posted January 28, 2007 05:36 AM
I have an RM with bad take-up and wanted to know if anyone has any advice on this issue. It's the earlier take-up with the slipping clutch on the rear of the spindle as opposed to the later version where its in the machine.
I have replaced all four belts but the machine is still unable to take-up a full 1600ft reel of film. It comes to a gradual halt and the film then spills onto the floor. I have cleaned the clutch cork etc but still cant get enough torque. If I tighten the adjusting screw down it then locks the spindle up completely and doesnt allow it to turn at all.
What's wrong? Is it the cork itself worn? and if so how do I repair it? Any advice from any Eiki experts would be appreciated.
Kev.
-------------------- GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.
Posts: 156
From: Old Coulsdon. Surrey. UK
Registered: Oct 2006
posted January 28, 2007 06:40 AM
Hello Kevin. There is a service manual for your machine in the Manual section. Link to this is on the top left of this page. If this does not answer your query, then I can send you a copy of the 'N' series service manual. I believe that both models use the same type of take up clutch.
I have downloaded the manual off the forum but unfortunately the images are very dark so its not too easy to see some of the parts that are being referred to in the text.
I think it must be the cork inside the clutch which has probably gone hard. I think the previous owner had also stripped this down and I'm not too sure if its just a spring which is under the adjustment screw for getting the correct tension?
Kev.
-------------------- GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.
Posts: 156
From: Old Coulsdon. Surrey. UK
Registered: Oct 2006
posted January 28, 2007 12:14 PM
Hello Kev. According to Eiki, the cork clutch should be lubricated with Silicone Grease, and not be run dry. Just a thought, I suppose that if the worst comes to the worst, you could stick a piece of cork, or maybe leather, inside the clutch housing to take up any wear.
posted January 29, 2007 02:31 AM
Kev: when the spool runs empty, is it spinning properly? ie - isn't the axis / spindle slightly off and not strictly perpendicular to the take-up arm? (I hope this is clear). With a spindle slightly off, the weight of the full spool could act as a brake and stop the spinning. I had this issue with a long play unit and fixed it by recentering the spindle by hitting it gently with a small hammer.
That all seems to be ok. The more I look at it the more I'm sure it's because the cork is worn and hard. I need really to try to find a strip of cork which is only about 1.5mm thick.
Kev.
-------------------- GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.
Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003
posted February 06, 2007 05:59 PM
You could try re-lining the cork, but first, the recommeded lube was GC (General Cement) Phonolub which was common repair lube for record changers (remember those?). Clean out the silcone grease and try just a good old fashion light petro grease. Make sure you have enough play that the reel will load down on the steel drum. The idea is that as the reel increases in load, the weight will apply more pressure to the steel drum inside the cork drum and drive the reel. Make sure you don't have slippage somewhere else in the chain in the pulley from the projector or any lube or grease on the steel drum where the arm belt contacts it.
By far the best bet is to change the reel arm. If you find a "junk" SL series projector, you can remove that arm and fit it to your RM and use the flat take-up belt design in the arm. The only fitting is drillin a hole for the arm lock locating pin. You can also change the feed arm, but that's a bit more complicated in fitting the clutch for the reverse drive (since you have to change the pulley inside the arm.
To take the arm off, you have to remove the split nut inside the projector by releasing the slit side and unscrewing it and then fitting your SL arm. All in all a very worth while improvement.
posted February 07, 2007 04:00 PM
Thanks for that valuable info John however I have replaced the cork and its now working like a dream.
The old cork had gone hard and brittle. I suspect it had been covered in some blackish grease. I did try just cleaning that original cork up first but it still wouldn't play ball until I roughened its surface with sandpaper but that still wasn't good enough.
The new cork has done he trick and I have enough cork over to supply the worlds Eiki owners with new cork strips. Mind you the cork could be used for any machine where a cork clutch is involved.
Kev.
-------------------- GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.