Spacers when using 9.5" film in #10 Cirkut?

[DougGrosjean]

Hi all,

Trying not to re-invent the wheel.

Have started using some of the 9.5" aerial film that came with my #10 Cirkut. Skipping ahead, I'm pleased with the results.

But....

I figured I could just spool it onto one of the several 10" film spools I've got, biassing it toward the bottom, and let gravity keep it there. I could compensate by shifting the lens up or down slightly.

That works OK for me (have only taken 2 shots using aerial film, but haven't had a problem), but then while researching archives on the Net, I saw where Len Robertson mentioned in 2006, using spacers on a 10" spool when using 9.5" film.

Have I simply been lucky? I know that's possible, and would hate to blow a shot when my luck runs out.

Do spacers make it simpler / easier to spool the 9.5" film onto the 10" spools?

Sorry if some of this stuff should be obvious. Things are going well for me with my Cirkut, and I'd like to keep the relationship a good one.

Thanks!

Doug Grosjean
NW Ohio

[panoramic]

Take a 10 inch spool and saw it roughly in half, then take one end and cut another 3/4 inch or so off. Get a piece of wooden dowel that fits the inside of the spool and you now have an adjustable spool. When you put the loaded spool in the magazine you might have to make a small spacer block to fit under the bottom of the spool post to keep it from sliding back into the 10" position. Or, if you have a lathe you can just fabricate a spacer out of some 1/2 inch plastic then cut the 10 inch spool in half to slip the spacer on and reattach it with a piece of dowel.

I made a master spool that uses one inch pvc pipe for the core, then the film will plays off the spool easier because of the increase in core diameter. You will need some type of pressure plate to provide a bit of drag on the film. The idea is to keep all the gears loaded so there is no backlash.

Ron