8mm Forum: How to mitigate squeaking or other "film spooling" noises

This is topic How to mitigate squeaking or other "film spooling" noises in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Ben Zotto (Member # 6619) on November 23, 2018, 01:01 PM:

I use a Bauer projector which is very quiet or at least consistent in its actual film path/shutter operation, but I've found that the noise of the actual film coming off and on the reels is a distraction during screenings.

It's fairly dependent on the reel and film, I think, but amounts to a periodic higher-pitched squeaking and/or a more hushed scrape sound. I think the former is caused by certain plastic take-up reels, and the scrape may be a subtle misalignment between film path and reel so I'm hearing the edge of the film come off or go on a reel. None of this is indicative of any actual functional problem, just seems like noise that could be avoidable.

Do people encounter this much? Are there certain kinds of reels that are better or worse for this, and/or are there adjustments that are known to help mitigate? Thanks for any thoughts.

Posted by Will Trenfield (Member # 5321) on November 24, 2018, 06:11 PM:

I have found that some Standard/Regular 8mm films I've acquired were mounted on audio tape reels. These seem to be slightly more narrower than cine reels and the film often rubs against the sides.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 24, 2018, 08:01 PM:

You also run into reels that warp. The flanges won't be straight and will scrape against the edge of the film when they warp inward.

Some people here heat 'em up with hairdryers and straighten 'em out. I believe I've heard reports of other people boiling them like pasta!

Posted by Janice Glesser (Member # 2758) on November 24, 2018, 08:10 PM:

This thread has some ideas on widening reels/spools:

http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010589

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on November 25, 2018, 02:18 AM:

Will has made an interesting comment about the quarter inch audio tape spools which will fit on standard 8 projectors.
As a quarter inch equates to 6.35mm, that explains the problem if used for film which is 8mm.

Posted by Ben Zotto (Member # 6619) on November 25, 2018, 10:43 AM:

Oh this is great, thank you all so much. Janice's hair dryer technique photo is both hilarious and helpful. I would not have figured that out, I'll give it a shot.

(I imagine that metal reels might (??) be less likely to have this kind of issue, but they seem quite scarce above 400'.)

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