- Joined
- Aug 6, 2016
- Messages
- 1,723
-
Thank You For Visiting... Please Click Here and sign up to contribute and reply to posts and download the resources.
Developing 4x5 at home with B's 4x5 Reel
- Thread starter Ian-Barber
- Start date
It's not quite as easy to slip a sheet of 5x4 into each compartment as shown in the video, but you do...eventually...get a technique that works. Also, don't make the initial mistake I made and not use the center core! 
Bad things happen...
Bad things happen...
My first tank was a Dallan. It holds more sheets than most, but I found the recommended agitation method tricky. You are supposed to shuffle it from side to side and I could never hit the sweet spot between proper agitation and sloshing chemicals all over the place. Ian is probably much more dextrous, or he may be using stand development, or he may know something that nobody told me.
Thank you to The Other Ian for posting the video. My B's-reel has just arrived but I'm tied up with some DIY, so no report for a while. It floats!
Thank you to The Other Ian for posting the video. My B's-reel has just arrived but I'm tied up with some DIY, so no report for a while. It floats!
Last edited:
B’s Spiral.
I promised to write something about this new developing system for 5x4 film. The last of my doors is painted and drying, so at last I have time.
This spiral fits in a Paterson 3-reel tank. Although I do have some Paterson tanks, I discovered that I don’t have the right size, so I had to order one. This was a later model than my own, with a very wide mouth, so I had another few things to learn. I assume that any other three-reel tank would work, but I haven’t checked this.
B’s Spiral is 3-D printed and has the characteristic finely ridged surface. I was worried that these ridges might damage the film, but I’ve seen no scratches so far. The inside of the cavities seems a little smoother than the outside. It seems surprisingly light and in fact, it floats.
It’s white, for some reason. Why not black?
I did practice loading the film in the light and imagined that I’d mastered it, but in the dark, I struggled with the first sheet, until it dawned on me that, like loading film-holders, the film had to be exactly aligned with the opening, and I had much less trouble after that. No doubt practice will make perfect. Once aligned, the film slides in easily. It was easy, too, to check that each slot was filled by running a finger around the cut-outs, and there were no doubles. There are tiny ledges at the bottom of each slot, which work as non-obstructive backstops.
It’s essential to fit the tank’s centre column, both to stabilise the spiral and complete the light-trapping. The column is a close fit inside the spiral's core and the accompanying leaflet advises inserting it with care.
A litre of solution fills the Paterson tank and some of the solution is visible in the filling funnel. This surprised me, but it seemed to present no problem.
Inversion is surprisingly noisy, but I took that to mean that it was also thorough. As it was my first time using this tank, I inadvertently loosened the cap and splashed some solution onto the bench. Easily remedied by proper checking; it’s a mistake that should only be made once. Inversion didn't dislodge or move the sheets.
Apart from the spillage, the whole process was easy. Filling and emptying were fast and despite its width, the tank will empty directly into a cylinder mouth, without a funnel.
Washing is through the centre filling hole. I tend to fill and dump, but a continuous flow would work well too, although it might use more water. (We are all going to be more aware of water usage in the future.)
So far, no problems. Then I began to remove the film from the spiral. Surface tension made this quite difficult and I had to pull quite hard to get them out. Happily, there was no scratching. but one sheet had a faint half-moon thumb-mark at the top, where I was careless. All the other sheets were undamaged and unscratched. There may be a better way, which I’ll investigate next time. If there is a better way, I’ll write about it.
The films themselves were nicely and evenly developed and appeared as expected, the backing was properly cleared and any deficiencies had been hand-made by me.
In summary, if I can resolve my withdrawal difficulty, I’d recommend this device, particularly to anyone coming to LF from smaller formats and already having the necessary Paterson tank.
I promised to write something about this new developing system for 5x4 film. The last of my doors is painted and drying, so at last I have time.
This spiral fits in a Paterson 3-reel tank. Although I do have some Paterson tanks, I discovered that I don’t have the right size, so I had to order one. This was a later model than my own, with a very wide mouth, so I had another few things to learn. I assume that any other three-reel tank would work, but I haven’t checked this.
B’s Spiral is 3-D printed and has the characteristic finely ridged surface. I was worried that these ridges might damage the film, but I’ve seen no scratches so far. The inside of the cavities seems a little smoother than the outside. It seems surprisingly light and in fact, it floats.
It’s white, for some reason. Why not black?
I did practice loading the film in the light and imagined that I’d mastered it, but in the dark, I struggled with the first sheet, until it dawned on me that, like loading film-holders, the film had to be exactly aligned with the opening, and I had much less trouble after that. No doubt practice will make perfect. Once aligned, the film slides in easily. It was easy, too, to check that each slot was filled by running a finger around the cut-outs, and there were no doubles. There are tiny ledges at the bottom of each slot, which work as non-obstructive backstops.
It’s essential to fit the tank’s centre column, both to stabilise the spiral and complete the light-trapping. The column is a close fit inside the spiral's core and the accompanying leaflet advises inserting it with care.
A litre of solution fills the Paterson tank and some of the solution is visible in the filling funnel. This surprised me, but it seemed to present no problem.
Inversion is surprisingly noisy, but I took that to mean that it was also thorough. As it was my first time using this tank, I inadvertently loosened the cap and splashed some solution onto the bench. Easily remedied by proper checking; it’s a mistake that should only be made once. Inversion didn't dislodge or move the sheets.
Apart from the spillage, the whole process was easy. Filling and emptying were fast and despite its width, the tank will empty directly into a cylinder mouth, without a funnel.
Washing is through the centre filling hole. I tend to fill and dump, but a continuous flow would work well too, although it might use more water. (We are all going to be more aware of water usage in the future.)
So far, no problems. Then I began to remove the film from the spiral. Surface tension made this quite difficult and I had to pull quite hard to get them out. Happily, there was no scratching. but one sheet had a faint half-moon thumb-mark at the top, where I was careless. All the other sheets were undamaged and unscratched. There may be a better way, which I’ll investigate next time. If there is a better way, I’ll write about it.
The films themselves were nicely and evenly developed and appeared as expected, the backing was properly cleared and any deficiencies had been hand-made by me.
In summary, if I can resolve my withdrawal difficulty, I’d recommend this device, particularly to anyone coming to LF from smaller formats and already having the necessary Paterson tank.
Nice write-up, David! Sounds like you're getting along pretty well with this reel. A couple of points that you may find helpful and/or informative:
1. When loading (in the dark, anyway. I don't work this way, anymore...more on that), I found it helpful to start the sheet into the slot, as Benoit shows in the video, then I reach around with my left hand to ensure that the other edge of the film feeds right into the slot. Kind of hard to explain...does this make sense? I found this method much easier, for me, than trying to do the whole thing with one hand. The reason I don't "do it in the dark" anymore is because I now use IR goggles; makes loading each sheet as simple as can be.
2. The spiral is supposed to fit tightly because he didn't want the reel spinning about the core when using his processor. I just leave the core in the reel at all times.
3. If you submerge the reel in water, you'll find it much easier to remove each sheet following development.
Hope something I've said here helps. Have fun!
1. When loading (in the dark, anyway. I don't work this way, anymore...more on that), I found it helpful to start the sheet into the slot, as Benoit shows in the video, then I reach around with my left hand to ensure that the other edge of the film feeds right into the slot. Kind of hard to explain...does this make sense? I found this method much easier, for me, than trying to do the whole thing with one hand. The reason I don't "do it in the dark" anymore is because I now use IR goggles; makes loading each sheet as simple as can be.
2. The spiral is supposed to fit tightly because he didn't want the reel spinning about the core when using his processor. I just leave the core in the reel at all times.
3. If you submerge the reel in water, you'll find it much easier to remove each sheet following development.
Hope something I've said here helps. Have fun!
Thank you.
I'll try your way of loading. It seems to be a question of finding the Goldilocks curve.
Infra-red goggles sound wonderful. I might have to think about that, but as you might see elsewhere on the forum, I've spent all my pocket money for the moment.
The underwater tip sounds good. I'll report back.
I'll try your way of loading. It seems to be a question of finding the Goldilocks curve.
Infra-red goggles sound wonderful. I might have to think about that, but as you might see elsewhere on the forum, I've spent all my pocket money for the moment.
The underwater tip sounds good. I'll report back.
Yep. I'd be embarrassed to admit how much time I spent, both in the light and in the dark, before I finally arrived at a technique that worked for me. But, once you've worked it out for yourself, the process of loading sheets into the reel becomes very simple.