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New to the forum and to 8mm. Great guidance in this forum helped me get up and running with dads old 804D. We have tons of old family video and got to viewing. But a few minutes into viewing, film snapped. I now cannot get film to feed. Should the small sprocket be spinning when turning main switch to on/feed position? When off, it doesn’t spin, unless I reverse, but it still stops. Any guidance is appreciated!
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Almost all the Eumig 8xx series projectors seem to require new motor mounts + rubber drive disk reconditioning. Remove the two screws that hold the rear cover in place. You should be able to see the outside mount (you have to remove the motor to see the inside mount). If it's broken, it will definitely cause all kinds of problems not limited to film jams, breaks, etc....luckily it's easy to get this part from Van Eck. It's a time consuming chore to replace them, but if you go slow and keep a magnetic tray nearby to put all the little screws/springs, etc into so you won't lose them, it's doable. I've replaced the mounts on two Eumigs. They run perfectly now.
The rubber drive disks aren't easily replaceable without a donor projector, but using "belt conditioner" on them (available at auto parts store) helps restore their "grip" on the metal ball at the end of the main motor shaft.
Once you get the back cover off and take a look, I think all of this will make sense.
The rubber disks wear out over time from use; the motor mounts seem to disintegrate all on their own over time regardless of use.
https://van-eck.net/en/product/eumig...mounts_-2_pcs/ -
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any idea where that part is from? I think I see the outer mount, see pic, is this it? I don’t see any wear or feel any play. But should the small sprocket spin as soon as I turn on the main switch for feeding the film? And should I be able to spin it by hand when powered off?
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looks like that part was plated. It is probably somewhere more exposed when operating the unit. If it was utility it would not be so shinny. I dont know this projector sorry.
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The outside motor mount looks brand new--it appears someone replaced them already! Obviously I can't see the inner mount but they are typically both replaced at the same time.
That piece of metal? I have no idea what it is; I'd have to take my Eumig apart to see.
Eumig projectors are very precise but extremely unforgiving of film that's less than pristine. Old white acetate leader can shrink up and cause issues. Did you splice 3-6 feet of fresh leader onto the front of your film? I've noticed that bad leader will cause problems during auto-thread. Torn sprocket holes will also kill the Eumig and cause film to break.
Before projecting any film that hasn't been restored or even handled recently, I always preview it on the editing bench. I take a soft cloth and while manually winding, I can feel the edges of the film thru the cloth and can check for damage as I'm cleaning the film. I also run the film thru my Minette viewer. If there's a really rough splice, it will be very obvious because it will stick in the gate of the little viewer. These little viewers were designed for editing, so it's really easy to remove film from the gate when you find a bad splice.....sometimes I discover really bad splices using the cleaning cloth but some of them don't show up until run it through a viewer or projector; much better to discover them using a hand-cranked viewer than on a projector.
If you're going to work with old film you need to have a few basic tools to prep it for successful projection. You can't count on it being perfect ever.Last edited by Todd Kitchen; February 10, 2025, 03:23 PM.Comment
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Todd is right, old leader will cause lots of issues with the auto threader! You can still buy new leader from several online sites. Also be sure to trim the end of your leader properly. I once owned a Eumig 800 series machine that did not like a wrongly trimmed film leader. Once the leader was trimmed correctly all was good most of the time. I've since moved onto the early semi auto loading Eumig's and they load film properly every time. The Eumig Mark S 709 is my go to machine in this early class of machines!
As Todd pointed out your motor mount looks brand new. When you first plug in a Eumig you should only hear the motor spin up. With the selector switch in the off or non-forward/reverse play the spindles should not be moving. Once you select forward or reverse the reel spindles will move. So in forward play the rear left spindle will move. In reverse play the right spindle, or supply reel side, will move. To answer your first question, yes the front and rear sprockets will move once you place the selector in forward or reverse. I'm including a photo here showing the front and rear sprockets on your machine. Those will rotate once the machine is set in motion as I mentioned earlier. Note: The photo below shows the machine with the main cover removed.
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Lots of great info, thank you all. I am inneed of recommendations for cleaning and splicing materials/equipment. But the film I have is from home movies, each viewed a couple of times, mostly from late 60s into the 70s. The projector has never been serviced or even cleaned. But hardly used and stored in environmentally controlled indoor space.
most importantly, and where I need help - when I turn main switch to forward, the front/right sprocket does not turn. When I turn manually clockwise, its stops and will not turn further. But I can turn counter clockwise continuously. When then turn clockwise again, it turns until back I started and it stops. When I remove the super 8 small sprocket to reveal the standard 8 sprocket, I found that this built in sprocket comes off relatively easily, and the metal part of the sprocket removes also, and then a small square part also slides out of the plastic part of the sprocket - it looks like a small nut. I will send pics tomorrow. Its here is where I think the problem lays - the rear sprocket was pulling the film while playing, while the front sprocket stopped the film from proceeding, and snapped the film. And this is after viewing the film for about 5 minutes, not during the initial lead. Any advice on what to look at next?Comment
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Sounds to me that the plastic holder for the top front sprocket wheel is either slipping or cracked. This is not an uncommon problem on some of the Eumig 800's. The sprocket holder is clamped to its drive shaft by a small set screw. Try tightening that little screw. If the plastic holder is still slipping on the shaft you can bond it to the shaft with a little J-B WELD epoxy, which is what I had to do on my Eumig 820.Comment
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i just found the set screw, had completely fallen out, I think it was sticking almost all the way out, which allowed for a revolution turn by hand, and then an abrupt stop. When I removed the inner sprocket, the set screw must have fallen completely out. But looking for driver that can work for reinstall and tighten the set screw - appears to be very very small hex? The other parts look to be in good shape.
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and photo of the parts
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The small metal part is from one of the removable gates either the super 8 or standard 8 one, its the sprung guide and should just push back into place. Make shure you have it the right way up.Attached FilesComment
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