After our discussions on the regular forum about 127 cameras, I thought I would try to re-spool some 35mm film behind some old 127 backing paper I had leftover from a roll of Efke I shot a few weekends ago.
I keep a lot of my leftover spools and backing papers for experimenting so it was great to have something to play with.
After a bit of dinking with an old roll of developed 35mm film I had laying around and the old 127 backing paper, I "think" I came up with something that might work...that is if you already have some used 127 paper backing and a spool handy.
I started the re-spool from the high numbered end of the backing paper since I needed to end up at the beginning of the roll for it to feed onto the take up spool correctly after I was finished like a new roll of film does.
In the first photo below, you can see that I've started the re-spool project almost at the end of the roll.
Where the paper backing says "STOP" is where I taped the new 35mm film to the backing paper. I did this in the daylight so I could center it on the backing paper easily. I gave myself enough extra at the end so it would be easier to handle and process after the roll is exposed.
Next I put all this in a changing bag, I have a tent style model so it's roomy enough to move a lot a stuff around inside.
I also placed a piece of tape on the numbered side of the backing paper at the beginning of the roll (near the "start" arrow so I would know by feel in the changing bag where to cut the film and then tape it securely to the backing paper. I made sure the pre-cut piece of tape was wide enough to cover the entire edge of the 35mm film (third photo) so it would easily glide forward when I use the re-spooled roll.
I also put some scissors for clipping the end of the film and the pre-cut piece of tape mentioned above inside the changing bag for fastening the film end (which is actually the beginning) securely to the backing paper.
Once all of this was inside the changing bag, I slowly wound the backing paper with the film inside the 127 spool.
Confused? It sounds a bit confusing but it does work out. And hopefully the photos below will clarify it more than I have attempted to explain.
I plan on experimenting some more, and if anyone has any better ideas for doing this please chime in!
Oh, the 12 exposure roll of 127 seems to be about the same length as 16-17 exposures of 35mm, so you'll need a 24 exposure roll of 35mm film to use for re-spooling.
Your results and mileage may vary!
