Bolex SM8

[Adam Hall]

Picked up a Bolex SM8 on ebay which needs a new bulb and belts (on order). The manual does not mention a switch I noticed on the projector near the feed reel. Can anyone tell me what this is for?

[Shane C. Collins]

I have the same model with no switch like yours. Based on what I know about this later Bolex model, they did not have such a switch from the factory. Someone must have added this at a later time. The question is what is it for, and why was it added?

[Daniel Bottom]

Could it be an ad hoc mute switch for the speaker? Of course, the only real way of telling is to take the side of and have a look.

[Adam Hall]

Is there a guide somewhere on changing the belts for this projector? I am looking to change the smaller one that attaches to the take up (see pic) , not my pic, but it shows the belt , attached. Not sure if I should be remove a gear, or what.

[Adam Hall]

Well I managed to find a post about changing belts for this projector in a German cinema forum. Problem was it was an old post and the photo hosting site was closed, so no pics. I did manage to reconstruct the instructions and pics by searching for a cache of the images on various search engines. I put it in a pdf and is attached. Hopefully it will help others. If anyone thinks something is wrong in the instructions, let me know. I will try tommorow to replace the belts as it is getting late here now.

[Graham Ritchie]

A bit of old advertising




The SM8 I had many moons ago had the later lamp not the one shown above.

[Adam Hall]

The switch turned out to be for the bulb to turn on and off.

[Shane C. Collins]

The switch turned out to be for the bulb to turn on and off.

How's the auto-loader on your SM8? Mine sometimes likes to eat the leader when I'm threading a film. It's one of the reasons I don't use it that often. My Eumig Mark S 709 (semi auto-loading) never misses a beat when threading film.

[Adam Hall]

How's the auto-loader on your SM8? Mine sometimes likes to eat the leader when I'm threading a film. It's one of the reasons I don't use it that often. My Eumig Mark S 709 (semi auto-loading) never misses a beat when threading film.

The feed reel might be the reason. Mine binds up and does not turn and that puts a ton of tension on the film and snaps it. I took the arm apart apart and could not figure the logic of inside the arm where the feed reel pin goes through. The chain belt, while slack, seemed OK. I ordered what I thought was a service manual from OTC LTD, which happened to arrive today, but it turned out to be a simple users manual. This leaves me kind of stuck whether I should try and figure it out again on my own or simply right it the whole thing off as a loss and add this projector to the landfill.

[Shane C. Collins]

The feed reel might be the reason. Mine binds up and does not turn and that puts a ton of tension on the film and snaps it. I took the arm apart apart and could not figure the logic of inside the arm where the feed reel pin goes through. The chain belt, while slack, seemed OK. I ordered what I thought was a service manual from OTC LTD, which happened to arrive today, but it turned out to be a simple users manual. This leaves me kind of stuck whether I should try and figure it out again on my own or simply right it the whole thing off as a loss and add this projector to the landfill.

Yes, if the feed reel is binding that's not good for the film! You should be able to adjust the brass fittings on the back side of each reel spindle. You will have to take the back off to make these adjustments. I believe counter clockwise will loosen the tension (refer to the photo below)! Normally you want less tension on the supply reel, and slightly more tension on the take up reel. Try this, and you might be back in business.

[Adam Hall]

I was talking about the other side , inside the arms themselves.

[Shane C. Collins]

I was talking about the other side , inside the arms themselves.

I would still try adjusting those brass fittings in the back. This works in conjunction with the gears, etc in the reel arms themselves. If there's too much tension from those adjusters being out of sync, then the whole assembly will be too tight.