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Old 10th Jun 2019, 8:47 pm   #54
cheerfulcharlie
Heptode
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Birmingham, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 708
Default Re: Bell and Howell TQII 1652 16mm projector

Quote:
Originally Posted by Techman View Post

I hadn't run my particular projector, which is a 156 model from around 1942 (it still has the original power supply square cardboard cased smoothing capacitors in the amplifier) for a few years, but I dragged it out a month or so ago show a couple of films to some visitors and demonstrate the old technology to them. It worked fine until one of the films broke about a quarter of the way in. I've got a few empty spools, so I carried on with the rest of the film, running it onto another reel. It had failed at an old splice that I had made when it broke once before. I seem to remember that there were about four ingredients plus cut up bits of film to make the splicing gum, but where I used to work when I made some up, we only had three of them, so probably why it didn't work so well. Now I don't have access to those solvents, which included Acetone, which I do have a drop of, so I tried it with that, but it didn't work. I was thinking of buying the proper stuff, but a bit of internet research indicates that it possibly doesn't keep too well, and seeing as I only have a couple of complete films at the moment, I wouldn't have a lot of use for it at a tenner or more a time. However, the internet search did indicate that 'Superglue' works well, especially when heat is applied to the splicer. So I tried it with the broken film and it worked well and the film is now all back on one reel. I've got a lot of short lengths of old film that were originally with the old 156 projector, so the other night I set about joining them all together in a usable length, using the Superglue with the splicer and careful and quick use of a heat gun, I now have one long length of film. The film bits seem to be basically from two separate old black and white films which although now wound on the spool the correct way round, are not necessarily in the correct order but at least it now has entertainment value and is usable as a test film, which is why these film lengths were originally left with the projector in the first place.

Below are a couple of pictures, the first showing the cut off remains of all the (most of the) damaged sprocket areas from the spicing fun and the second of the working/lacing parts of the B & H 156 for comparison with the previous two models shown in this thread:-
Enjoyed reading your post but I would say that solvents and glue are not the answer. Proper splicing tape is totally reliable and if done properly does not show. Some people have thought it is just glorified sellotape but sellotape is too thick,will go brown and fall apart eventually. The problem with solvents is that it is only really suitable for the old spec acetates and the formulations were changed over the past few decades and of course now it is polyester which does not fuse with a solvent at all but it does not snap either.

Example here.

https://tinyurl.com/y3hahwn3

With splicing tape you cut at the frame edge rather than the sprocket hole (usually with solvents) and if you have the luxury of a Catozzo splicer all the hard work is done for you.
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