Cling film

[Dave Plowman (News]

I have a dispenser in the kitchen which takes cling film, foil and a kitchen roll. Designed for 300mm rolls.

For some reason, cling film now seems to be 350mm wide in every supermarket I've checked. No problem getting 300mm foil and kitchen roll to fit it.

I've tried cutting 350mm down to size - both with tin snips and a junior hacksaw. But both methods seem to 'weld' the cut edge together meaning it tears rather than unwraps off the roll.

I'd guess it is made in very wide rolls initially, then cut to size. How do they do this without the 'welding' effect?

[Robin]

On 01/07/2022 14:23, Dave Plowman (News) wrote: <snip>

I doubt that. I'd expect it to be handled like paper* with the film wound off a wide roll, across sharp blades which cut the single layer of film, onto several narrower rolls.

*I had a vacation job in a paper mill in 1970

[Robin]

Oh and if your dispenser has enough tolerance to cope with 305mm have a look at commercials suppliers - eg

[GB]

Loads of 300mm cling film on Amazon. Some seem like very long rolls, so you need to check the maximum diameter your stand will take.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Yes. Sadly, they never seem to give the dimensions of the roll itself.

[Brian Gaff]

So the question is how to cut a roll then? A very sharp carving knife can work.Surely somebody makes it in the old width though. Incidentally is this the same as what I've seen described as Saran wrap. It feels very similar, but comes in not only different widths but thicknesses as well and the very thick stuff is often used over loads to be put on vans. Brian

[GB]

The cling film I have at the moment has a cardboard spool that is a couple of cms longer than the width of the film, so it sticks out both ends. That's clearly been made by cutting the film to the required width, then winding it onto the spool.

[Richard]

[Dave Plowman (News]

If you think about it, cling film sticks to itself when pressure is applied. Cutting the entire roll at once seems to do this at the cut edge, so it tears when you try to unwind it.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Brian Gaff was thinking very hard :

Which usually has a blue tinge to it.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

GB presented the following explanation :

Several different rolls here and all as above, with the tube sticking out.