8mm Forum: The Joys of Mechanical Film Projection

This is topic The Joys of Mechanical Film Projection in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on March 18, 2006, 12:59 PM:

Paul asked me to post this great photo.

Paul Adsett's grandson Jacob enjoying Popeye on the 9.5mm hand cranked Pathe Baby.

Paul,

Wonderful! I think I have the same look when I'm projecting.

Doug

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 18, 2006, 01:23 PM:

Great pic!

Paul, Is this your halogen converted Pathé?

Doug, you have that same look on your "pointing-at T2" mugshot... [Big Grin]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 18, 2006, 01:38 PM:

Hi Jean-Marc,
Yes it is! There's no way I would run a Pathe Baby with the original mains voltage 'resistance mat' design in the base of the machine. The halogen bulb is a 12 volt 20 watt type used in garden lighting systems, and is driven from a small solid state transformer which fits very nicely into the existing base of the Baby when the old ceramic resitance mat is ripped out, so the appearance of the machine is totally unchanged. I had a couple of special parts made up at a local machine shop in order to mount the halogen lamp into the existing lamp housing. All in all a very successful conversion.
Jacob just loves this machine (he's more impressed with it than the GS1200!), and the Pathe 9.5mm films that you very kindly gave to me on your trip to Orlando last year.

Posted by Dan Lail (Member # 18) on March 18, 2006, 01:56 PM:

Paul, I love it! Inquisitive kid, he's bound to take after gramps. My grandfather was an inventor , musician, artist and I was facinated by his work. Carry on. [Wink]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 18, 2006, 09:34 PM:

Great thing to share with little kids! I just finished a couple of Bugs Bunnies and Mickey Mouses (Mickey Mice?) with my 3 year old; he loves it!

It's a regular event around here. I was griping to myself how little time I got out of my last projecton lamp, but then started to consider how quickly the pile of film boxes develops on the table once we get going here! At that rate I got at least my 50 hours...

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on March 18, 2006, 11:58 PM:

Wonderful pic Paul!What a great Pathe advert,what a great home movie advert,for that matter! Trev

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on March 19, 2006, 12:04 AM:

Hi Paul
What a fantastic photo! the look on you grandsons face tells it all, you must be a very proud Grandad?
Regards Graham

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on March 21, 2006, 07:57 AM:

Poor Kid.....I can tell by the look on his face- HE'S HOOKED FOR LIFE! And so young, too [Big Grin]

Paul, you might as well get him registered on the forum, and a subscription to "Super 8 Today".

[Smile]

Great photo, Paul [Smile]

.

Nick.

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on March 21, 2006, 06:50 PM:

I see a hand-cranked GS1200 in this kid's future. [Wink]

I do love the photo, though... there's little I can say except to echo everyone else's sentiments... it's great. [Smile]

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on April 01, 2006, 03:37 AM:

I agree with Trevor,

a great picture for an advert.

For example:

Andreas

[ April 01, 2006, 07:04 AM: Message edited by: Andreas Eggeling ]

Posted by David A. Goldfarb (Member # 582) on April 01, 2006, 06:15 AM:

Delightful!

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on April 01, 2006, 08:19 AM:

Very Nice Andreas! Thank's for your version -Jacob will be thrilled to see it. [Smile]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on April 01, 2006, 02:06 PM:

Done on poster size, that would be a good pic on the way into the forum of the BFCC.

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on April 04, 2006, 11:49 AM:

Paul

What a wonderful picture, I have opened this thread several times just to see it and it has made me smile each time. I think it represents this forum and this wonderful hobby of ours very well. I'll explain;

Most of us will remember growing up in an era where there were more mechanics and fewer electronics, somehow, we had to work harder to make an impact on our immediate environment and the rewards, I think were sometimes greater. I wasn't lucky enough to have a cine projector when I was growing up, not even a toy one but I had a train set and of course Meccano, but best of all was my little Mamod Steam Engine. This little toy was my most prized possesion and I cared for it meticulously, dismantling it and cleaning it and then reassembling it using the 'Mamod' recommended lubricants before filling the water tank and firing up the little meths burner. Over several Christmases and birthdays I collected the various accessories, the grinding wheel for sharpening my pen knife and the little dynamo that lit a very small lamp!

Years later, when I was a teenager and had my first car I spent countless Saturdays under the bonnet, tinkering. One weekend I removed the engine and stripped down the top end, decoking it and fitting it with new valves and valve springs, I took hours grinding them all in and then ultimately tuning the engine so that it ran sweetly. The satisfaction of driving that car to work on the monday morning was extraordinary, hearing the engine purr and feeling the response from the accelerator was ample reward for the hours I had spent over the weekend covered in engine oil and surrounded by odd looking components!

It is a little like the oft used analogy of the view from the top of Snowden, you can get there by train or on foot, either way the views are just the same but somehow, with the satisfactioin of having walked it the views seem all the more impressive.

Which brings me back to young Jacob, he is growing up in a marvelous world, full of new and exciting technologies and oportunities, but he has the advantage of having turned the little handle and listened to the sweetly running mechanism whilst delighting at the image that he has made move across the screen.

I can't imagine life without my computer and the internet or for that matter without DVDs and CDs and everything else that comes with them, but I would equally hate to live in a world where I wasn't able to operate equipment that has an individual charector and responds to me differently every time.

Mike

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on April 04, 2006, 01:53 PM:

Thank's Mike, and I agree with your sentiments about things mechanical. It was obvious to me that when Jacob first turned the handle on the little Pathe Baby, that a connection was made in his head- as you said, he was making Popeye throw that can of spinach! This is something that today's DVD crowd will never experience, never mind about appreciate. They are so accustomed to moving images on demand that they give no thought to the history and magic of the film process. Movie projectors let people see, feel, and touch movie magic in a way that DVD will never be able to offer. Of course I'm preaching to the choir here- we all know that! But I think the moral is this. We should all be proud of our movie projectors and film collections- they are a link with the past that will be more and more appreciated by other people as time goes by. I find that friends of mine that I bring to my home are amazed and intrigued with cine equipment and film. Those who have discarded their films and equipment to become exclusively DVD will, I think, surely regret it when they find downstream that the supply of desirable cine equipment and films has dried up.

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on April 04, 2006, 01:59 PM:

Mike,

You never once mentioned the Mamod's box. Does this mean a year on the road has been a cure? [Eek!]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 04, 2006, 06:22 PM:

Mamod, you say?!!

I have a stationary engine, the locomotive (#1 Gauge) and a Steam Wagon (That's a truck with a boiler out front for the enlightenment of my own countrymen, I don't think we ever had these here!). My kid and I have a ball with them when it's too bright for projection! (Valuable lesson: "Hot! Don't touch!")

Somehow the little hand held computer games the kids have these days don't seem as appealing, and somehow I doubt they'll still run like new in 30 years like these do either. On the E-bay of 2036, this stuff will be rare and yet probably not wanted regardless! ("Like ewwwww !! That's so pre-direct neuro-interface! Do I have to actually use my eyes and hands?")

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on April 05, 2006, 06:47 PM:

Tony,

I must confess that I had all the boxes for the accessories, and I used to pack them away diligently after each use. Don't seem to remember having the box for the engine itself though, must have mislaid it after I screwed the engine to that big piece of timber! [Wink]

Steve,

Mine was a stationary engine also but I don't remember now what the model number was, it was a very small one though so probably the smallest of the range. I guess they are deemed to dangerous for kiddies these days with their potential for singing little fingers and setting lite to the table cloth! [Roll Eyes]

I actually set lite to the lawn with mine once, that was during the summer of '76 which us Brits still remember fondly as the 'long hot one' [Smile]

.

Paul

Perhaps we should see if it's possible to get Jacobs photo come up on the opening page of the forum, like a kind of Mascot [Big Grin]

.

Mike

Posted by Craig Hamilton (Member # 258) on April 05, 2006, 07:32 PM:

AHHHHHHHH good old Mamod. A real boy's toy!

Craig

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on April 06, 2006, 09:57 AM:

Steve Klare asked me to post these photos. Here's Steve and his son experiencing the joys of mechanical transportation!

Do the locomotion!

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 06, 2006, 10:41 AM:

Thanks for posting the photos, Doug!

There we were a few weeks back and my wife wanted to clean up without "help". She said, "Please keep him occupied a few minutes?" No problem!

This always works!

Fuel is solid camp stove fuel. It stinks up the house a little, but it's much safer than the liquid stuff, especially indoors, especially where the engine is vehicular, especially with inquisitive little hands in attendance.

If it had been dark, a few cartoons on the big screen would have done the trick, but this is always fun!

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on April 06, 2006, 02:09 PM:

Craig,

That looks a bit like mine, except that I don't think it had that extension to the side. My little accessories had to be screwed to the timber I had the machine on and I seem to remember that they were always mounted 'ahead of the machine'.

Steve,

I want one of those, the traction engine that is, not the toddler [Big Grin]

!

Mike

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 06, 2006, 04:37 PM:

"Toddler"? This guy can run a lot faster than an adult can walk, so we prefer to call him "HEY!!!, COME BACK HERE!!!"

As you can see, he's very interactive. He's toned back his involvement in my movies from the time he wrapped himself up in a 200 footer like an acetate mummy, but now he drags a dining room chair over to the light switch (for altitude) and runs the room lights for me!

Unlike many of the things we pine for on this forum, Mamods are still being made today (the company was revived a few years back), although they cost about 3 times what they did when I bought mine!

http://www.mamod.co.uk/

Ok Mike: Did your engine have the cylinder and flywheel on top of the boiler or down on the baseplate? Did it have a whistle or not?

[ April 06, 2006, 08:35 PM: Message edited by: Steve Klare ]

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on April 07, 2006, 11:28 AM:

Steve

We seem to have taken Pauls thread right off topic here so maybe would should open a Mamod thread in the Yak section? Sorry Paul [Roll Eyes]

Any way, back to business: My Mamod was a very litte one, I don´t remember it having that big base plate as shown in the pictures above, I´m pretty sure the base plate was only about a 1/2 inch bigger than the engine all round. There was a fly wheel mounted on the side of the engine and from this I used to run a drive band to my accessories (all of which I kept neatly boxed when not in use [Wink]

).

I don´t think it had a whistle, I´m sure I would have remebered that [Smile]

.

I´m getting all nostalgic for it now and will probably have to go onto Ebay when I get back to the UK and see if I can find one so that I can relive old times again [Cool]

.

Great to see they´re still being produced, just goes to show there still is a market for this old technology!

Mike

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 07, 2006, 11:46 AM:

Agreed!: Kids and Films, Kids and Films!!

Last statement(s) on Mamod: Your engine was Mamod Se1. I bought my first in 1977: Model Se2a. (Stationary with whistle and reversing gear on a large baseplate.)

Se3 was twin cylinder and super-heated: surely the GS-1200 of the Mamod Universe!

The experience and the interest served me very well when I studied Thermodynamics in engineering school!

Loads of trashed Mamods on E-bay if you are looking for a project! (Shouldn't be a big deal for somebody who fixes up old VWs)

Loads of nice ones too!

Ahem: back on topic. (sorry!)

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on April 07, 2006, 01:34 PM:

Were any super 8mm projectors powered by steam? [Big Grin]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 07, 2006, 02:11 PM:

Depends on how you look at it!

Since pretty much all electric generation except hydroelectric starts with some kind of a boiler and a turbine, you might say most Super-8 projectors are at least indirectly steam powered!

(Even Hydro depends on solar evaporation to get the water up the hill, but that's stretching it!)

I don't think Super-8 projectors have ever been solar powered because if it were bright enough outside to get the power...(well, you fill in the blanks!)

Wind...maybe!

Posted by Eberhard Nuffer (Member # 410) on September 13, 2008, 02:23 PM:

A couple of weeks ago, I gave to my godson a super 8 sound projector plus two Disney digests ("The Match of the Century" and "The Jungle Book" both in Piccolo versions) - all acquired via eBay - as presents for his seventh birthday.
You can't believe the happiness of the little boy: There were already three showings of "Match of the Century" and two screenings of "Jungle Book" within the next three hours. His mother (my sister-in-law) told me that since then nobody can come to their house without being shown at least one Disney digest. And his grandma (my mother) affirmed how proud the seven-year-old is - especially as he is the only boy in his school form who owns a real movie projector.
I hope, he will maintain this level of enthusiasm...

Posted by David Pannell (Member # 300) on September 13, 2008, 03:27 PM:

For what it's worth, I recently screened Buster Keaton's "The General" for my grandson, Tristan, who has just turned five.

Not only was he thrilled at the novelty of the Elmo E-80, but gave a running commentary about who were the "goodies" and the "baddies", and what they were doing!!

It certainly makes one realise that children haven't really changed from "our day", and are still capable of making their own entertainment with their unique imagination, given the chance.

The lack of sound in the film wasn't even noticed or mentioned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WONDERFUL.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on September 13, 2008, 03:59 PM:

what a great thread! Paul, that pic of your grandson reminds me of me at his age discovering MY grandfather's 16mm hand crank! Wonderful! [Smile]

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on September 13, 2008, 04:48 PM:

Eberhard-

Thanks for bringing this great thread back up and that perfect photo! Kids can be so jaded today with constant cable programing, video games, etc...

But some of them can really appriciate the magic of real film. I find that, even if they don't become collectors, they will still have a certain appriciation for it when they get older.

My son is one of those. He's 19, and doesn't have the interest of actually collecting or showing movies (thank goodness [Cool]

), but is always asking me to show movies on the projector (his favorite: Star Wars).

By the way Eberhard- what kind of projector did you get the lucky lad??

James.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on September 14, 2008, 06:06 AM:

My son Adrian was absolutely fascinated a few years a go when we were going through a pile of old 78rpm shellac records.

He had never seen gramaphone records before let alone seeing and hearing them play [Frown]

He also got many hours enjoyment making flower pots from the ones which were damaged.

I remember doing this exact same thing when I was a youngster [Eek!]

Theres a lot to be said for the analogue days [Wink]

Kev.

Posted by Stewart McSporran (Member # 128) on September 14, 2008, 06:51 AM:

I too had great fun with my Mamod engine. But even more when I built my own, from scratch, a few years ago.

Posted by Eberhard Nuffer (Member # 410) on September 16, 2008, 04:15 AM:

James,

it's a Revuelux sound 620, which should be identical to the Chinon Sound SP-350 (probably built by Chinon and distributed by Foto-Quelle/Revue).
I had one of these machines myself about twenty years ago and it performed very well (picture as well as sound) until some parts wore out.

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