Wooden film holder light leaks- How to fix?

[timbowles]

Well, I tested some wooden film holders I bought, and I only have a couple with

light leaks that would affect the photo. They seem to all have a tiny little

slit leak right in the bottom corner where the flap meets the body of the holder

though. Perhap the darkslides were not pushed all the way in? (I'd expect the

whole bottom of the film to be affected though, and this is not the case)

 

The "bad" leaks are all along the bottom of the holder, either in the corners or

along the bottom itself. I can see how some hockey tape would fix the leak along

the bottom, but what do I do about the corners? I can't see where the light

would be coming from. How are these usually fixed, while leaving the flap mobile

and not adding any material to the face of the holder (which would thereby cause

an uneven interface with the camera back)?

 

Thanks,

Tim

[pico]

A lot of wooden film holders are intended for glass plates. Are you sure you have those

intended for film?

[Monophoto]

When you say the holders leak at the "bottom", do you mean at the hinge end?

 

Carefully examine the small wooden strips that are hinged to the end of the holder. In particular, look at the edge opposite the hinge - there should be a tiny groove in that edge that the darkslide fits into when it is fully inserted into the holder. If the wood is broken away from that edge, it is possible to get leaks.

 

It is often necessary to replace the hinge tape on older holders. The tape itself does not provide a light seal - that comes from the wooden flap fitting precisely into the opening at the end of the holder. All the tape does is serve as a hinge - I'm not familiar with hockey tape, but bookbinders tape, electrical tape, and even duct tape (of course) have been used successfully to rehinge holders.

 

Replacing the tape is simple - strip off the old tape, and apply a new strip. There is a slight rabbet in the face of the flap - just make sure that the tape stays within that rabbet, and then fold it tightly over the end of the holder. I usually use 3/4" tape that covers the flap and the end, and two strips (one on each side, overlapping on the end) are required to repair a holder. After applying the tape, clean up the ends by trimming with a sharp xacto knife.

 

If by "bottom" you are referring to the end opposite the hinge, the problem is likely with the baffling inside the opening that the darkslide fits through. If the holders can be disassembled (some can, but some cannot), then it might be possible to replace the felt baffles.

[timbowles]

I don't have a scanner, but here's an artists rendition:

[timbowles]

And here's a rendition of leaks I'm getting from some plastic holders I got:

[pete_andrews10]

Please don't take this as patronising Tim, but are you sure that the film is being loaded correctly? Because the sort of light leaks you're showing look typical of incorrectly loaded film to me.

 

Sheet film should be pushed right up into the holder as far as it will go, so that it's not trapped under the flap at the hinge end of the sheath.

 

When film is caught under the flap, it prevents the flap from closing properly and can give the sort of corner fogging you've shown.

[timbowles]

Hmmm- not patronizing at all- It's a good question.

I'm using paper that I cut to 5x7 so as not to waste film, but it was done in the darkroom, and I did notice that a couple sheets were a bit long (crimped on the end). I thought the same thing you did. These were not the holders that had the majority of the problems though, and when I did a fix-job and re-tested I made *sure* I wasn't making that mistake again. Things generally improved, but there is just a little hint of fogging at those bottom corners still (I covered the end with black hockey tape).

 

Tim