Need advice on a 16mm projector

[Fred Hess]

I'm thinking about setting a 16mm system similar to my 8mm setup. I don't get many calls for 16mm, but I've recently had to turn down a couple jobs for transferring 16mm and am toying with the idea of putting a new system together.
I'm assuming that I can follow the same procedure that I used for 8mm. LED light source, new lens, removing all gate obstacles, etc.
I'm wondering if anyone has some advice about a good 16mm projector I can use. I really like my Dualux 1000 for 8mm. Did they also make a 16mm projector? Or are there any others that you have used that work well (and are relatively easy to convert)?
Any ideas appreciated! Thx

[Robert Held]

I'm building a similar system, fully stripping down a 16mm projector and installing my own motor, controls, light, etc. I'm using a mid-70s Bell and Howell Filmosound. I chose it because it's an easy projector to modify and there are lots of them available on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for $50 or less. However, every one I've found (and I've bought three of them, all local to me) has a split worm drive gear. Reading online, they essentially have all split, even new-in-box ones. And if the gear hasn't split yet, it will sometime soon. It's quite the design flaw. A replacement, newly machined gear is about $100. Replacing it is a little complicated, but there are good Youtube tutorials. In any case, there are lots of different 16mm projectors and if get creative, I think that most, if not all, can be modified for scanning.😀 I project 16mm with an Akai SNT-0, which is a fantastic machine, in my opinion. Elmo projectors are really great too. But at the cost of projectors like Akai and Elmo, I'd be reluctant to strip them down and modify them, unless one could be found that's basically junk other than the mechanicals. I don't think Sankyo made 16mm projectors.