8mm Forum: Newbie

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Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 14, 2014, 01:47 PM:

Hello everyone, at first i just wanted to transfer some of my dads old cine to digital but now am finding myself hooked in the curious world of cine.
As a newbie i have lots of questions and am hoping someone can steer me in the right direction. Apologies if you are having to answer questions you have answered many times before.
I have two vintage projectors both standard eights. My dad's old Sekonic and a Paillard Bolex 18-5 i bought for just over a tenet on ebay. Though The Sekonic is the only one with variable speed The bolex can be filmed at 5fps as i can increase the speed of the video transfer in iMovie on my Mac. At least i think i can (not done it yet). Would the be best way of transferring the video? Like many Bolexs bought on ebay it does not have a mains lead. I have seen one at Maplins (U.S style plug) not sure it will fit the chassis opening. Any thoughts?
I would also like to do some maintenance on the Bolex it has one belt that feels somewhat loose. I would like to know about possibly greasing the internal wheels etc…..and general maintenance.
Is there any enthusiasts who live nearby to me (i live in East Sussex just north of Hastings) ?

Posted by Timothy Duncan (Member # 4461) on December 14, 2014, 02:05 PM:

Hi Paul! Welcome to the forum! There are many members here that live in the UK who could be of great help to you (and maybe even close in distance). I'm still learning as I unintentionally became addicted to this hobby very recently. You will get some very helpful advice here on maintenance, repairs, etc. A word of caution however...you might very well become a projection addict yourself.
-Tim

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on December 14, 2014, 02:11 PM:

Welcome Paul and who knows where your new found addiction will take you to! One things for sure, as you get to buy better films and better projectors you will soon get to know just how good even the tiniest of gauges can look on the big screen!

Hope you find someone on here who can quickly bring you up to speed on your Bolex maintenance tips in the meantime. [Smile]

Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 14, 2014, 02:12 PM:

Hey Timothy, i fear i am well on the way. I am already a vinyl addict …Oh God now this!

Posted by Timothy Duncan (Member # 4461) on December 14, 2014, 02:38 PM:

Well Paul, we're here to give you support through your journey, as we all have the same addiction (maybe we should call it a disease so we don't have to feel any guilt)!

In response to your last statement: "Oh God now this!", that's exactly what my wife said about my new hobby!

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on December 15, 2014, 02:36 PM:

Any prospective purchaser of a projector should ask the seller if the mains lead is included. It's a sad fact of life that such leads seem to disappear without trace, or perhaps being sold separately as some leads are probably worth more than the projector.

Old problem projectors seem to hail from Germany (or Austria), such as Bolex, Eumig and Siemens. Their leads are not now available and often the unlucky purchaser has three choices.

1) Sell for spares
2) Hot-wire
3) Convert to standard I.E.C. (Kettle) connector.

Most of the more modern projectors use the I.E.C. connector, although some of the early Chinons have a peculiar plug/socket of their own.

Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 15, 2014, 03:37 PM:

hey Maurice, went to Maplins today and got the item that looked from the online catalog that it might work for the Bolex 18-5 mains connection. Tried it when i got home ….it was too big plus the terminals were too far apart. However with a bit of work sanding it down and customising it does now work. However the motor was not running. Looks like the top screw on the plastic air inlet casing had cracked probably from over tightening which was causing the fans to jamb up. Managed to fix that and spent the rest of the evening cleaning the old grease and muck off the internal cogs. I thought would use white lithium or silicon grease and light oil for he spindles. Almost there…...

Posted by Clay Smith (Member # 4122) on December 15, 2014, 04:55 PM:

Welcome Paul. In addition to both 8 and Super 8mm film collecting I too am afflicted with collecting vinyl. Having both hobbies causes unintended financial "oh my goodness" moments. But I suppose it's still cheaper than collecting classic cars (sort of).
It also helps having a wife who enjoys both mediums.

Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 15, 2014, 05:18 PM:

Hey Clay, thanks for the welcome! Classic cars ….Hmmm would if i could

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on December 15, 2014, 11:34 PM:

Welcome to the forum, Pat. Unless you have the 18-5 with the red knob, you will note that there are three drive belts next to each other, all the same size. I would replace them. You should be able to get O rings from a hardware store that are the correct size. Go to the "Search" area on this forum and enter 18-5. You will find a ton of threads regarding the projector. Read through them and you will likely learn everything you need to know. The Bolex 18-5 is a very reliable, nice projector with a good lens. The downside is that it has an incandescent lamp that is not as bright as later halogen lamps. I would recommend picking up one or two lamps on Ebay while they are still available. Go easy on the grease, it does not take much.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on December 16, 2014, 02:30 AM:

Paul
I'm very pleased to hear of your Maplin buy, perhaps you could quote its reference number so that other users looking for a socket could acquire one.

Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 16, 2014, 04:57 AM:

Hi Barry and Maurice, the part number at Maplins is 03872083 the description being 7.5A US Mains Socket. As explained previously it needs customising. The width needs a fraction taken off (i used a rasp) and inside the terminals need to be repositioned. It is a bit crude but does work. I noticed it does make a difference what the polarity is. Once the machine is up and running i may well make a plug out of chunk of walnut. That would look great or a piece of ebony. Perhaps with an an earth wire to the chassis or at least a RCD at the mains outlet. Recommended for safety! I contacted info@van-eck to see if he had any stock of the mains cable that so many seem to be missing. He told me he is considering having some specially manufactured. I suppose if enough of us contact him he will be encouraged to go ahead. Barry the machine has the red knob when i removed the wide single belt it revealed the three grooves most of which where full of old melted rubber residue (now removed) I will order some replacements today. I am considering adding some sorbathane rubber to feet to absorb any residual vibration. Bit of an experiment to see if it makes any difference to solidity of picture. Love to tweak things.

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on December 16, 2014, 09:42 AM:

Paul, if you have not been to this site already, it may be of interest to you:
http://www.bolexcollector.com/projectors.html

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on December 16, 2014, 11:10 AM:

Paul
I couldn't find the socket under the reference you quoted. Is it the HL19V?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/75a-us-mains-line-socket-hl19v

Posted by Paul Moriarty (Member # 4575) on December 16, 2014, 11:38 AM:

yes Maurice that's the one. I bought 2 in case of mess-ups.

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