Hello , I don't worry about the pack when baking. Only when being played or for long term storage. In fact, I believe that the loose ,uneven wind helps the infiltration of the heat within the pack. I consider keeping the SSS evenly distributed throughout the pack very important, and allowing the tape to run on the transport guides causes extremely uneven buildup of the binder as it sloughs off the guides or any other fixed appendages.Keeping those guides clean is a pain too . IMHO... Best , Bob Hodge >>> [log in to unmask] 6/6/2005 1:17:46 PM >>> David Seubert wrote: > Why are metal reels necessary? Anything hot enough to melt plastic reels > would be damaging the tape too. We bake tapes on plastic reels and > U-Matic videos in the cassettes all the time with no problems. > > David > I was going to echo this..I've had several tapes baked without having to run them onto metal reels, something that's a major pain to do in the first place if the tape is too sticky to play (you have to run it OUTSIDE the head assembly and you end up with a very uneven pack). I'd think the good Scotch and Ampex reels can take the heat..maybe the very flimsy cheap ones might not. dl > > Robert Hodge wrote: > > >Hello > > > >Baking your reel to reel tape requires the following: > > > >1- VERY IMPORTANT !!- Put the tape on a metal reel. When > >transferring the tape to the metal reel, don't allow it to rub against > >guides or heads in the tape machine as it will cause the sticky shead to > >build up in clumps randomly on the tape, and make it all but impossible > >to remove. Wind the tape loosely on the reel. Reels should be evenly > >spaced with an empty reel between each full one. > > > >