Steel Reels: Jobo Hewes vs Calumet Hewes

[mikeseb]

Though I ordinarily use a Jobo ATL-1500, I'm doing a bit more hand processing

these days so I'm buying some tanks and reels. I'd be grateful for the

community's advice about stainless steel reels. I've always used the Paterson

plastic ones, but I'd like to switch to stainless--I've never used them so

they're unfamiliar.<br/ ><br/ >

 

Calumet sells the two above-referenced reels; the <a

href="http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/JB2340/">Jobo variety</a> (link to 35mm

reel shown; note larger center core hole) are designed to go onto a plastic

center column in Jobo 1500 series tanks. I had actually bought three of these a

few years ago--ERRONEOUSLY, they don't work in my processor's 2500 series

tanks!--and still have them on hand, in their original boxes.<br/ ><br/ >

 

Question is, will they work in a conventional s/s developing tank, like those

sold by Calumet and others? When I look at the pictures of the <a

href="http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CP9060/">"Calumet Hewes"</a> reels that

are purposed for the Calumet tanks, the center hole for the fill column/light

trap looks quite a bit smaller than that of the Jobo Hewes I own, which would

suggest that mine should fit. There are no specs listed, and it's tough to tell

from the pictures. Can't even tell whether the two reel varieties have the same

outside diameter.<br/ ><br/ >

 

If anyone has experience with this gear, I'd appreciate your advice, with my

thanks in advance.<br/ ><br/ >

 

Mike Sebastian

[jim_francis]

I don't know the answer to your quesiton, and I don't know why they're called Calumet Hewes now (acquisition?) but Hewes does make the very best SS reels, for my money.

 

All the SS reels I have ever bought have the same outside diameter.

[john_shriver]

Standard stainless steel tanks, the Nikors, or the clones thereof, are 3-1/4 inches in diameter. I have a hunch your reels are larger than that. There were larger tanks that were 4-1/4 inches in diameter, but they are exceedingly scarce.

[mikeseb]

Thanks Jim and John. My ignorance is profound.

 

My guess is that Hewes has made a large quantity of these for Calumet and has co-branded them. I've read a lot about problems with cheaper reels, so I'd just as soon spend the extra $$ for the good stuff, rather than buying the cheap stuff multiple times.

 

My tanks are indeed 3-1/4 inch diameter. As far as the center "axis" hole is concerned: does it really matter? Do steel tanks have a center column like Paterson tanks, that acts like a light trap; or is the light trap entirely in the lid? If the latter, then it won't make any difference what size the center hole is, I'd guess.

 

Think I'd have figured this out by now....

[john_shriver]

Steel tanks don't have a center column. Instead they have a complicated baffle system in the lid that allows fluids through but keeps light out.

 

Note that Calumet's listing shares one photo for the 135, 120, and 220 reels. The reel standing on edge is the 135 (35mm) one. The one on the right is 120, which has the larger hole, the one on the left is the 220 one.

 

The only negative to the 35mm Hewes reels is that due to the thicker wire used for the frame, they are a bit thicker than other brands. If you have a two-reel stainless tank (15 ounces) that's on the short side, it can be a very tight fit, the lid might not seal. Never a problem in the one reel (8 ounce) tanks.

 

Also, looking at the Hewes reel for Jobo tanks, the pitch of the spiral is quite fine. Might be a bit harder to load, but shouldn't be too hard. Sacrifice a roll to learn to load them.

 

A genuine Honeywell Nikor 35mm reel also works quite well. But it has to be genuine, and not bent. Not a sure-fire thing to find when buying them used.

 

The cheap Chinese-made 35mm reels are pretty much useless, they come bent from the factory. Quality was never part of the "Five Year Plans", command economies learned to produce junk.

[antonio_a.1]

Basically you can get Hews reels in two varieties: regular and jobo. The jobo ones,

as you have pointed out, have a larger hole in the centre to accommodate the shaft

you use in jobo tanks, the regular ones dont use this and will fit standard stainless

steel tanks. The calument hewes reels just look like regular Hewes reels to me,

probably sold under some joint branding/marketing arrangement like many

supermarkets have with producers.

 

I use the regular Hewes reels in 120 size in a stainless steel tank and they are far

and away the best reels I have ever used. They are worth the money.

[devtank.com]

Hi Mike,

You are the lucky owner of Jobo reels -these are lovely standard sized reels, possibly the

finest heavy duty professional reels. These reels will fit into standard sized tanks made by

Kindemann, Kalt, Arista, Samigon etc They are the same outer dimensions of the Hewes or

"Calumet Hewes" reels. These Calumet reels are the exact same as the non "Calumet"

reels. 99% of steel reels are the same size and specification.

If you ever decide you dont want those Jobo reels let me know! They are the easiest to

load in my opinion (other than the plastic Jobo 2500 series ones).

Good luck

[stuart_richardson]

<p>I know this is a year later, but I just found this in google and wanted to comment. I agree with Joe! My first stainless steel reels were the Jobo ones that I bought more or less by accident. I wanted stainless steel reels and that is what the store had. They are easier to load than even regular Hewes reels...I like the orientation of the catch the holds the film...it allows you to slide the film in to the base more easily. Also, the hole in the center gives you a very easy place to get a finger onto so that you can easily pull the rolls out of the tank without center lift or dumping out all the chemistry...I find that useful for pulling one roll out of photo flo at a time, to put them up to dry. Anyway, I just like the jobo version and think they are the best designed. </p>