Take Up Reel is lagging and film sometimes spill on the Floor...

[John Eickhof]

like i said above, felt clutches (like the kelmar , cfs, and christie arms used) , shoild be lightly oiled with projector oil (per tom also) the only related problem i have seen with that is saturating the felt with heavy oil can cause the clutch to gum up and not slip but actually grab under improper spring tension thus forcing the drive belt to do the cluch action, this will end up in very erratic tension and start up problems.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

like i said above, felt clutches (like the kelmar , cfs, and christie arms used) , shoild be lightly oiled with projector oil (per tom also) the only related problem i have seen with that is saturating the felt with heavy oil can cause the clutch to gum up and not slip but actually grab under improper spring tension thus forcing the drive belt to do the cluch action, this will end up in very erratic tension and start up problems.

John... And then there are those guys that use V-belts on the aluminum pulleys instead of O-Thane.... Many older cast iron pulleys belt grooves were actually cut for V-Belts in which case use them if you want to..

[John Eickhof]

very true mark! of course dont forget the chain drive takeups! i hated the vbelts especially with 6000ft arms because it was difficult to find the correct size belt depending on the angle of the arm...they did grip good though...and were great on 20 inch magazines...i was weaned on old leather belts and take ups and a few later phenolic clutches and of course the feeble but reliable motiograph cone type clutches! way better then the xl clutch...how ya doin with the new kidney? ive got a virtual appt w/ drs at swedish hosp in seattle soon...keepin my fingers crossed...been on dialisys for two years as of yesterday...still kickin!

[Leo Enticknap]

Sounds like the oil issue boils down to the Paula Deen principle: all things in moderation! None at all will cause abrasion, but too much will find its way to places where it isn't helpful.

I've only had to deal with this problem once in recent years, and replacing the roundthane fixed it. It does expand and become sticky over time.

[Randy Stankey]

When it came to oiling felt pads in clutches, I always used the minimum amount of oil necessary to do the job.

After cleaning everything well, I squirted on just enough oil to barely saturate the pad then I put the pad between layers of paper towel then put something heavy on top of it and put pressure on it until no more oil squirted out.

I've seen some people who put so much oil on those pads that I would often find a black line of oil spray going across the floor and up the wall!

[Steve Guttag]

I despised round-thane. And yes, switched to V-Belts for most everything. And yes, we had to keep a multitude of sizes for the various soundhead/reel arm or magazine combinations. V-belts last longer and do a much better job. Roundthane slips on its groove so you really don't know what tension you have. You can feel the torque pulsating. Sure, it is the easy button, but not the good one. Nowadays with infrequent use, roundthane will take a set and wherever you have a tensioner, it will deform and you'll have a lump going around too.

Personally, of the American manufacturers, I liked the Ballantyne/Strong reel arms. They were more solid and had a better clutch system. The clutch did use a lubricant but the clutch, rather than being a single felt disc was a collection of smaller ones. The included guide roller for the Ballantynes was a joke and was often broken in shipping but the clutches and spindles were notably better. I never cared for the Kelmar 8000 series either. When using Kelmar, we used the 7000 series.

[Brad Miller]

I despised round-thane. And yes, switched to V-Belts for most everything. And yes, we had to keep a multitude of sizes for the various soundhead/reel arm or magazine combinations. V-belts last longer and do a much better job. Roundthane slips on its groove so you really don't know what tension you have. You can feel the torque pulsating. Sure, it is the easy button, but not the good one. Nowadays with infrequent use, roundthane will take a set and wherever you have a tensioner, it will deform and you'll have a lump going around too.

Despise, yes that's a good word choice. I couldn't agree more. I've had far too many problems with Roundthane, including breaks. V-belts never break and provide a far more consistent tension when used with dry pads. I wonder if some people aren't backing off of the spring enough when they attempt to run the pads dry. Regardless, oiled pads are a mess and as the oil dries out the tension keeps changing. That is bad news for film care.

[Gary A. Hoselton]

i run XL's with 5-Star soundheads in changeover, 2000' max reels, Kelmar arms and rewind bench. I changed to V-belts six or eight years ago after roundthane broke again, bought three of adjacent lengths, kept the one which fit best, and got another that length for other projector. I don't use idler roller, just v-belt with good fit. They work fine, and should last forever.
Regarding Kelmar, I've tried running felt disks dry, but, especially on rewind bench, the felt gradually polished and braking became erratic. I'd scratch the polish off, but wouldn't brake smoothly for very long. Bought new felts and bought a quart of 40wt non-detergent oil, dip my finger in and wipe it across felt several times on each side, and let it distribute running film. Seems to work well, especially on rewind bench. This isn't much oil, but seems enough. This is what works here; your results may vary.

[John Eickhof]

a trick of the trrade with rounthane is to dull the edge of the grip barb of the coupler with a pair of linemans pliers thus under constant use it will not cut through the belt as fast! otherwise v belt is my preference too...

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Actually had less trouble with O-Thane than most other things in the booth...