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I'm looking to buy new manual rewinders for 16mm and 35mm, preferably of a size that can suit the largest reels. I was going to get them from Van Eck but Brexit has made importing goods from outside the UK complicated and more expensive. Does anyone know of a UK supplier that stocks them?
Thanks.
The last actual manufacturer of this sort of stuff on British soil that I'm aware of was Philip Rigby and Sons: a web search suggests that they stopped making film-related equipment in 2017. Jack Roe certainly used to sell them. According to their website they still sell splicing tape and 35mm spacing - might be worth giving them a ring.
A couple of years ago, when I was looking for a set of rewinders with long shafts to handle multiple reels of both 16 and/or 35mm f I found a good "almost perfect" used pair on E-BAY™. I know you said you were looking for new ones, but if you can't source new ones anywhere, you may want to give e-bay a try. I just gave a quick look on the USA e-bay website, and there are at least a dozen rewinders of various types, condition & vintages listed. (Although the prices seem to have risen exponentially from what I paid just a few years ago! They must be getting rare or something. )
Also, in the immediate post-Brexit period, importing from outside the EU might be easier, cheaper, and less risky than trying to do so from an EU country. I get the impression that the bureaucracy and procedures for transporting goods between the UK and the EU are still bedding in, hence the occasional horror story in the Daily Wail about Tracy from Huddersfield ordering a dress from an Italian website, and then a month later the postman shows up at her door demanding three times the value of the dress in import duty, VAT, and processing fees.
When I lived in the UK, this almost never happened when I ordered stuff from the USA,* which was several times a year. Admittedly it was low value items (books and DVDs, mostly), which it's not worth their while for customs to bother intercepting apart from a small random sample. But it could well be that the system for processing non-EU shipments into the UK is currently more reliable and efficient than from the EU; because there has been no recent change in the rules and laws affecting them.
* I say almost, because it once did, and unforgettably. I ordered a DVD of a movie called Grass directly from its American publisher. About a month later, the doorbell rang. It was a police officer, holding the package and asking me if I'd ordered it. Yes I did, I replied, after looking at the label. He then opened it in my presence, satisfied himself that it was a DVD of an obscure silent movie, apologized for having bothered me, and handed it over. It had attracted the attention of the authorities because the customs label stated "Contents: Grass" ! They suspected that (a) I had ordered a package of an illegal substance, and that (b) the vendor had been stupid enough to state the actual contents on the customs label!
Thank you gentlemen for your suggestions, I suspect I may end up on Ebay. We've already been stung for something ordered from Germany - 20% fee from supplier separately invoiced after purchase, they won't deliver until paid. Bit of a pain when you're working from a budget approved pre-Brexit. I haven't had much luck ordering from the USA in the past, always been hit with customs charges. Still I will find a way, will report back in case anyone is interested.
Leo - good job you didn't order anything from Grass Valley, the entire weight of the UK constabulary would have been down on you (sorry for obscure video gag).
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