Home Movies (1950)

WORKSHOP of the spool, twisted them together and bent the ends down flat so that the spool would go back in the tank. I made two short hooks which fasten the film strip to the hairpins. (It is a good idea to measure the capacity of your spool by threading up a piece of scrap film, then try to keep tests about this same length.) Now, in a changing bag or in the dark, hook one end of the film to a hairpin and weave with the emulsion side out over the first hairpin, under the next, and over the next. On the second turn around, weave the film under where it was over before, and vice versa; this keeps the film from overlapping. Fasten end on second hook, and you are ready to process. For reversal film, the reel is taken out of the tank and turned on a pencil or stirring rod in front of the light bulb.— Roy C. Bradley, Aguanga, Calif. Re-exposing Shield I have encountered some difficulty in re-exposing film with a rewind type of developing tank, due to the heat generated by the photoflood lamp. I have made up an extremely simple gadget which has completely eliminated this trouble. It cost little and' is very simple to make. The front is made of half inch Celotex, with a 2"x2}4" opening covered with a piece of ordinary window glass, which is nailed or screwed to a base of wood. To use, the window in the rewind tank is opened and the tank is set on the wood base with the tank window in line with the window in the shield. The light is placed about a foot from the shield and the exposure made as usual. The temperature rise after re-exposure is about about half a degree. — Randall Wilscb, Akron 14, Ohio. Editor's Note: Although Mr. Wilsch reports good results with ordinary window glass, different types of glass differ sharply in their heat absorbing properties. We would suggest, for maximum protection, a truly heat absorbing glass, such as Corning Aklo, which can be obtained through any glass supplier, or from an optical salvage house. Be sure the heat absorbing glass doesn't touch metal at any point whatever, or it will promptly crack, and leave it a little room for expansion. Useful Film Reel Band Have you been troubled with the same thing that I have — holding the film tightly on the reel after it has been rewound? Commercial 35mm films come to motion picture theatres with a stout paper band, and library 16mm subjects are also protected this way. However, I have been unable to find anything which the amateur can buy for this purpose. Not being able to find anything ready-made, I decided to do something about it myself. After a little experimenting, I have come up with something which does the job very nicely, with an absolute minimum of cost and trouble. All you need is a small package of medium weight rubber bands, an eighth inch wide or less — a hand ticket punch that will make a small round hole — and a bit of discarded film. The last named can be spoiled footage, trims, surplus film, leader and trailer film, or whatever is most conveniently available. First, measure a length of this film which will go once around the reel you want to protect, plus about eight inches, and cut off this length. About an inch and a half back from one end of this strip punch two notches, one on each side, cutting into a perforation so as to get a nice sharp notch. About a half inch from the end, punch a hole in the center of the film. Now, loop a rubber band over the two notches on the edges of the film, then pull it up through the hole in the center. Place the band around the reel of film you wish to hold tight, rubber band in one hand and the free end in the other. Place loose end through rubber band and stretch out so as to give a good degree of tension, then mark the point on the free end where the rubber band should hook on to hold snugly. Remove and punch two edge notches as before at the place you just marked. Clip off the loose end to make a V-point to slip through the band easily. Replace and let the rubber band slip into these two notches and your reel troubles are over. — Marvin C. Lesher, Los Angeles 27 , Calif. TWO POWDER PUFFS serve as film cleaner. Improved Film Cleaner The accompanying photos show how I modified my film cleaner so that it could be operated at a much higher rate of speed than previously. The dural frame serves to hold two powder puffs with adjustable pressure, so that the film passes between them as it comes from the cleaner. This removes any excess fluid left by the squeegee. In practice, I pull the film through by means of a projector placed about eight feet from the cleaner. This gives ample time for the film to dry before being wound on the reel. When arranged in this way, a large reel of film may be cleaned with no supervision other than occasionally replenishing the supply of cleaning fluid. — James I. McCaskill, St. Louis, Mo. FOR USE WITH PROJECTOR cleaner is arranged as illustrated. 159 IA/TI>£ #SAO TACrt I