Switching to Bulk-loading. IXMOO or Other Options?

[105012]

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If you took a piece of wood, screwed the AFLOO onto one end and a rod on the other for the bulk roll, you might be able to fit that into a dark bag, maybe? Anyway, HCB always loaded his IXMOO's (FILCA's in early days) with a dark bag and a pair of scissors, unloading the days exposed rolls into a separate tin... I haven't tried this because not  much travelling lately (ha!) and I have a darkroom...

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[Pyrogallol]

7 hours ago, mikemgb said:

They all seem pretty durable, I don’t think you need to worry about Bakelite, I’m pretty sure my Alden is plastic, and heavy duty at that. The Watson 66B also seems to be a heavy duty plastic. 
 

Interestingly, the Watson 100 is manufactured by Pfeffer, the Watson 66B by Burke and James. 

My original loader is Burke &James, the second one is Pfaff, both are model 100. From the wording it looks like they were both made by Pfaff and that the Burke & James name was moulded into ones made for them.

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Edited January 31, 2022 by Pyrogallol

[Pyrogallol]

2 hours ago, Brancbūth said:

Thank you for the heads up. One thing I would like to find out is whether the Alden “clicks” to indicate frame count. I believe that the Watson 100 may do this. That way, I’d be able to use the bulk loader inside of a dark bag without wasting frames, and I could keep the loader inside of a light-right container when not in use in order to preserve the long leader. I would love to pick up an AFLOO, but unfortunately I don’t currently live in a home with any room that I could conveniently block light from, so that method will have to wait.

My Watson 100 clicks as you wind, except that the clicker is a bit worn. I count the number of turns on the handle. I always load 30 frames as I find that winds easier into the developing tank spiral than 36.

[mikemgb]

4 hours ago, Pyrogallol said:

My original loader is Burke &James, the second one is Pfaff, both are model 100. From the wording it looks like they were both made by Pfaff and that the Burke & James name was moulded into ones made for them.

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Interesting, my two Watsons are very different from each other. 

[Brancbūth]

2 hours ago, mikemgb said:

Interesting, my two Watsons are very different from each other. 

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Your Watson 66B seems to be very close in design to the Alden 74 that I have my eye on. Do you notice a significant difference in construction between the two? The main thing drawing me toward the Alden is the fact that, along with a frame counter, it also has a feet/meter counter, which I think will help with ensuring that the loader is properly "calibrated."

 

*edit: you've mostly answered this question in previous comments. I guess what I'm asking is-- in terms of functionality, like the actual loading of a cassette-- do you find the 66B to be "sturdier" in operation?

Edited January 31, 2022 by Brancbūth

[mikemgb]

53 minutes ago, Brancbūth said:

Your Watson 66B seems to be very close in design to the Alden 74 that I have my eye on. Do you notice a significant difference in construction between the two? The main thing drawing me toward the Alden is the fact that, along with a frame counter, it also has a feet/meter counter, which I think will help with ensuring that the loader is properly "calibrated."

 

*edit: you've mostly answered this question in previous comments. I guess what I'm asking is-- in terms of functionality, like the actual loading of a cassette-- do you find the 66B to be "sturdier" in operation?

The 66B is sturdier, it is much the same as the Alden 200. By comparison the Watson 100 is much lighter and feels flimsier. 
 

Not to say the 100 wouldn’t be a good choice, it still works well, I think it will break before the other two though. 

Edited January 31, 2022 by mikemgb

[Brancbūth]

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This morning I saw the Harrison dark tent in some YouTube video and thought "yep, that's it. I'm going to buy an AFLOO and make a rig small enough to fit inside that tent, rather than buy a bulk loader."

Then I saw the price of those tents. What the hell? $260?

[Pyrogallol]

2 hours ago, Brancbūth said:

This morning I saw the Harrison dark tent in some YouTube video and thought "yep, that's it. I'm going to buy an AFLOO and make a rig small enough to fit inside that tent, rather than buy a bulk loader."

Then I saw the price of those tents. What the hell? $260?

If you’re not going to use a loader, I would try to keep the bulk roll of film in its small black plastic bag while you unroll the film, after taking off the sticky tape holding the roll together ( I am talking about current Ilford bulk film that I am used to which comes in a black plastic bag inside a cardboard box, unlike the good old days of a nice metal tin.) It keeps your fingers from marking the bulk roll of film while you are handling it and adds another layer of light security. I suppose you could just wind the film straight onto the cassette spool with your fingers until it feels full. That would not involve stretching out a length of film inside a tent or changing bag. Once you had used one or two rolls of film you should get an idea of how long a film you would get on a spool without measuring it?

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Edited January 31, 2022 by Pyrogallol

[LocalHero1953]

I have just put 30m of Delta 400 in a Watson 66B, loaded my first FILCA cassette, and loaded the cassette into my IIf. I'll have to run the test roll over the next few days - my hands are still trembling.

[LocalHero1953]

I seem to have got the knack of loading IXMOO and FILCA cassettes with my Watson 66 loader.

But how do you avoid losing a couple of frames at the spool end? My normal shooting habit is to wind on until I get resistance, then rewind. With bulk film loaded in the daylight loader that means the last two frames or so are lost, because that end of the film was exposed when loading the cassette. Do you:

• Just rigorously count to (say) 36 frames and rewind, without trying to get the last couple of frames as one does with disposable cassettes?
•  Load film with the bulk loader in a changing bag, cutting the leader by feel to fit in the spool slot? Is there a template to make this easy, like the ABLON for the other end?

Is there another trick?

Edited March 26, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[TomB_tx]

4 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

 Load film with the bulk loader in a changing bag, cutting the leader by feel to fit in the spool slot? Is there a template to make this easy, like the ABLON for the other end?

I used to load / unload the cassette in the Watson 66 in a darkroom, and the back end of some ABLON have a triangle template to cut that end or the leader for a FILCA.

But for years I just shoot a few shots less than I load (normally 20 to 24).

[Pyrogallol]

I always load 30 exposures per roll. Loosing the last two is just something you get used to. It is difficult to know exactly how many frames you will get, especially if you forget to reset the frame counter when you load the camera !

[105012]

15 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

But how do you avoid losing a couple of frames at the spool end? My normal shooting habit is to wind on until I get resistance, then rewind. With bulk film loaded in the daylight loader that means the last two frames or so are lost, because that end of the film was exposed when loading the cassette. …

This is why I switched to loading in the dark using an AFLOO. I like to be able to shoot to the end of the roll. The AFLOO is not really necessary, it’s just a convenience.

[philipus]

I use the simple plastic cassettes one can buy in packs of ten or something like that. I've used the same ones for some 7-8 years now and the felt strips have not yet worn out.

I also have a few FILCAs and thought about getting more because, hey, it's nice to have original Leica stuff. But since I travel a lot and always bring a lot of film they'd simply be too heavy to bring. The plastic ones work great.

I buy 5222 in 400ft rolls directly from Kodak and for bulk loading I use an Alden loader that takes 200ft of film. I've forgotten the model number but possibly the Alden 100, or 200? It took me a while to find on Ebay but they do pop up from time to time.

It's very easy to use, and yes it ticks once per frame so it's easy to count frames as one turns the crank, unless one wants to check the cog on the side where it's also indicated. The trick is to set the counter to two stops before 0 and wind two stops after however many frames on wants to have in the roll.

Yes, the film closest to the cassette's spool will be exposed to light when one attaches it to the spool. The solution is evidently to do that in a changing tent or changing bag or a pitch black room. But I don't do any of this because it's just too much of a hassle. Occasionally the very last frame on a roll might have some light damage but it doesn't bother me.

Philip