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Author
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Topic: The Eumig Project
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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted March 14, 2008 07:48 AM
Having now sold my Eumig S810D, I no longer have any dual machines. I am not a lover of equipment design that purports to be "all things to all men", whether it be washer/dryers, phone/fax/copiers or any other piece of kit which is of a multi-task nature. Usually, if one part of the machine packs up, you've lost the lot. Obviously there are exceptions, and in my experience, the S810D was one of them, - never any problems at all, - but I was still slightly uncomfortable - just in case.
Maybe it's an old fashioned viewpoint, but I am a firm believer in dedicated equipment. Even my Hi-Fi has discrete components, with separate pre-amp, power-amp, tuner, graphic equaliser, - and so forth. I don't have any kit where everything is all built into one box.
Anyway, this is about the Eumig Mark S Standard 8 only, sound projector, and is in a similar vein to the recent Elmo modification project, reported on the Forum, and sparked by a desire to fit the largest reels possible, without going overboard.
A very simple "phase 1" has been easily and successfully accomplished.
This consisted of fitting a spare longer front arm as the take-up arm, in place of the original very short rear take-up arm. An extremely straightforward exercise.
She was then thoroughly serviced and is now whisper quiet. All new parts fitted and work perfectly. I did cut a very neat slot in the rear of the removable hard case to allow the now longer rear arm to protrude slightly when folded away, and it's quite acceptable. I'll accompany the report on the finished project with some photos as before.
However, I am just about to embark on "phase 2" of the project with it - don't laugh!
It immediately became apparent that, whilst the front arm has always been able to accommodate 600ft reels, and the rear arm only ever 400ft reels till the modification, the new longer rear arm will actually take an 800ft reel with adequate clearances all round!!!!!!
So guess what!?!?
Time to adapt the front arm to take 800 footers also. This would make it entirely compatible with both of my Elmo standard 8 silent projectors, which can also now run 800 footers.
This would be great, as I will be able to reduce the quantity of all my 400ft reels of standard 8 film by half, - thereby making room for more!!! Also, of course, it will save jumping up so often to change reels during a feature.
The current thinking is how to engineer attaching the short original rear arm to the existing long front arm ..........!
Not quite as simple as with the Elmos, as there is the geared drive train all the way up the arms to re-engineer somehow. As I have no more spare long arms left, I cannot afford to make a mistake, so it may be a while before I can report on the finished project.
Watch this space!
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Dave.
Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!
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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted March 21, 2008 07:58 AM
THE EUMIG PROJECT - CONCLUSION
Having worked out theoretically how I was going to achieve the front arm extension modification, I proceded to wield the necessary tools and materials and attack the long front arm and the spare short rear arm. These would be joined together to form a new front arm sufficiently long to accommodate 800ft reels.
The existing long arms measure 4 3/8" centre to centre. Calculations showed that the new extended front arm would be 5 1/2" long - perfect.
The thing to bear in mind was that there must be an odd number of gears in the gear train to maintain rotation in the right direction. Thus I was able to maintain the maximum number consistent with achieving my goal. This would amount to 9 altogether, including the drive spindle gear and the spool spindle gear.
I shall let the photos and captions tell their own story:
(Above) I formed a brass channel with 8 clearance holes and corresponding tapped holes in the arms to take 8BA screws. I decided to make a channel for increased strength, rather than just a flat plate.
(Above) Showing the inside of the arms, cut to length and joined by the brass channel. Loctite was used to secure the screws. Nothing must be allowed to protrude into the gearbox.
(Above) Showing the gears and spindles in place. Note the dabs of silicone grease prior to final assembly.
(Above) Backing plates fitted. Note the longer one extends to the short arm, thus providing extra rigidity. The round fixing hole was slotted to provide gear mesh adjustment between the two segments. (This was pre-adjusted prior to final drilling and tapping of the arms).
(Above) Showing the 2 longer arms fitted to the projector. The rear one was completed some time ago, and was simply a front arm fitted to the rear.
(Above) What it was all about - 2 x 800ft reels perfectly accommodated!
(Above) Arms in the folded down position.
(Above) Hard case fitted. Slots were cut in the front and rear to accomodate the slightly protruding arms. A Eumig soft black cover fits over the lot.
I'm really pleased with this project. It worked out better than I hoped, and doesn't look too incongruous.
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Dave.
Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted March 21, 2008 06:55 PM
Superb job, David. I really like the way you designed the modification to maximize the rigidity of the split front arm, and allowed for gear mesh adjustment - very well thought out. Your efforts have encouraged me to undertake the same modification on my Eumig 810 sonomatic, since I have an old beaten up S802 from which I can extract the arms. Like you, I love my little Eumigs, and provision for 800ft spools is a great idea.
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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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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted March 22, 2008 05:03 AM
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your reply. I always find your responses positive and encouraging. It makes posting these little projects on the Forum worthwhile.
Did you read my other post entitled "Another Eumig Problem Solved"? It discusses the common slipping drive occurrence.
If you do decide to modify your Eumig in a similar way, there are a couple of more discrete things to mention.
1. When swapping the long front arm to the rear of the machine, remember it is a mirror image of the original short rear arm. Therefore you will find that the 'stop' for arm elevation is in the wrong place. You will have to either remove the 'pip' from the arm backing plate, or, as I did, grind some land off the cast 'stop arc' on the body of the projector. Very simple, but you need to know about it.
I expect you've had your Eumigs apart in the past. Also remember that the large brass nuts which hold the arms in place have locking grub screws in a couple of the hexagon faces. Don't try to undo the nuts without first loosening the grub screws!!!!
I would also suggest that when re-assembling the arms to the projector, you tighten the brass nuts fairly tightly before locking them into position, as 800ft of film is heavier than 400ft, and you don't want the arms to flop down under the additional weight!!!
2. The gears in the long arm are very slightly larger than those in the short arm, though they mesh perfectly with each other as the pitch of the teeth is the same, so don't get them mixed up. When cutting the arms, be very careful not to cut too much off - you can't put it back! A lot of wisdom in the old adage, "Measure twice, - cut once".
These are very simple things, but unless you know about them, they can cause a lot of headaches.
Good luck. I hope it works as well for you as it has for me. I'd be pleased to hear about the result.
Best,
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Dave.
Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!
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David Pannell
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1072
From: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted March 23, 2008 12:09 PM
Good question, Paul.
I didn't know the answer until you asked, as I never use my projectors to re-wind films. I always use a set of 'rewinds'.
However, "just for you", I ran a test this afternoon. It took exactly 2 1/2 minutes to re-wind 800ft of standard 8 film.
Now, I don't know if that's good, bad or indifferent, as I have nothing to compare it with! - You tell me.
I should say that this particular machine has no slipping drive now, and the adjustable clutches on the arms have been adjusted in order to wind the films without any slop.
The brass knurled adjusters need experimenting with until the film is being taken up on the take-up reel with just the right amount of tension, or what you feel comfortable with.
Cheers,
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Dave.
Valves and celluloid - a great combination!
Early technology rules OK!
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