[Leica] Anyone out there load cassettes from bulk film?

[jsmith342 at cox.net (Jeffery Smith)]

A kind LUGer offered the suggestion of a tape that, to me, seems to be as
tenacious as the tape Kodak et al. use in their cassettes...medical adhesive
tape. If that stuff can remove all of my hair when it is pulled off, it will
certainly hold the end of 3 feet of 35mm film. My problem in the past is
that I didn't want the tape to be long enough to be pulled through the lips
of the cassette (which seemed barely lightproof to me in the first place). I
think that a small length of adhesive tape will hold just fine.

I ended up buying a Lloyd loader as the Watsons were "out of stock". I guess
some people still bulk load themselves. 

Jeffery Smith
New Orleans, LA
http://www.400tx.com
http://400tx.blogspot.com/



-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+jsmith342=cox.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+jsmith342=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
dlr@dlridings.se
Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 1:28 AM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Anyone out there load cassettes from bulk film?


Strange,

On and off throughout the years I've bulk loaded. When I was a student, I
bulk loaded all my film and shot easily 4 or 5 100' rolls a month. I still
have the negatives.

I bulk load now in an attempt to get the film to sit flatly in a Leica IIIc
(starting to think that it isn't worth the effort).

Basically, I can say this:

I've used tape.

I've used any tape I can get my hands on. Sticky tape or tape that was
designed to be removed and put back several times.

It hasn't made any difference at all, as long as it is tape and as long as I
don't think I can get 40 exposures out of a 36 exp roll and yank the film
off the spool as I wind past its capacity.

With Leica cassettes I don't use tape. I don't use anything. I just stick
the pointed end of film into the slot in the spool. You'll never get it out
again by backing it out. Once it is in there, it is in to stay, or to be
pulled the rest of the way through. You can't back it out, only rip it off.

Daniel

> i tend to like bulking too.
>
> my early experiences with the leica were unpleasantly similar to 
> yours. the bottom-loading leica makes for a particularly viscious 
> experience removing film broken free from the cartridge spool and 
> tightly packed around the camera's tulip spool.
>
> i've had the best luck bulking by trimming the last inch of the film 
> end into a strip that fits into the slot of the film spool and 
> punching a hole
>
>        ---
>       /   \
>      /  O  \
>     /       \
>    |         |
>    |         |
>    |         |
>
> to catch the tab within the slot.  then add some beige packing tape 
> wrapped around both sides of the film end, largely to make sure the 
> film can't come off the tab (which it can without help).  the packing 
> tape is strong, sticky and wide.  in the end, the stress from pulling 
> the film off the spool is taken up by the film itself and unless you 
> pull with such force to tear the film, it won't come loose from the 
> rewind spool.
>
> -rei
>
>
>> > I used to load my own Plus X in the late 1960's, but cooled off on 
>> > it when I had problems with the damned film ends coming untaped at 
>> > the end of the roll. I had to keep a changing bag in my trunk, and 
>> > then take the film out of the bag in my darkroom. The tape that 
>> > Kodak, Ilford, etc. use to affix the film to the spool is tenacious 
>> > as hell. Anyone have a suggestion of what I should use? I have a 
>> > feeling that "duct tape" is going to enter the conversation.
>
> --
> Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com
> Ridgewood, New Jersey
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>


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