding straight
in then the film will buckle in the first turn or two. Hewes reels
superiority is, I believe, down to the hook arrangement that
grabs on to the sprocket holes - thus insuring the film is centered
and straight.

Centering 120 film under the central clip is, IMO, a real PITA.

I have never encountered photoflo residue. I have been using
the same reels with photoflo for 40+ years, and all I ever
do is rinse them in hot water. No residue yet.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index2.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com

Christopher Loffredo wrote:

When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.
_____
Many years ago i built a film drying cabinet that features an air filter
and a heating element. I would put one or more plastic Paterson reels
to be loaded in the cabinet, and preheat them on maximum heat for five
minutes or so. The reels will attain a temperature of around 100F to
130F. Both 120 and 35 mm film (with beveled edges) would load perfectly
every time. I suppose that you could use a hair drier to preheat the reels?
--
Regards / JCH

HI,

I've been using Paterson reels for about 10 years now. The film gets
stuck occasionally, maybe a doz times in ten years. Those I mark and
put aside. The usual cause of jamming is because the reel is not
completely dry.

Cheers, Bogdan

Christopher Loffredo wrote:
Christopher Loffredo wrote:

Hi,


When I try to reel film onto my developing tank reels (Jobo and
Patterson, both 35mm and 120), the film jams and, even tapping or
knocking the reel, I often can't get the whole film loaded.

And, yes, the reels are perfectly dry.

Any other suggestions or tricks?

Thanks!


And also, when I have time to, I don't rewind the film completely and
carefully cut the leader off and bevel the corners - which doesn't seem
to make any difference.... :-(

--
__________________________________________________ ______________
Bogdan Karasek
Montréal, Québec
Canada www.bogdanphoto.com

"I bear witness"
__________________________________________________ ______________