Transfer:
Are you thinking of converting film to DVD? Are you wondering what you’re going to do with all those old tapes? The good news is that you can put them to good use in your home. Old videotapes are the perfect secret space to hide important things. Perhaps you want to find a safe spot to store precious jewelry. Or, perhaps you have secrets that you need to hide from your family or friends. Either way, you can use those old tapes to keep things safe from prying eyes. So, how do you start?
What Will I Need?
First, you’ll need to get together a few simple items:
- Glue
- A screwdriver
- Cutting bit and rotary tool
- Fabric
- Plastic, thin wood or cardboard
- Scissors
- An old VHS tape
Taking Apart the Old VHS Tape
The first step is the take your old VHS tape apart:
- Rewind the VHS until the whole tape is on one spool.
- Flip over the tape. Remove all the screws.
- Remove both spools from inside the tape.
- Cut the tape. This will separate the spools.
- There will still be a piece of clear tape connected to the middle of the spool without tape on it. Pull it to break it off.
- Draw a line over the spool.
- Cut off the empty spool’s top layer.
- On the other spool that contains tape, melt the tape as you cut it. Use a rotary tool for this.
- Set your rotary tool to its highest speed. This melts the tape while it cuts and stops the tape from coming off its spool.
- Cut through both the spool’s top layer and the tape itself. Don’t cut the bottom layer.
- Return the spools to the case.
- Rotate the spool so you can see the uncut parts through the window.
- Remove the mechanism that controls the spools’ movement.
- Remove the raised plastic that protected the mechanism.
- Remote the metal strip on the case top.
- Cut two pieces of plastic, wood, or cardboard to the same length of the cuts on each spool.
- Glue them onto the cuts. This stops the hidden items from moving into a place where you can see them through the case windows.
- Glue the spools into the bottom half of the case. Make sure you position them properly so you can only see the spools’ uncut parts through the window.
- Fit the upper half of the case onto the bottom half.
- Screw the case together again using the four screws – one in each corner.
- Return the tape to its cardboard or plastic cover.
- Hide any item of your choice inside.
Why Convert Video To Digital?
Useful though old VHS tapes are for storing precious items secretly, why else should you consider converting film to DVD? VHS tapes degrade rapidly. Over time, your old home movies become damaged and, eventually, will be unwatchable. If you transfer them to digital media, you can be sure you will have preserved those memories. Arrange to have your videos transferred to a digital format now and save your family moments.
