Neumade 35mm film splicer

[Tom Tomlinson]

just got one used on ebay. first time using it. I am unable to push down all the way--to enable the sprocket hole puncture. It just doesn't budge. I do see some rust build up inside the 2 guide posts above the springs---. any suggestions? Am I missing something? Obviously it doesn't appear to be in working condition as advertised. thank you for any help you can give me.

[Randy Stankey]

Do NOT force the handle down! You could destroy the punch and die plate.

I have repaired many-a splicer for this problem and it's not fun. To make it worse, you could have problems getting replacement parts for the money you have to spend.

I don't know exactly what's wrong with your splicer but I feel confident to say that things are either clogged with dirt and stickum from splicing tape or they are badly misaligned. Repairing it isn't hard, per se, but it is fiddly. I have, on more than one occasion, walked away, cussing and swearing and throwing things.

The simple answer to your problem is that you'll likely have to completely disassemble the splicer, down to the frame and clean everything before reassembling and aligning it all, from the ground up. Yes, this is something you can do in your own workshop or at the kitchen table in an afternoon's work but it'll take lots of patience.

One thing you'll need to know is that the punch (the part with the teeth) and the die (the plate with holes) are a matched set. They are individually made for each other and are hand lapped for perfect fit. They are stamped with numbers on them and they have to match. They also go together only one way. Turned around the wrong way, they won't fit. Everything needs to be plumb, level and square, so to speak, or else you risk damage.

If the pins on the punch get bent or nicked, you MIGHT be able to use a stone and/or lapping compound to true them up again but I've never had any luck at it. Besides, I worked for a large movie theater company. I didn't bother dicking around with stuff like that, except for personal experimentation. I just ordered new parts and tossed the old, broken ones.

You can find the manual for Neumade splicers here: http://www.film-tech.com/warehouse/m...U35SPLICER.pdf

Download it and give it a look-see. Give us an update if you find anything wrong and we'll try to fly you in with smoke signals.

[Tom Tomlinson]

thanks for the reply--yes I did look over the pdf. the item was listed as "works fine"--but it seems not. when I inquired about when last used got no answer. But they claim a "return" will include a "restocking" fee----nothing is ever easy--is it?

[Randy Stankey]

You've actually got a good splicer and, if nothing's bent or broken, it can be restored to good, working condition in an afternoon's work.

Preform a check, according to the diagram in the manual. Especially check the punch and die. Be sure that the tines are straight, unbroken and don't have any nicks or chips. Check the die for damage, also. The punch and die are key. The guide posts for the punch block are next. After that, the frame, itself. If all those are good, you can probably kludge the rest.

When I worked for Cinemark, I would go around to all my theaters and collect up all the broken splicers and take them home. On a night when I was bored, I'd sit at my kitchen table, tear them all down to the nuts and bolts then clean everything with alcohol and swabs. I'd group all the parts together and use them to make as many good splicers as I could. I'd put them in cardboard boxes and stash them in the trunk of my car. Any time I found another splicer in need of repair, I'd swap it with one of my rebuilt ones then take the crummy one home to work on.

It's not hard to do. Patience is the thing. A quiet evening with nobody to pester you is all you need. Just turn on the stereo to set the mood.

A six-pack of beer helps.

[Jim Cassedy]

I recently went to use a splicer that had not been used since before the Coronapocalypse, and had probably
not had a good cleaning since at least 2015- - if not longer. The the splicer punch 'stuck' badly and it did a
really lousy job of cutting & trimming the splicing tape. I could see the whole splicer was all gunked up with
old adhesive residue and film-punch chads, both of which were severely affecting its' operation.
- - - - - The first thing I did was entirely disassemble it:


The Cutting Blades Were All Mucked Up With Old Sticky
Tape Residue ( and also with what looks like cat hair!)
SplicerBlade.jpg

The Punch Die Was Also A Mess ! In This Photo, The Top
Pins Have Been Cleaned, The Bottom Are Before Cleaning.
(Acetone Or Lighter Fluid Is Excellent For Removing Residue )
Splicer3.jpg


The Splicer Itself Was Stuffed With Old Bits Of Perf Chad
Which Also Prevented The Punch From Making Clean Holes
Splicer_1.jpg

The Inside Was Full Of Sticky Bits
Splicer2.jpg

> I completely disassembled the splicer, and cleaned it using a combination of acetone &
lighter fluid, both of which are very good at dissolving old adhesive & emulsion bits & residue.
> I used old tooth-brushes and wooden coffee stirrers as tools so as not to scratch metal parts.
> As others have pointed out, the punch & dies are a set-- and precision fitted. Before I took
everything apart, I made sure I marked the original orientation of both the punch assembly
and the bottom die plate. When re-assembling, I put those parts back 'loosely' so that they
would self align when I pushed the punch into the die-holes. Once I was sure there was no
binding, I did the final tightening up of the screws/bolts that held those parts in place.

> Once I was finished, not only did the splicer work, "like new",
but it was practically clean enough to eat off of! ( Actual Photo! )

Splicer5.jpg
Now, that splicer is such a joy to use, that some nights
I've found myself actually hoping the film will break. . .



Note: the only time a really good cleaning has not fixed a 'sticking' splicer is one
that I got out of an old theater on which had one of the metal vertical guide posts
that the punch assembly rides up & down had gotten slightly bent, throwing off
the critical alignment between the die-punch & holes. I wasn't able to fix that one.

[Brad Miller]

Jim that's what happens when people just junk splicing tape. It gunks up the entire splicer and causes it to wear fast.

[Jesse Crooks]

Before you even consider doing a full tear-down or making any alignment adjustments, remove the perforator and do a thorough cleaning as Jim describes. Personally, I've had better luck with 99.9% alcohol than acetone. While you have it apart, clean off any corrosion on the guide posts and apply light lubrication. That will solve most problems, and will save you a lot of grief getting everything back in alignment. If you do have to adjust the alignment, start by doing it with the springs removed so it's not under tension. Try to figure out exactly where it's binding so you can try to make a single adjustment instead of loosening everything. These can be pretty finicky.

[Jesse Crooks]

Also, sometimes instead of a blade or punch alignment issue the guide posts are out of true, and you may have to loosen them and find the point in the rotation where the movement is smoothest. If you see wear on the bolt heads that will indicate that someone before you screwed with it and may have thrown it out of alignment. If only one of them is worn, that would be the one to start.

[Randy Stankey]

I agree. Cleaning with minimal disassembly is best unless you discover something else wrong.

Always try the easy things first.

[Tom Tomlinson]

The seller is fighting me on this--he wants to charge me $35 for restocking because the unit "works". I never have used this type splicer before. I mean if it works--it should be a simple push down after closing--right??
BTW--I did mention I asked projectionist online and the "not to force it" and the reply from seller was--
Considering that these units are older, you should have some expected understanding of how to operate them and expectations given how old they are. Trying to be fair here, sounds as if your not sure how to use it. Projectionist on a form may not be the best solution

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

eBay has an unconditional money back guarantee (buyer protection). Report it as “not as represented” and they will refund your money whether the seller wants to or not. If you want your money back stop screwing around with this seller. Of course eBay will require you to send it back.

[Stefan Scholz]

thanks for the reply--yes I did look over the pdf. the item was listed as "works fine"--but it seems not. when I inquired about when last used got no answer. But they claim a "return" will include a "restocking" fee----nothing is ever easy--is it?

Welcome to the real world of ebay sellers. I can understand, they need a restocking fee, if you return the item cause you don't like it. Not legal in Europe, but the rest of the world.
On the other hand, ebay has an extremely easy customer satisfaction warranty. As long as you did not rate your seller with positive, you can contact him, and tick "Item not as represented". Give a short, detailed description, and worst case scenario, your money including shipping fee is returned. Plus, the ranking of the seller will be lowered. Even though you can also tick "I want the item purchased" (in the condition described e.g. "good, working order").
It has helped me a couple of times in the past. Easy, and customer's satisfaction is higher rated, than seller's satisfaction. Just use the ebay service.

[Randy Stankey]

... Considering that these units are older, you should have some expected understanding of how to operate them and expectations given how old they are. Trying to be fair here, sounds as if your not sure how to use it. Projectionist on a form may not be the best solution...

Being a 20-year projection technician (as are most others on this forum and many even longer) I have used that very model of splicer in day-to-day operation I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that this is NOT how the thing is supposed to work.

I have had Neumade splicers stripped down to nuts and bolts then put them back together, again. Properly cleaned, aligned and lubricated, you should be able to push the handle all the way down with one hand... just the fingers of one hand, even.

I own one of those splicers. I tore it down and rebuilt it, myself, and I can demonstrate how it's supposed to work.

If you want a written letter to that effect, I'd be happy to write one.

[Brad Miller]

There are a bunch of things that can cause the splicer not to "punch". The most silly one is if the two springs that cause the handle to pop back up are knocked off center. To test, just try to do the punch by squeezing the handle and underside (WATCH YOUR FINGERS FOR THE SPLICER BLADES) and see if it can be easily "punched" in the open position. If so, it's not that. If it can't be punched, then with the handle in it's up/relaxed position, physically wiggle those 2 black springs until you feel them pop into position. (Once in position, they won't pop out of position.)

The next thing to do is to make sure the blades themselves aren't knocked out of alignment and are in fact hitting the splicing plate as you try to punch down. If that's happening, you have to loosen the stop screw at the base of the handle to let the handle open up slightly so you can get a #2 phillips screwdriver in the handle to adjust the blade alignment. Warning - if you try to push down to make a splice after you do this, you will bend that stop screw and then you've got a mess if you try to force it back. Once you bend that screw, you have to replace it. (Just a hardware store trip, it's not a hard to find screw.)

If still no luck, gently close the handle up until the punches are against the splicing block and look to see if it appears that the punches should be pushing through, or if it is "noticeably out of alignment". If it is noticeably out of alignment, then that upper plate with the punch on it needs to be removed and rotated 180 degrees, and then the next paragraph followed.

If it isn't the blades preventing the punch, then on the underside of the splicer you should remove the plate that collects the chads after a splice (already removed in your photos above) and loosen about a HALF TURN the two screws that hold the splicing plate onto the base. Do not remove the screws. You will then note you can slide the plate around just a tiny bit due to the screws not being tight. At this point gently flip the handle downward and apply light pressure as you wiggle that plate around. If suddenly the punch pushes through, that's where the plate needs to be. Without lifting the handle back up and with the punches engaged in the plate, snug up both screws making sure you apply pressure on the screw and don't accidentally strip the screws.

If nothing I wrote works, then you have a mis-matched punch and die splicing plate and it will never work properly. I've seen parts get flipped around between splicers happen many times where a projectionist at a multiplex decides to take all of the splicers apart to clean them and he does it all at once, rather than be smart about it and disassemble/clean one at a time.

[Jesse Crooks]

It works the same as any other guillotine splicer. The only real resistance should be from the springs. The seller either doesn't know what he's talking about or is trying to rip you off.