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

[shino at panix.com (Rei Shinozuka)]

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 

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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