8mm Forum: 600-reel wont fit, but should...?

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Posted by Jon Anders Klausen (Member # 818) on May 31, 2009, 08:23 PM:

Hi,

I have a Bolex SM80 electronic, and it is supposed to take 600-reels. But (there´s always a but), on the back arm, it doesn´t fit. I´ve read a review of the projector from an old magazine, and they say that it should take that size.

So I´m wondering if my 600-reel (I only have this one, so I can´t compare with another) is bigger than other 600-reels? It is 20,6cm across.

pictures:
http://img199.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bilde045.jpg

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4382/bilde046.jpg

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on May 31, 2009, 08:55 PM:

Hi Jon,

It's very possible you need to depress a latch and swing the arm up to a second position for the 600 foot reel.

I have a very similar Bolex SP-80 Special and the "default position" (or whatever they called these things before computers were invented!) is for 400 foot reels. When you press a lever at the base of the take-up arm you can swing the arm up a little further and fit 600 foot reels.

This is probably so autothreading will hit the right spot on the reel for either size.

Posted by Jon Anders Klausen (Member # 818) on June 01, 2009, 04:27 AM:

Hi,

thank you Steve!!! There is a small metal thingy at the base of the arm. I pushed it, and now it fits [Big Grin]

This have irritated me for quite some time...

Thanks again [Smile]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on June 01, 2009, 01:41 PM:

Small Metal Thingy it is!

I remember going through a similar voyage of discovery myself about seven years ago: got a Gepe 600 foot reel, put it on and it didn't fit!

C'mon! If you can't trust the Swiss, who can you trust?!

(-or would that be the Austrians in this case?)

Posted by Jon Anders Klausen (Member # 818) on June 01, 2009, 02:53 PM:

I´m learning new things every day [Big Grin]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on June 02, 2009, 11:54 AM:

Here's another item on the Bolex film path (also 800 series Eumigs: pretty much the same machine in different clothing.)

It is possible to clean the film path at the very end where it exits onto the take-up reel.

The warning here is that this section of the projector has a lot of very tiny film rollers, which nearly as I can figure are made of some kind of anti-matter: I have never, ever had one fall on the floor and then found it again! My feeling is that they must re-appear in some other universe which by now is just jammed with them!

So what you do is turn the projector on its side, at least now gravity is in your favor. When I found out it was OK to do this, working on projectors became much easier in many cases.

Take that side cover off again. Look at the very last exit of the film. It is a plastic cover which you may gently pry off. Inside are those tiny rollers, just itching to escape our space-time continuum. Be careful with them! Hopefully there will not be not too much else in terms of dust and emulsion and broken bits of film. There are two half-rollers on each shaft and after cleaning they must be replaced with the narrow sides inward so the halves only contact the film at the edges.

I don't know if Filmguard is good or not for lubing projection paths. I haven't used it so far. As far as I know it is excellent for care of films and I want to buy some myself.

Next: cleaning the sound head.

Posted by Jon Anders Klausen (Member # 818) on June 03, 2009, 03:31 PM:

I need to take all these tips and put them into a guide [Wink]

! Thanks Steve [Smile]

I welcome all the help I can get!

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on June 03, 2009, 04:10 PM:

This is something that Paul Adsett wrote here some time ago and solved for me the worry over what was growing inside that enclosed sound head. I like it so much I re-post it so other people can benefit. This applies to the 800 series Eumigs as well as the "Bolexes" made by Eumig.

Cleaning the Sound Head:

METHOD 1: (for a quick clean). The sound head is located right underneath the Bulb. It has a white cable coming out of it, which plugs into a receptacle on the chassis. For a real quick clean, take a can of air duster and blast air down into the Teflon film chute at the front of the sound head assembly. This will blow out any loose oxide particles in the sound head. This process is recommended after every couple of reels, to keep oxide from building up inside the head assembly.

METHOD 2: ( FOR A THOROUGH CLEAN, THIS PROCEDURE TAKES ABOUT 30 MINUTES, AND REQUIRES DISSASSEMBLY OF THE SOUND HEAD).
1. Set the control knob to the Forward position then pull off the black control knob at the side of the projector. Remove the lamp housing cover.
2. Pull off the volume control knob and the mixing control knob.
3. Undo the screw located between the volume control knob and the mixing knob, and pull the side panel forward and out to expose the inside of the projector.
4. Unplug the sound head, then undo the single screw which bolts the sound head to the chassis wall.
5. Remove the sound head.
6. Look at the sound head. There are a total of 6 screws in view. Do NOT touch the four innermost screws, they are used for the critical elevation and azimuth alignment of the sound head to the magnetic tracks on the film. Undo the 2 outer screws to remove only the MU-METAL magnetic shield, and the pressure pad assembly. You now have total access to the heads and pressure pads for a thorough cleaning with alcohol. Be very gentle in wiping the head areas. You may wish to de-magnetize the heads while you are at it, using a Radio Shack tape- head demagnetizing probe. Also polish the film channel and pressure pads with Pledge or Favor furniture polish.
7. After cleaning, reassemble the mu-metal shield and pressure pad assembly to the head, and tighten down the 2 outermost screws.
8. Align locating hole on the sound head with the pin in the chassis, and bolt back into place with the single screw. Plug the sound head back into the wall connector.
9. Reassemble the side panel, audio knobs, and Main control knob. Return the control knob to the OFF position

Posted by Joseph Banfield (Member # 2082) on June 30, 2010, 07:03 AM:

I just love my Bolex SM 80 MS projector that I picked up recently for pratically nothing and in like new condition with all the voltage and frequency ranges selectable and all accessories and the French owner's manual to boot...flea markets are a wonderful thing here every Sunday morning. Unfortunately films do not turn up much here but the equipment comes along frequently, especially projectors, editors (motorized and non)and splicers and even empty reels. I have also seen lots of 9.5 Pathé projectors too but have never been interested in those because of the limited content available.

I can not speak for other Bolex or Eumig made machines but my model allows for reels that are 800 feet by moving the rear arm up to the second position and then pushing a small red button on the arm which then allows it to extend outwards by about 3 inches more. Perhaps your machine also has this small red button on the takeup reel and you did not notice it?

When I got this machine I too was concerned with what may be lurking inside on the film heads and used the advice given here to open and clean them. I was shocked to find no dirt at all on the heads and no magnetic dust anywhere. Those sound heads were absolutely spotless like no film had ever been run through the machine in the first place. But this could not have been the case because the capstan and the pinch roller were caked with magnetic oxide and dirt....very strange indeed! And the blue lock-tight paint used on the screws was never disturbed once in it's lifetime and of course instantly flaked off when I removed the screws, so I am pretty sure that no one had ever been inside them. I do not see the need however to remove that single screw holding the sound head assembly to the chasis wall. When this single screw is removed the head assembly is forced to hang by those thin wires that can easily snap off at the solder joints during cleaning. It is far safer to just turn the machine on its side and clean them while they are firmly still bolted in place thereby putting no strain on those fragile wires that are soldered directly to the sound track selector switch!

I wonder why though Bolex did not use an external jack on this machine to use a cassette recorder since it has every other known bell and whistle already incorporated. I have always wanted to try that with some silent films I have. How exactly does this type of thing work and what triggers the tape player to start in the first place? Is is just a switch that turns on the player when the counter gets to zero...how does this system work and could I modify my machine for this? I do see a blank piece of plastic in the metal cover at the rear of the machine that I assume must have been for this purpose on various models. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Au revoir et à la prochaine!

[ July 01, 2010, 02:01 AM: Message edited by: Joseph Banfield ]

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