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Author Topic: Bolex M8 Belts?
Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

- posted June 05, 2012 07:00 PM      Profile for Bryan Chernick   Email Bryan Chernick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Is there a flat rubber belt for the Bolex M8 Projector? This is different than the spring belt for rewinding. Can anyone tell me where this belt goes and how to access it? The reason I ask is because this seller in Italy has them:

SILMA,BAUER,FUMEO,CANON,BOLEX,CINGHIA SEZ.PIATTA BELT

PER CINE PROIETTORE BOLEX PAILLARD M8 KIT CINGHIE DI RICAMBIO 2x

Here is the translation:
KIT SPARE BELTS 2x

BOLEX PAILLARD M8

REPLACE THE BELT OF YOUR CINEPROIETTORE

IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROPER FUNCTION!

THE KIT INCLUDES:

A FLAT BELT (motor / disc)

A ROUND BELT (external mechanical rewind)

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Barry Fritz
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: Burnsville, MN, USA
Registered: Dec 2009

- posted June 06, 2012 04:59 PM      Profile for Barry Fritz   Email Barry Fritz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
No belt. Take up spindle is direct drive from motor. Spring belt is optional for faster rewind.

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

- posted June 06, 2012 05:14 PM      Profile for Bryan Chernick   Email Bryan Chernick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That's what I thought Barry, everything internal is gear driven. I have not taken mine apart and don't plan to unless something goes wrong.

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Barry Fritz
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: Burnsville, MN, USA
Registered: Dec 2009

- posted June 06, 2012 09:59 PM      Profile for Barry Fritz   Email Barry Fritz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If you just want to peek into it a little, it is very easy to pop the bottom off. Only issue some have is the variable speed. Great, simple projector.

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

- posted June 06, 2012 11:31 PM      Profile for Bryan Chernick   Email Bryan Chernick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The speed on mine tends to wander until it gets warmed up. Even then it does still wander a little.

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Thomas Dafnides
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 247
From: St. Louis, Missouri USA
Registered: Dec 2009

- posted June 09, 2012 10:56 PM      Profile for Thomas Dafnides     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
In the Bolex M8 , there is a tooth belt inside from Motor axle to shutter shaft, ...... I have never heard of one needing to be replaced. Who said there are no lifetime belts?

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John Last
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 104
From: Codsall, UK
Registered: Dec 2012

- posted December 14, 2012 05:22 AM      Profile for John Last   Email John Last       Edit/Delete Post 
The drive between the motor and the mechanism is by a flat belt. Access is obtained by removal of 4 screws which hold the 2 halves of the projector together (These screws may be very tight). Make sure that the claw is retracted before separating the castings. To replace the belt, one must take the mechanism to pieces:not an easy job. However, I have used a circular cros-section rubber cord, cut to length, the ends being cut at 45 degrees so that they ovelap neatly. Then stick the ends together with super-glue (care!) My machine is running well on this new belt.

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

- posted December 14, 2012 10:39 AM      Profile for Bryan Chernick   Email Bryan Chernick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I wonder if different versions of this projector had different belts. John, is your projector the olive color with black knobs or the two tone grey with red knobs? What is the serial number? They may have changed it after a certain date. the Bolex Collector site has dates for the serial numbers.

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John Last
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 104
From: Codsall, UK
Registered: Dec 2012

- posted December 15, 2012 08:22 AM      Profile for John Last   Email John Last       Edit/Delete Post 
Brian, I have 2 M8's. Serial numbers are 404861 and 379784 Both are two-tone grey with red control knobs. I have modifed both machines to accept modern lamps. One is 12v 100w and the other is 15v 150W. Also i have replaced the wire-wound speed control resistors on one machine with an SCR module. I have never come across a gear driven Bolex yet but would like to know what serial numbers this started from. John

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Barry Fritz
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: Burnsville, MN, USA
Registered: Dec 2009

- posted December 18, 2012 12:00 PM      Profile for Barry Fritz   Email Barry Fritz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I stand corrected! Sorry for the misinformation. Live and learn.
Bolex G series are gear driven, John, but I take it you were referring to the M8.

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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010

- posted April 30, 2013 12:44 PM      Profile for Gerald Santana   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was running my M8 recently with a lot of film, I oiled frequently while it was in use. The last few reels I ran were very jumpy at the gate so, I put it away for a couple of weeks.

Last night, I warmed it up then threaded a film and noticed that the speed was "off" and still jumpy on a new print that was cleaned and lubricated.

At about the halfway point after reducing the speed, the jumpy picture looked okay but all of the sudden the machine came to screeching halt. Is this a belt issue that I will have to fix or has anyone experienced this before and has good tips on how to get it back to normal?

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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/

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Barry Fritz
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: Burnsville, MN, USA
Registered: Dec 2009

- posted May 01, 2013 09:46 AM      Profile for Barry Fritz   Email Barry Fritz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If it were a belt issue, the motor would still be turning. Is it? If not, you have a power issue. Easy to get to switch terminals via removal of sole plate. Check for power with multitester. Check to see that the bar that crosses the two wound coils of the speed reostat is in place.

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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010

- posted May 13, 2013 09:56 PM      Profile for Gerald Santana   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I had a chance today get into the M8 after trying to start it up again. The threading knob wasn't spinning but, the motor went on and the take up drive did turn. So, I took off some screws and opened the machine to find that the flat belt looks very worn, then there are also two spring belts looking floppy and very loose, pictured below.

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There was also a piece that I assume was connected to the shutter that was not attached to anything pictures below. I have no idea what could be wrong, are these belts still made? I love this machine and it ran great until I used it one to many times then, it just stopped. Any help would be appreciated!

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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

- posted May 13, 2013 10:30 PM      Profile for Bryan Chernick   Email Bryan Chernick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Are you sure those are spring belts or the oil wicks. It looks like the one on the right that the arrow is pointing to is coming from the spot on top where you add oil. Can you get a closer picture of the inside?

There is someone in Italy that sells Bolex M8 projector belts every now and then (the flat kind). I have not seen them listed for several months now. Don't confuse it with the spring belt that is used for rewinding on the outside of the projector. I see those for sale all the time.

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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010

- posted May 14, 2013 01:26 AM      Profile for Gerald Santana   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Those are the oil wicks, I thought they were belts or springs. So after deconstructing it a little more, the pin that holds the shutter isn't turning. I took off the claw by accident, that is the extra piece and put it back on. It worked for a few seconds then the pin stopped spinning, there is a lot of resistance even with the flat fabric belt off. I think this could be fixed, I just need to know where to adjust the tension for the pin, the shutter isn't moving at this point.

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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/

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John Last
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 104
From: Codsall, UK
Registered: Dec 2012

- posted May 14, 2013 05:40 AM      Profile for John Last   Email John Last       Edit/Delete Post 
Regarding the internal workings of an M8, there is a small nylon square bit (which is near the bottom middle of your photo). This is an essential part which sits neatly between the rotating disc and the claw arm. It is held in place by a spring. So if you carefully examine where the spring should be attached and fix that, it should be on the way to get it going again. When I have time, I'll examine mine and post more details.

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John Last
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 104
From: Codsall, UK
Registered: Dec 2012

- posted May 14, 2013 11:38 AM      Profile for John Last   Email John Last       Edit/Delete Post 
Gerald, I have looked inside my M8. Starting from the LHS, the main shaft is made up like this: 1.Rear bearing 2,Driven pulley secured to shaft by 2 screws 3,Shutter. This is sandwiched between the up and down cam and the driven pulley.4,Cam for in and out movement.5.Worm gear. 6 Front bearing. As far as I can see there is only one pin which holds the worm gear in place. The lever shown in your photo is for film gate alignment. The wee nylon pad goes between the claw & in-out-cam.Hope this helps

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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010

- posted June 01, 2013 11:07 AM      Profile for Gerald Santana   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Back to the repair this morning, thanks for all of your help John. I squirted some WD40 into the oil wicks, corresponding holes, in the bearings, shaft, etc. That got it back to rotating in seconds after it was jammed very tight with no rotation.

It was spinning freely but, I had already cut out the original belt off, it looked worn and frayed from the inside. I'll still save it just in case but, I replaced it with my own rubber belt and superglued it.

After waiting a few minutes to dry then, putting the machine back together, the film was not running correctly -- it was the claw sticking way to far out for the film to progress. It tore some sprockets from a test film. So, after multiple adjustments to the screws near the shutter, I finally got the claw aligned and the projector is seemingly back in business, running at top speed and with LESS noise.

This took a few hours to do/figure out so, for all those out there with patience, this projector is very easy to do minor repairs on. I just picked up a Kodak Analyst 8 with a 1.0 lens, which unfortunately does not fit the Bolex but, I suspect the lens could be shaved down to fit -- just a thought. Anyway, I'm now running another short and it's working great!

UPDATE: 10 min. into a 400' reel the shutter stopped rotating. I'll check the belt after the lamp cools.

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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/

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