Re: tape seals?
On 06/07/2019 01:06 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote: On 6/7/19 8:25 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: My experience with them is that the seal bands are quite long-lasting, but the black ends that snap in tend to crack after a while. These small parts could likely be reverse engineered and made on a 3D printer. That's *definitely* not my experience. I don't think I've ever had a "hook" failure. OK, my experience with 1/2" tape mostly ended about 20 years ago, but I STILL have one shelf of tapes in my shop, and ALL the seals are in excellent condition. I have no idea why! (But, mine are in a metal rack, not hanging.) But, we did have some where the separate black ends that formed the hanging hook and clamp broke. Jon
Re: tape seals?
Another failure category that I've experienced with very old IBM reels is that the "blue back" ones can have a tendency to come apart; that is, the rear flange separates from the front. The "blue" ones are a bit different in attachment from the "brown" ones in that the two halves are held together by a number (perhaps 30, I didnt't cound) of slender plastic "fingers" that are molded into the rear flange and engage with a number of metal clips on the front flange. With time, these "fingers" can become brittle and break with the result being a lot of tape on the floor. I put a small bead of polyurethane glue (e.g. "Gorilla") on the outer radius of the "finger" attachments and clamp the whole assembly together until the glue cures. No glue gets into the tape areas and the result seems to be permanent. I also get the occasional broken or cracked flange, but those are simple to repair using a good acrylic solvent cement. --Chuck
Re: tape seals?
On 6/7/19 8:25 AM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote: > On 06/05/2019 06:05 PM, Stan Sieler via cctalk wrote: >> Hi, >> >> I think someone was looking for tape seals for 9 track tapes, a few weeks >> ago. >> >> If they can contact me offline, I have about 20 of varying sizes for >> shipping cost or local pickup. > My experience with them is that the seal bands are quite long-lasting, > but the black ends that snap in tend to crack after a while. These > small parts could likely be reverse engineered and made on a 3D printer. That's *definitely* not my experience. I don't think I've ever had a "hook" failure. I process tapes in batches of five--five in the oven, five in the cleaner, five to be photographed and five to be read. They're returned to the customer in 12x12x12 boxes in batches of 10. Out of the new batch of five out of the oven this morning, here are two samples of what I see: https://i.imgur.com/HRYYs8Z.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zMQ8Jmw.jpg Notice that these are official "TapeSeal" bands, not some knockoff. Granted, most of the stuff I get is from the 1960s and 70s; the two reels shown above were probably new sometime around 1968-71. --Chuck
Re: tape seals?
On 06/05/2019 06:05 PM, Stan Sieler via cctalk wrote: Hi, I think someone was looking for tape seals for 9 track tapes, a few weeks ago. If they can contact me offline, I have about 20 of varying sizes for shipping cost or local pickup. My experience with them is that the seal bands are quite long-lasting, but the black ends that snap in tend to crack after a while. These small parts could likely be reverse engineered and made on a 3D printer. Jon
Re: Tape seals?
On 5/19/19 6:37 PM, Guy Dunphy wrote: > Just a thought - I buy small ziplock bags of various sizes in bulk from > Aliexpress. Very cheap. > I use them around the workshop, electronics, and for filing B5-sized > documents in storage cubes. > > It seems likely there would be ziplock bags that fit tape reels. With a > choice of light or > heavy duty film thickness. > > Pros: > * Keep dust, moisture and pests away from the tape. > * Cheap and always available. > * Takes up no significant extra space. > * Allows inclusion of things like information sheets, keeping them > associated with specific tapes. > * Can put big labels on the bags. > > Cons: > * Not as neat as ring seals. > * Doesn't allow hanging. A lot of what I'm given to process are reels from the 1960s and 1970s. Many, by the time they reach me, have suffered some reel damage. Plastic gets brittle with age and tossing 30 tapes in a box and shipping them ground certainly doesn't help! You try to tell the customer to ship the tapes in no more than about 10 to a box (25 lbs), but the guys in the shipping department figure that if double-walled big boxes work, then they'll just fill them up and toss in some bubble wrap... Sometimes, just removing the broken off sections is sufficient if they're small, but I've had to resort to using solvent cement to stick bits of reels back together sufficiently to mount the reel (I use MEK, but keep a separator between the reel flange and tape until the stuff dries). I've even had a couple of two-part reels come apart. Ziploc freezer bags in the one and two-gallon size are supermarket items here, but they just don't offer enough protection. Thanks for the idea, though! --Chuck
Re: Tape seals?
At 09:36 AM 18/05/2019 -0700, Chuck wrote: >There may be better solutions, but I haven't come up with one yet. It's >a bit funny; I can remember when the tape seal adoption was causing >dumpster-loads of hard plastic tape cases to be scrapped. The cases >that remain tend to be intact, even after 50 years. Just a thought - I buy small ziplock bags of various sizes in bulk from Aliexpress. Very cheap. I use them around the workshop, electronics, and for filing B5-sized documents in storage cubes. It seems likely there would be ziplock bags that fit tape reels. With a choice of light or heavy duty film thickness. Pros: * Keep dust, moisture and pests away from the tape. * Cheap and always available. * Takes up no significant extra space. * Allows inclusion of things like information sheets, keeping them associated with specific tapes. * Can put big labels on the bags. Cons: * Not as neat as ring seals. * Doesn't allow hanging. * Bags provide no support for the reel edges though, so you'd have to be careful with stacking. Guy
Re: Tape seals?
On 5/18/19 8:25 AM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote: > > > On 5/18/19 7:33 AM, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk wrote: > >> Is there any outfit that sells "new tape seals"? Or a preferred better way >> to hang tapes in 2019? > > FWIW, IBM auto-load hard plastic seems to be holding up better, you might be > able to find a small > quantity of those around. > > Failing that, late era crappy tape might be found, and the seals scavenged > though the price is > probably prohibative. Exactly. After cruising for about a year or so, looking for tape seal replacements, I decided that none were to be had. Not even the few places that still sell NOS tapes had any to spare for any price. And any old stock is likely to be deteriorating. I suspect that no new tape seals have been produced in the last 20 years. After doing more investigation, I settled on 800' 16mm film cans made for archival preservation. There appear to be two types (I have samples of both)--one vented and the other not. This makes sense as a lot of acetate-based film stock was manufactured and, as it decays, gives off acetic acid, which, unless removed, further corrupts the film base. Of course, if you have the old Wright-Line style of tape racks, you can't hang film cans. Fortunately, all of the magnetic tape that I've seen is mylar-based, which doesn't have the problem, so no venting is necessary. Magtape issues are mostly due to deterioration of the tape binder, for which "baking" can go a long way to at least temporarily remedy. Both types of film cans are made from polypropylene, as far as I can tell, so they're probably good for my lifetime, at least. A 10.5" reel of tape fits quite nicely, such that no additional support is needed. Larry Urbanski seems to have the best price on the cans, about $5.75 each, but he'll negotiate for quantity. There may be better solutions, but I haven't come up with one yet. It's a bit funny; I can remember when the tape seal adoption was causing dumpster-loads of hard plastic tape cases to be scrapped. The cases that remain tend to be intact, even after 50 years. --Chuck
Re: Tape seals?
On 5/18/19 7:33 AM, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk wrote: > Is there any outfit that sells "new tape seals"? Or a preferred better way to > hang tapes in 2019? FWIW, IBM auto-load hard plastic seems to be holding up better, you might be able to find a small quantity of those around. Failing that, late era crappy tape might be found, and the seals scavenged though the price is probably prohibative.
Re: Tape seals?
On 5/18/19 7:33 AM, Shoppa, Tim via cctalk wrote: > Is there any outfit that sells "new tape seals"? nope Chuck just went through this and decided to use film canisters
