Cutting Film to Repair Sprockets - never seen this before.

[Philip Hamilton]

I just picked up a Super 8mm film off of eBay and as usual I clean/lubricate the film prior to running it. I also 'feel' for any imperfection like splices and torn sprockets, etc. I didn't feel anything - but -

When I ran the film in 2 or 3 places the frames jumped off center vertically as though something was up with the sprockets. The film runs fine otherwise.

I have the press tapes for splicing but has anyone tried V notching a Super 8mm film? Would using the press tape on the suspect sprockets be a better answer? Thanks in advance.

[Maurice Leakey]

I would suggest that a vee-cut on a Super 8 film is not a good idea as it would weaken the film and could present a problem with the film as it goes around the sprockets.
If the perforations are damaged a good way of repair is to use a Kodak Press Tape.


Maurice

[Philip Hamilton]

Thanks - the press tape solution was my first thought but saw this V cut idea and wondered if it would work as well. thanks for the response!

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

V cuts on cracked sprockets was a common practice for 35mm in the years before tape splicers. It minimized the the chance that the cracked sprocket hole would catch on something and tear the film. However, as stated above, 8mm film is so thin that I also think that this would not be a good idea.

[Maurice Leakey]

With 35mm, the making of a Vee-Cut on a single perforation would cause practically no problem as there are four perfs on each side and most 35mm projector sprockets are quite large so that there would be plenty of film wraparound.
The intermittent sprocket was usually smaller, but in 50 years of cinema projection I never had any trouble.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35_mm_...soundtrack.svg


Maurice

[Adrian Winchester]

I've occasionally found V cuts on 16mm prints. I find them annoying as they seem like a quick way to not do a 'proper' repair, but I appreciate they may often pre-date tape splicers becoming commonly available. They can be particularly bad news if you're cleaning a print and you don't know one is coming. I've never been quite sure of exactly what causes a split from the sprocket to the edge of the film, so I'd be interested if someone can explain.