Multi-Gauge

28-02-11

MULTI-GAUGE PROJECTORS AND STUFF

One of the recurrent themes of the 50's, 60's and 70's was the so-called "Gauge Wars". With 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm all contending for the amateur and slightly beyond market,

much was made of the comparative picture area and other features. Each gauge was insisting it was the best, (does this remind you of the nonsense over digital v. film?),

whereas the more sensible among us took as much of everything as they could get. One of the side effects was the proliferation of multi-gauge machines, so that it seemed

most manufacturers had one or more machines of this type. I have always been fascinated by multi-gauge machines. I especially like all those interchangeable bits.

I don't really count 8/S8 machines as multi-gauge, tho' the Eumigs for instance have nice interchangeable bits. As things expand, I am finding this a home also for

things that are about a number of gauges or just general, like Buckingham below.

Click Here for Bolex

Click Here for Heurtier

Click Here for Specto

Click Here for Ensign, Siemens and Ditmar

Click Here for Sakurascope ( a rare tri-gauge machine)

Click Here for FLICKERS magazine

Click Here for Buckingham Movie Museum

Click Here for Film Catlogs Actually, as much rambling and reminiscence as catalog

Click Here for Care, Repair & Restoration, some thoughts about what is and is not permissible in restoring/repairing projectors, with a follow-on to a dreadful warning in

Back From The Bodge, with two sections on the care and repair of film; a fairly basic first chapter and some more advanced stuff. Latest additions are new sections

on old projector amp s and another on Detailing - cleaning up and presenting a projector for display.

Click Here for Film Dimensions, detailed info on picture size, sound separation etc of the various gauges, including some comparison charts of amateur gauges. I have also put

stuff on the Kinetoscope in a sub page here rather than an entire new section of its own.

Click Here for Argenteuil film fair pictures.

Rewind Adapters

I've been making some adapters for the Muray multi-gauge rewinder. Previously, I've stuck to 9.5mm, but I decided to give 8mm a go. However, this is all very time-consuming,

so I thought I would post details here so other people can make them rather then me. You may recall that I also made some adapters to handle 17.5mm (see photo), see in Big Brother 2.

I have made some just to prove to myself I can. The 9.5 are the easiest; the Std 8 and 16 are the hardest. I used steel for the 16 - I only made the one - as I didn't think

aluminium would be strong enough - I think the originals are made of some stronger alloy. Steel makes for harder and slower work. The final pic is a special adapter made on

request for someone who wants to wind Standard 8 onto two spools after splitting. It's just a long version of the Std 8 adapter, with a spacer piece that has pins linking

the two spools together and a collar with grub screw to stop it all falling off.

John Collins bought a Eumig Super at Harpenden, a 9.5 machine but which had somehow acquired a set of 8mm arms instead of 9.5. It was relatively simple to fix, as all that was required was a change of spindles - I copied those from mine (one re-badged as a Pathé Rex). Finding a way to keep the spools on was a challenge, which I ducked by slightly lengthening the spindles and cannibalising Kid Super attachment for the slide-on retainers that are a push fit, yet rotate freely once on. However, having completed the job for John, I thought I would have a go at making a conventional spool retainer, ie the ones where the end is a pivoted strip that flips 90 degrees, with a spring providing a bit of tension to hold it in place. Fiddly, but I made one as a test that would undoubtedly work. Will try to do a pic.

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