A-Minima Spool Issues

[Ross Wilson]

I recently bought an A-Mima and I'm loving it, but unfortunately I never checked the state of the spools from the seller as I wasn't sure what I'd be looking for, they looked fine to me at a glance.

The problem I've had is after having some 400ft rolls spooled onto the minima spools as I've gone through these rolls I'm discovering some of the spools weren't even assembled properly. And others had tabs broken. This hasn't seemed to have affected their use however.

One of the spools had the legs inserted so as to be on the wrong side of the clips so they couldn't clip into place yet the tightness of the fit meant it still held together. Another had only one clip on one side that was unbroken and yet it fed the camera fine.

So other than trying to figure out if these spools were damaged and assembled incorrectly before I got them or at the lab somehow did it, does anyone know how these spools work exactly in camera and if it's safe to continue to use the ones with the broken tabs? Are the tabs etc just for holding the spool sides together and don't make a difference when the camera is actually spinning them in place?

Any insights would be gratefully received.

Cheers

[Jeremy Saltry]

Spools are more than spools. Their tolerances are important as the flange aspect provides a role in the transport of the film within the cam. 
 

That being said spools are no longer cheap but they are much cheaper than a visit to a shop for repair. 
 

If you think they are suss. And it sounds like they are. Ditch them. 

[Jefta Varwijk]

Just a thought: Perhaps check in with a larger filmlab in your area. They may have minima-spools lying around. If you give em business, I'm sure they would love for you to use their spools.