P3D Re: Dirty Filthy Red Handed Cheaters

[Mark Shields <beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx>]

It's nice to know someone else is strapped for time
to mount stereo slides!

I've never gotten around to buying a film cutter--I use
a pair of mustache scissors. I've thought about those
bargain Polaroid cutters, but that's been the extent
of it! I don't have a light box--just a fluorescent desk
lamp; my fluorescent tabletop viewer sits on a small
table to my right. I've thought about the light box, too,
but there isn't any room on my desk or nearby since there
are three computers and a large printer.

I, too, use little pieces of scotch tape to hold my Nimslo
chips in place. I don't even used canned air--I use a big
squeeze bulb. For really tough cases I have a little bit
of the good old Kodak film cleaner left--bought the bottle
about 20 years ago! (I do find that some ordinary pieces
of dust can be whisked away quickly with a dry Q-tip--those
that just won't be blasted away with the squeeze bulb.)

I use heat seal mounts exclusively. Since these are 2X2,
they get zipped up very quickly with a small household iron.
I'm careful about the heat setting and have yet to see any
effect on the film itself, although I take it easy when
I get close--bear down hardest and hottest around the edges
of the mount.

If a shot is bad, I throw it away right away. Then I have lots
of little yellow boxes full of second-rate stuff that I just
might want to look at again. Sometimes I go through these and
throw some away; occasionally I mount one and put it in the trays.

But what really saves time is using a beamsplitter--then both
halves of the pair are on one piece of film--pop it into the
mount, iron it, and I'm done--takes less than 60 seconds--no
window to set, only one piece of film, no tricky area to seal
between the two openings since there is only one opening in
a standard 2X2 mount!  :-)  I often stick less-than-wonderful
beamsplitter shots into mounts just for convenience--it's so
easy! The Nimslo shots, also going into 2X2 mounts, are of course
a tougher, but not any more difficult than the standard
stereo mounts. The pocket built into the mount gives a top
or bottom "rail" to align the chips vertically, and horizontal
adjustments are made by hand before sticking a piece of scotch
tape on it. I could use the "official" tape tabs from Reel-3D
or someplace else, but think the ordinary tape is cheaper!  8-)

Mark Shields

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beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx
http://www.stmattpitt.org
"Let the little children come to Me," Jesus said, "and don't keep
 them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
  -Matthew 19:14




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