Eumig 824 - different threading problems?

[Adam Bickerton]

Hi there! It's strange there have been several posts regarding the Eumig 824 recently, but going through them (and the forum archive) I don't think there are any that quite fit my problem, so I'd like to ask for some advice.

A few months ago I was lucky to get hold of this projector at a reasonable price with what appeared only to be some minor cosmetic issues (missing knob covers, paint scratches etc.) and had a great time running plenty of both standard and super 8mm movies through it, until recently, when some new issues with threading have arisen.
When threading, the leader now rarely passes all the way through the gates, while the sprocket keeps turning, leading to a jam so I stop the motor as fast as possible. Once or twice it has made it slightly further, around up to the word 'far' in the left image below (pictured using the Standard 8 gate), but no further than that. This has been occurring with both standard and super 8 films, with the appropriate sprockets and gates in place.



It's left me really bemused, as it seemed quite sudden - I ran plenty of films through, mostly home movies, then it just stopped threading properly. I have attached images of the standard 8 gate + pressure plate, and of the claw pin (judging by previous threads this could be relevant) - do they look alright? I am fairly new to 8mm projection so I may well have missed something important.

Any ideas greatly appreciated, happy to give any different pictures or info. Thanks 😁

[Brian Fretwell]

I'll check my 710D which uses the same parts.

[Brian Fretwell]

The aperture in the sprung pressure plate looks rather large for standard 8 (the rear part is standard 8 due to the molding). Could it be that the front is the Super 8 part, they will fit together. I know the Super 8 parts should be marked by a sticker on the edge but if not they do fix together mixed.

That's all I can think of.

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

I didn't see the claw tip on the last pic. Maybe that's the cause. Would be quite a big issue this time.

[Joseph Banfield]

Yea, I don't see the claw either. Looks like it has broken off cleanly. With this machine you must set the inching knob to the red dot on the rear of the machine before removing the gate. Failure to do this even once can break the claw off and this looks to have happened in your case. The machine can not be repaired without changing out the shutter mechanism from a donor machine. Sorry for the bad news!

[Lee Mannering]

Adam Had a look thru my Eumig spares and sadly I don't have any more new claw arms. As mentioned above the pin has broken off your claw arm.
Look for a faulty breaker parts machine either 822 or 824 Sonomatic will do.

[Erik Snel]

you are also missing the plastic wedge that should be above the gate. there is another topic where is discussed that. your film now collides into a wall and needs to bend 90 degrees down and can't. the plastic wedge guides the film upward into the loop former and them let it make a nice loop into the gate. the part is just pushed on. i may be somewhere inside the projector.

and the claw pin is broken. i am currently trying to come up with a solution for that (one that replaces only the pin rather then using a donor assembly) and when i have it i will make a post about it

[Adam Bickerton]

Hi again everyone! I posted a small update just before the problems with the server started, which understandably seems to have disappeared (happy to be back now!), so here it is again. Another issue with my machine is that the inching knob is missing (pictured) - alas, I wasn't aware of its significance before, so it is almost certain that I did indeed break the pin when changing gauge. 😢 Thank you though for all your diagnoses, they have been very helpful, also to those whose replies didn't make it into the backup.

The inching knob - no dots to line up

I suppose my question is, if I manage to source a replacement assembly (thanks Lee Mannering for checking), do you think swapping it out would be a very difficult procedure? I'm not a complete novice in terms of taking things apart, but certainly no expert on 8mm projectors, and I don't have any specialized tools.
Also, Erik Snel that's a really interesting line of thought about the pin replacement, I'll keep an eye out for your post, best of luck with it.

[Maurice Leakey]

Welcome back, Adam

As I wrote before and has been lost, I suggested that the problems to your 824 are probably too difficult to source parts for repair. It seems that you might list it on eBay for spares and try to find a complete 824 as a replacement.

It's a pity you were not aware of setting the inching knob to its 12 o'clock position to withdraw the single claw for gate change. Oldtimer Cameras have printed operator and service manuals for the 824. I recommend this company.

Eumig S 824 Printed Manual (camera-manual.com)



Maurice

[Adam Bickerton]

Thanks Maurice, yes I'd agree that fixing my machine is probably out of the question for me now. I'll list it on eBay so that someone else could get some use out of it.

I have one final question on this matter - now that I am back in the market for a projector can anyone recommend any trustworthy vendors or sites to check?