Film jammed in the dark bag

Bee Hedge · 24th February 2006

Hi Clubsnappers,

I'm not sure if this has happen to you before.

I was trying to load my film (35mm) on to the film reel (plastic), then it got jammed. I unloaded the film and tried to reload it back to the film reel and it got jammed again. Tried it many many times and finally managed to load it in. Films were quite badly scratched by then.

Any of you experienced this before? What could be the probable reason?

Regards,
Brian

student · 24th February 2006

Originally Posted by Bee Hedge

Hi Clubsnappers,

I'm not sure if this has happen to you before.

I was trying to load my film (35mm) on to the film reel (plastic), then it got jammed. I unloaded the film and tried to reload it back to the film reel and it got jammed again. Tried it many many times and finally managed to load it in. Films were quite badly scratched by then.

Any of you experienced this before? What could be the probable reason?

Regards,
Brian

Several possibilities.

The most common reason is moist reels.

nightwolf75 · 24th February 2006

Originally Posted by Bee Hedge

Hi Clubsnappers,

I'm not sure if this has happen to you before.

I was trying to load my film (35mm) on to the film reel (plastic), then it got jammed. I unloaded the film and tried to reload it back to the film reel and it got jammed again. Tried it many many times and finally managed to load it in. Films were quite badly scratched by then.

Any of you experienced this before? What could be the probable reason?

Regards,
Brian

using the paterson plastic tank and reels?

mine too. christopher over at CP suggested could be due to dirty ball-bearings. thus, it cannot catch hold of the film properly. also the plastic reels could have accumulated a lot of silver crystals along the edge, leading to the same problem. i gave up on my plastic reels and tank and got hold of stainless steel ones.

student · 24th February 2006

Originally Posted by nightwolf75

using the paterson plastic tank and reels?

mine too. christopher over at CP suggested could be due to dirty ball-bearings. thus, it cannot catch hold of the film properly. also the plastic reels could have accumulated a lot of silver crystals along the edge, leading to the same problem. i gave up on my plastic reels and tank and got hold of stainless steel ones.

Sam, would be interested to know your experience with the stainless steel reels.

But I am still very happy with my plastic reels after 5-6 years of fairly heavy usage. Just processed 10 rolls two days ago without a single hitch.

Pass your reels to me and see if I can load films on them.

nightwolf75 · 24th February 2006

Originally Posted by student

Sam, would be interested to know your experience with the stainless reels.

But I am still very happy with my plastic reels after 5-6 years of fairly heavy usage. Just process 10 rolls two days ago without a single hitch.

Pass your reels to me and see if I can load films on them.

experience? heck... its a real S.O.B to load the film, especially in the bag!

i thot i got it figured out in daylight using a practice strip. however, once loaded into the bag, i got one heck of a time trying to feel for the metal teeth dat was supposed to grip the spocket holes... took me 1/2 hr to finally load one reel. processing wise, its the same. just pour the chemicals thru the funnel hole, shake and serve on rocks...

*no... wait. dats my martini receipe...*

pass my reels? sure! PM me ur add, and i'll post it over? i dunno if i got the time to visit COL these days...

student · 24th February 2006

Originally Posted by nightwolf75

experience? heck... its a real S.O.B to load the film, especially in the bag! i thot i got it figured out in daylight using a practice strip. however, once loaded into the bag, i got one heck of a time trying to feel for the metal teeth dat was supposed to grip the spocket holes... took me 1/2 hr to finally load one reel. processing wise, its the same. just pour the chemicals thru the funnel hole, shake and serve on rocks...

*no... wait. dats my martini receipe...*

pass my reels? sure! PM me ur add, and i'll post it over? i dunno if i got the time to visit COL these days...

Sam,

PM me your contact and address and I will find a day/evening to drive over to see where the problem is. It is perplexing to me,and I just wanted to find out why. Just kaypoh!

Bee Hedge · 24th February 2006

Hmmm....good idea....let me try a test roll

ricohflex · 25th February 2006

yah, I agree with earlier posters.
dirty ball bearings.

actually a piece of cake to load once you get used to it

or your tank's two flanges (adjustable vertically in some reels to also accomodate 120 film) are slightly wrongly adjusted, so the film is jammed. Not enough space for it to pass.

excelsius · 25th February 2006

most probably moist reels. i know a guy who use a hairdryer to dry his reels sometimes.

lazylagoon · 25th February 2006

these things happened to me when i began to develop film some time before as well..

my reason was the ends of the film, either not cut/rounded off properly or curled the opposite way, making it difficult to feed smoothly...

excelsius · 25th February 2006

Originally Posted by lazylagoon

these things happened to me when i began to develop film some time before as well..

my reason was the ends of the film, either not cut/rounded off properly or curled the opposite way, making it difficult to feed smoothly...

yeah usually i snip both sides to make it more smooth.

student · 25th February 2006

Originally Posted by excelsius

yeah usually i snip both sides to make it more smooth.

I have never bothered to snip both sides and yet still have no problems.

kex · 25th February 2006

can use a hair dryer to blow the reels for a min or 2 before loading..

excelsius · 25th February 2006

Originally Posted by student

I have never bothered to snip both sides and yet still have no problems.

comes with practice i guess.

Bee Hedge · 25th February 2006

Hmmm....yes. The film end was indeed curled the opposite side. That prob explains the problem. Thanks a lot guys. U have been a great help!!

Originally Posted by lazylagoon

these things happened to me when i began to develop film some time before as well..

my reason was the ends of the film, either not cut/rounded off properly or curled the opposite way, making it difficult to feed smoothly...

sriram · 4th March 2006

The biggest culprit is humidity (for me at least). I used Jobo plastic reels with no problems, but had to have the aircon on for a while, let the room cool down and become less humid, get everything in the changing bag, and roll it quickly. If I spend much time fumbling around, it's guaranteed to stick and get messed up.

Do you get Jobo stuff here these days?

hondasleeper · 5th March 2006

With the Jobo reels. just make sure that the ball bearings in the reels are not stuck or crusted over with fixer, just make sure they are moving freely, not too sure if humidity has anything to do with them getting stuck. Then again, I have had the luxury of using a totally blacked out room to load my film, be it 4x5 holders or film to be processed.

Bee Hedge · 5th March 2006

If humidity is the biggest problem, would it help if I keep those reels in the dry cabinet. Taking them out only when I need to use them. Would that help?

Originally Posted by sriram

The biggest culprit is humidity (for me at least). I used Jobo plastic reels with no problems, but had to have the aircon on for a while, let the room cool down and become less humid, get everything in the changing bag, and roll it quickly. If I spend much time fumbling around, it's guaranteed to stick and get messed up.

Do you get Jobo stuff here these days?

sriram · 5th March 2006

Originally Posted by Bee Hedge

If humidity is the biggest problem, would it help if I keep those reels in the dry cabinet. Taking them out only when I need to use them. Would that help?

Not really. You'd be amazed at how much moisture your body contains. Just put your hands in a changing bag and keep it in there for a few minutes. Feel the sweat

icarus · 5th March 2006

Load the film in a dark room (preferably with air-con)

24th February 2006	#1
Bee Hedge Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 993	Film jammed in the dark bag Hi Clubsnappers, I'm not sure if this has happen to you before. I was trying to load my film (35mm) on to the film reel (plastic), then it got jammed. I unloaded the film and tried to reload it back to the film reel and it got jammed again. Tried it many many times and finally managed to load it in. Films were quite badly scratched by then. Any of you experienced this before? What could be the probable reason? Regards, Brian

24th February 2006	#7
Bee Hedge Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 993	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag Hmmm....good idea....let me try a test roll

25th February 2006	#8
ricohflex Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: sing Posts: 1,538	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag yah, I agree with earlier posters. dirty ball bearings. actually a piece of cake to load once you get used to it or your tank's two flanges (adjustable vertically in some reels to also accomodate 120 film) are slightly wrongly adjusted, so the film is jammed. Not enough space for it to pass.

25th February 2006	#9
excelsius Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 57	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag most probably moist reels. i know a guy who use a hairdryer to dry his reels sometimes.

25th February 2006	#10
lazylagoon Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 168	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag these things happened to me when i began to develop film some time before as well.. my reason was the ends of the film, either not cut/rounded off properly or curled the opposite way, making it difficult to feed smoothly... __________________ lookthemoon.com

25th February 2006	#13
kex Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: beebox Posts: 2,101	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag can use a hair dryer to blow the reels for a min or 2 before loading..

4th March 2006	#16
sriram Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,274	Humidity. The biggest culprit is humidity (for me at least). I used Jobo plastic reels with no problems, but had to have the aircon on for a while, let the room cool down and become less humid, get everything in the changing bag, and roll it quickly. If I spend much time fumbling around, it's guaranteed to stick and get messed up. Do you get Jobo stuff here these days?

5th March 2006	#17
hondasleeper Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 334	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag With the Jobo reels. just make sure that the ball bearings in the reels are not stuck or crusted over with fixer, just make sure they are moving freely, not too sure if humidity has anything to do with them getting stuck. Then again, I have had the luxury of using a totally blacked out room to load my film, be it 4x5 holders or film to be processed.

5th March 2006	#20
icarus Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pasir Ris Posts: 3,233	Re: Film jammed in the dark bag Load the film in a dark room (preferably with air-con) __________________ Ricoh GR Digital, Minolta Hi-matic 7SII