Revere projector bottom loop disappearing.

[Elaine Tabacinski]

I have a Revere 8mm projector that is older than I am, and I am 77. It has been in storage for many years. I have over 100 small 8mm reels of my family that I would love to view. I took the projector out and to my amazement the bulb and motor both worked. I took an 8mm spool that said it was mostly blank and used that as my test. I was able to project the film, but when I tried it a second time it, the film fed fine until about half through the spool and then the bottom loop disappeared and the top loop became huge. I tried several more times and sometimes it worked fine, sometime it worked for awhile and then not. The sprockets look fine.
Any idea what is going on?

[Kim Trampus]

I would advise retiring the Revere and get a dependable projector that is kinder on your old family movies. I would not want to risk them getting chewed up.
I have used Elmos, Bell & Howells and Sankyo 8mm and super 8mm projectors and I like the Sankyo Dualux series the best because its roller driven and is very reliable.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Elaine,

I'm assuming that your home movies have sat around many years and are probably in need of lubrication. This could be the cause for the way the film is running through your projector. The film lubricant I use is FilmGuard and is available from The Reel Image. Since it is $39.99 for a 16 oz bottle, I wouldn't suggest it if you only had a couple of films to view, however you mentioned you have over a hundred.

[Simon Wyss]

I’d suggest that you clean that projector. Give it some oil also.

[Dave Bickford]

Elaine,

I'm assuming that your home movies have sat around many years and are probably in need of lubrication. This could be the cause for the way the film is running through your projector. The film lubricant I use is FilmGuard and is available from The Reel Image. Since it is $39.99 for a 16 oz bottle, I wouldn't suggest it if you only had a couple of films to view, however you mentioned you have over a hundred.

I had a film that had trouble in my claw-fed Eumig. Ran it through my Sankyo 720 and it actually squealed. I let the film run through my fingers and it was almost sticky. Cleaned with FilmGuard and all is well. That particular film was absolutely filthy and it also left a trail of filth in both projectors. I now make it a personal policy to clean all unknown films before projection.