I may have found someone to re-rubber the Eumig rubber discs

[Shane C. Collins]

I decided to start a new thread, rather than hijack Stuart's. Here's what I wrote there:

I have been talking with a gentleman here in the US who re-rubbers pinch rollers and idlers for reel to reel tape recorders, and cassette decks. He's been doing this for about 30 years. I sent him photos of the rubber discs in my Mark M Super 8 projector. We've been back and forth through emails. At this point he is pretty confident he can re-rubber these discs. So I've decided to send him the two rubber discs from my Eumig parts machine. My next step is figuring out how to remove them. If anyone has advise or instructions on doing so please let me know. Once they are removed I'll be mailing to Terry. He will then attempt to add new rubber. He's the only guy I know of that can possibly bring new life to these aging rubber discs. I'll report back once he's done with them. Here's a link to his website. http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/ He will be charging me $50 a disc if he's able to do them. Here's a few photos of his new rubber applied to reel to reel tape recorder pinch rollers.

Note: Here's his reply back to me today...."If you want to send them I will take a look and maybe I can re-rubber them. I will give it my best. It appears the motor runs on the side of the roller rather than on the other edge? If so how critical is the thickness of the rubber. You will have to tell me what areas are critical or what to be aware of."

If anyone has any advice to his above questions please please let me know. I did respond telling him the rubber doesn't look all that thick, and that it's the same thickness throughout. Also explained to him how the speed selector lifts or lowers the drive ball for 18 fps, and 24 fps. He's an expert with reel to reel pinch rollers etc. In fact I know he's worked from service manual specs, etc. He's probably re-rubbered hundreds.

[Phil Murat]

Hi Shane,

I am working on new pinch rollers for Beaulieu, and they will be in "polyurethan" material (I have already a couple of them to test).

Polyurethan disk will last much longer than ordnary rubber: Polyurethan do not fade when water, oil, thinner, etc.... is applied.

Moreover infinite material hardness variation is possible.

You can also choose different colors.

[Paul Adsett]

This is great news Shane! I do not know what the specs were for the rubber used on the Eumig discs, but I would suggest consideration of Butyl B612-70 or Ethylene Propylene 70 rubber. These are both 70 durometer hardness and are MIL -SPEC qualified to operate over a wide temperature range with excellent chemical and UV resistance and very long life. I would also suggest making the discs about 1/16 ins thick.

[Shane C. Collins]

This is great news Shane! I do not know what the specs were for the rubber used on the Eumig discs, but I would suggest consideration of Butyl B612-70 or Ethylene Propylene 70 rubber. These are both 70 durometer hardness and are MIL -SPEC qualified to operate over a wide temperature range with excellent chemical and UV resistance and very long life. I would also suggest making the discs about 1/16 ins thick.

Thanks Paul! I will pass that information along to Terry. I'm not sure what kind of rubber he uses. I assume rubber that's designed for pinch rollers and idlers. I've read about his work for years. I am a member of a reel to reel community called Tapeheads. People through the years have claimed his rubber has decreased wow and flutter on their machines.

[Erik Snel]

That is an awesome experiment, if it proves succesfull he can expand his business greatly for the eumig community

I think the thickness of the rubber is not really that important, the motor will be pressed against it with a spring and the pressure of the spring dictates how much pressure there is. so yes it might push a bit harder when the layer is thicker but i don't think the effects will differ much.

[Shane C. Collins]

That is an awesome experiment, if it proves succesfull he can expand his business greatly for the eumig community

I think the thickness of the rubber is not really that important, the motor will be pressed against it with a spring and the pressure of the spring dictates how much pressure there is. so yes it might push a bit harder when the layer is thicker but i don't think the effects will differ much.

Thanks Erik, from reading his posts, I believe Terry works a lot from service manuals designed for reel to reel tape recorders. However, it sounds like he is able to do these re-rubbers without them. With reel machines it's important the pinch rollers are designed to specs. I would assume, in most cases, the rubber on those Eumig discs remain the same thickness overall. The discs I am sending him aren't worn that badly just hardened.

[Erik Snel]

Pinch rollers help with the capstan to regulate the speed of the tape in a very precise way so i can imagine they need to be up to spec as exactly as possible. the funtion of the eumig discs is a bit different as the film does not pass trough them and the drive wheel. it is just to get the motor's movement into the projector. how the wheel on the motor is centered however is very important to prevent slipping and therefore more energy loss. it's best to have the thickness as evenly as possible indeed. just to prevent the motor from jumping over dents, that could mess up the smooth running pretty bad i guess

[Mark Todd]

We could do with new Cluch rollers for Elmo ST1200`s.

I could do with two if anyone has any to go Please

Or just a 24FPS one would do.

Thanks and well done people. Mark.

[Terry Sills]

Erik
I think the thickness of the rubber disc is critical. Too much pressure of the spinning disc drive and the motor will grind to a halt. Not enough and the correct speed will not be obtained. That is my experience when adjusting the pressure.

[Shane C. Collins]

This is great news Shane! I do not know what the specs were for the rubber used on the Eumig discs, but I would suggest consideration of Butyl B612-70 or Ethylene Propylene 70 rubber. These are both 70 durometer hardness and are MIL -SPEC qualified to operate over a wide temperature range with excellent chemical and UV resistance and very long life. I would also suggest making the discs about 1/16 ins thick.

Paul, is the 1/16 inches total width from outer rubber edge to the metal disc itself? I will pass this measurement on to Terry if that is the case.

[Paul Adsett]

Paul, is the 1/16 inches total width from outer rubber edge to the metal disc itself? I will pass this measurement on to Terry if that is the case.

Yes, 1/16 ins (0.062 ins) is the thickness of the rubber sheet material that is bonded to the disc.

[Shane C. Collins]

Yes, 1/16 ins (0.062 ins) is the thickness of the rubber sheet material that is bonded to the disc.

Thanks Paul!

[Paul Adsett]

Shane, how did you get the drive discs out of the Eumig. Was it a difficult task?

[Shane C. Collins]

Shane, how did you get the drive discs out of the Eumig. Was it a difficult task?

I haven't taken them out just yet. My next day off from work is Wednesday. My plan is to remove them then. Erik Snel sent me some instructions for how to go about doing this. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. I will report back once that has been completed. I'm not as nervous since this is my parts machine. However, I want to make sure I do remove them correctly. I will try to document my progress to help other's in the future, should Terry's re-rubber work.

[Joseph Banfield]

Shane, I certainly wish you much success with the drive discs. And I will be watching this thread carefully for further updates. As you say, this could be a game changer for us Eumig fans!