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Author Topic: New Owner of a Pathe Baby
Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008


 - posted September 15, 2013 01:47 AM      Profile for Dino Everette     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
janice
It looks like you have a Pathex Model D with the single pin claw which are the earlier US models... Does yours have one serial number or one on each side? as the very first US models had a french serial number on one side, and the US serial on the other. I will say this about the Model D's they are on the finickier side of the babies because of the single pin claw they sometimes will just stop moving the film forward, so make sure if you upgrade the lamp you NEVER go higher than a 15w bulb or you will scorch frames often......The shutters were made of Mazac and almost all are now distorted so picking up one of Ron's remade shutters will be a big help. The internal working look extremely simple but are surprisingly sophisticated and the slightest adjustment can bring on hours of hairpulling trying to get everything working properly again so be careful when replacing out the shutter not to accidentally lose track of all the adjustments...

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"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 15, 2013 04:06 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Janice
See if you can find a copy of "The Home Cinema" by Gerald McKee, it has twelve very interesting pages devoted to the Pathe Baby and 9.5mm notched films.
It also includes charts, drawings and photographs of various models from the first introduced in time for the Christmas trade (in France) in 1922.

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Maurice

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 15, 2013 08:52 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Interesting about the US serial numbers; I saw one advertised yesterday that had British Patent Numbers.

Are you up and running yet Janice?

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 15, 2013 02:41 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
@Dino...First off so good to see you posting again [Smile] I took a closer look at my Baby and from your description I don't think this is the early US model. It has dual claws and a single serial number (124342) on one side. There is a small placard above the serial number all in French. I'm hoping this is good [Smile]

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@Maurice...I'll see if I can locate that book.

@Robert...I've been on a trip for the past 2 weeks and just received the replacement shutter on Thursday. I've already run into a few snags in the installation.

There are a couple of tiny recessed nuts that need to be removed...but I don't have a driver small enough to fit thru the access hole.

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I also have to make a jig to remove the shutter shaft. It requires drilling a hole into a board using a 5/16 drill bit, which of course I don't have right now.

I want to take my time replacing the shutter...I don't want to mess it up.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Dominique De Bast
Film God

Posts: 4486
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 15, 2013 03:56 PM      Profile for Dominique De Bast   Email Dominique De Bast   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Janice, be aware that sometimes tools are different from a country to another. I don't know the name of what you are showing on the last picture but it may be different from the French "key" as the mesures are differents (they are calculates on the metric system where this system is used and on the imperial system in the country who calculate in inches, feet and so on). I hope you will not have this problem but it happened once to me with an Engilsh machine and I didn't understand why I couldn't open it with my tool (a kind of "screwdriver"), then I went to a shop where they told me about the difference of tools. Luckily, they had an English tool (they had by mistake, so it was the only one and it was cheap !)that of course worked. I hope you understood what I wrote ;-)

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Dominique

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 15, 2013 04:19 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
This is called a nut driver Dominique. I do have metric drivers... however the outside width of the driver is too thick and won't fit in the opening to get to the nut.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 15, 2013 09:13 PM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Could you use long nose pliers on the recessed nut?

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Maurice

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 15, 2013 10:32 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I tried that Maurice...but they are too big also. I need a smaller precision nut driver to fit.

[ September 16, 2013, 12:25 AM: Message edited by: Janice Glesser ]

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008


 - posted September 15, 2013 11:51 PM      Profile for Dino Everette     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
janice look again, usually the whole front will pull forward, and will give you easy access to those screws...

You need to do the following:

1 - unscrew the wide ridged nut on the very top by the film chamber
2 - slide the whole top section straight up and off
3 - once that is off you can grab the 3 sided body piece by the sides near the back towards the gate area and lightly pinch the sides and tilt it forward like you are trying to point the lens opening towards the ground and the whole piece will come off and give you access to the innards.

once that piece is off you can use any pliers to loosen those 2 little nuts.

OH AND I JUST READ THROUGH THE WHOLE POST... That "bent" piece is like that on purpose and is part of the intermittent action of the claw pulldown.

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"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 16, 2013 01:12 AM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks Dino. The old shutter was so swollen that it was pushing against the slot near the Pathex Emblem keeping the cover from coming off. I was able to chip away some of the shutter and remove the section that was pressing against the cover. I then removed the black outer cover as you described.

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[ September 16, 2013, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Janice Glesser ]

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 20, 2013 05:33 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Take your time Janice, the last thing you want to do is damage it. Good luck, there are always knowledgeable people on here to help.

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 20, 2013 06:26 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've been working on installing the new shutter for the past week. Ron Ashton has been helping me thru the steps...but I wish there were more visual aids for me to follow. My head is swimming with engineering terms that don't really mean much to me.

Hopefully this will be successful...I'll then post some pics :-)

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Dominique De Bast
Film God

Posts: 4486
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 21, 2013 12:09 AM      Profile for Dominique De Bast   Email Dominique De Bast   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It is limited and in French but you have some drawings here : http://pierreg.free.fr/cine95/mater/projo/pathbabe.htm

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Dominique

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 21, 2013 01:08 AM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
WOW! Dominique this is great. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks so much.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Anna Vacani
Junior
Posts: 10
From: UK Herne Bay, Kent
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 23, 2013 06:52 AM      Profile for Anna Vacani   Author's Homepage   Email Anna Vacani   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Next a hand-cranked or with a motor projector in our collection, just described:
http://www.binoculars-cinecollectors.com/

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 24, 2013 08:42 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Here is the new flywheel shutter in place on my Pathe Baby. This was quite a learning experience. The photos that Dominique shared were very helpful and I was almost daily communicating with Ron Ashton guiding me step by step through the installation.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Dominique De Bast
Film God

Posts: 4486
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 25, 2013 12:08 AM      Profile for Dominique De Bast   Email Dominique De Bast   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It looks like you did a perfect job !

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Dominique

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Paul Adsett
Film God

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From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted September 25, 2013 09:31 AM      Profile for Paul Adsett     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Well done indeed Janice! [Smile]

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
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Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 25, 2013 10:57 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Janice
The book which I mentioned earlier "The Home Cinema" is now on eBay UK at a starting bid of £2.99. The seller will post worldwide. It's a limited edition and I can thoroughly recommend it.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Geral d-McKee-The-Home-Cinema-Classic-Home-Movie-Projectors-1922-1940-/321212508565?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item4ac9c1e995

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Maurice

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 25, 2013 01:13 PM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm impressed Janice, you roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. Well done.

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 25, 2013 04:19 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks so much guys for the kind words and continued support. I have to admit there were times I said to myself... "What have I gotten into this time." Then I took a break and came right back to it. In the case of installing the new flywheel shutter I really didn't have a clue to what I was in for....and found myself overwhelmed with questions and engineering terms that seemed like another language to me. However, in retrospect it wasn't as complicated as made out to be and it would have gone smoother if I had known a few things up front.

I'm going to put together some photos I took over the course of the install and post them in another thread. Perhaps they will help someone else out.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 26, 2013 09:25 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Here's a short video demonstrating the outcome of installing the new flywheel shutter and testing the lamp (which works just fine). Next I'm going to load up some film [Smile] ...any tips for me at this point?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJt7c9vXH4s&feature=youtu.be

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted September 27, 2013 01:15 PM      Profile for Paul Adsett     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Janice,
If you are not running notched titles I would recommend disabling the notched film device.This makes threading much easier when you dont have to contend with the sideways push of the notch sensor as you are trying to load the film in the gate, and it helps reduce sprocket hole jumping when you are running the film.
To disable the notch sensor, without in any way doing anything to the projector, just put an elastic rubber band around the notch sensor lever(OUTSIDE the machine below the gate aperture) and wrap the other end of the elastic band all the way around the left side of the machine and around the lens snout at the front.
Done properly, this will pull the notch lever to the left, in an OUT position. On the rare occasion that you might run notched titles, you can just remove the elastic band.
Another thing you may have to do is to adjust the tension on the take up by rotating the knurled knob clutch on the take up pulley. Increase or decrease take up tension until the film take up brake arm ocillates happily up and down, and the projected picture is steady.

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--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 28, 2013 05:51 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
You have a very nice piece of cinematic history there, and you can tell from the sound that it's precision engineering. You have some interesting films; would especially like to see the one about WW1.

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011


 - posted September 28, 2013 12:20 PM      Profile for Janice Glesser     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I did my first screening last night Robert...What fun it was! Here is a video I put together showing a couple scenes from the WW1 reel. I'll show the entire reel when I can setup a better telecine arrangement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duC5qBo8T6w

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--------------------
Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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