film splitter update

I have learned a few things about my derevaun film splitter after putting a couple rolls through it.  I thought I would pass along the small modifications I have made for the benefit of anyone wanting to  try this rather elegant solution to producing discontinued film formats from 120 roll film.

The nut and screw assembly turned out to be a little short to easily span the width of the Falcon-Flex box camera.  I therefore inserted a couple of pieces of sheet foam on either side.  That allowed a much more firm fit for the cutter assembly.  It also meant that I could fully screw in the small screw on the left end of the connector nut, which in turn allowed the width adjustment to be easily made by just turning the connector nut.  With the cutter assembly held firmly in place the horizontal adjustment of the cutter became considerably easier as well.
   In the process of making my measurments with 120 film backing in place in the camera I noticed that the film rails in the camera are actually a bit wider than the film, so measuring for the position of the cutter starting at the side of the camera produced some inaccuracy.
   Inserting the film leader in the take-up spool and advancing the film centers the film strip, and in this camera that means that the edge of the film is actually 2mm inward from the side of the camera.  With the film backing in place, I dabbed a little white paint on the film rail along the border of the film backing; that gave me a starting point for measuring for the desired 46mm width needed for cutter placement.  Accuracy in this regard is desirable, both for allowing the film to travel properly through the camera in which it will be used and also to ensure that the film will properly seat in the film processing spool.
   I'm pleased with the outcome of my DIY splitter endeavor so far; it is going to give me a lot more choice in regard to film types in using my 127 cameras.  The splitter could also be adapted to other formats, and even the left-over strip on the right side could be used for some of the subminiature formats.  I am also currently discarding about seven inches of the 120 film strip which is not needed for the standard 127 film format.  That extra amount could be made use of for a few more exposures in cameras not having a too-tight film compartment.

derevaun's film splitter

So, I made a film splitter with a couple dollars in parts from the hardware store, an old 120 box camera and instructions from Flickr user, derevaun.  I don't recall where I got the old Falcon-Flex which forms the body of the splitter and provides the film holding and advance functions.  No damage is done to the camera in the process, so if I should ever get a yen to see what the camera can do, that possibility remains available.  Derevaun's advice to get the parts from ACE Hardware turned out to be excellent; they had everything I needed including a very helpful store clerk who helped me find the necessary nuts, screws and washers.

The parts include a long and a short machine screw, a long connector nut, two nuts and two washers.  The cutter is a No. 11 Xacto blade.  The nuts and washers which hold the blade are first screwed on the long screw.  Then, the long screw and the short screw are screwed into either end of the connector nut and adjusted to allow a tight fit in the body of the camera.

The blade holding nuts and washers are adjusted so that the blade is a little less than 46mm from the left side of the compartment.  The tip of the blade rests against the roller on the take-up side with just a millimeter or so protruding above the film plane.  The assembly took about ten minutes.

I had a junk roll of 120 film in my tool box, so I put it in the device, closed the back and rolled the film through the camera.  The roll came out perfectly cut with the wider section being just the right size to fit my 127 cameras.  So, I popped in a roll of Arista Edu Ultra 400 and split that.  I put the camera in my dark bag to remove the film roll.  After separating the film from the backing, I rolled it up and put it into a black 35mm film container.  This evening, I'll take the film into my bathroom/darkroom and roll it into some 127 backing paper.  I illustrated that process for creating 828 film in my 6/25/17 post entitled "rollin' , rollin', rollin...".