Reconditioning Cast Aluminum Goldberg House Reels?

[Ryan Gallagher]

Anyone ever done any work like this? Primarily re-truing warped reels?

August maintenance hours are upon me, and while I can't tackle big projects until summer film is over, this has been on my wish list.

We are fortunate to have LOTS of Goldberg cast aluminum house reels (of 3 different styles), we are unfortunate that only about 8 I would consider "archival print ready".

What methods might you use for re-truing?

I did a test with our worst offender and just a c-wrench... does not seem ideal as aluminum work hardens, and of course one of the inner stays snapped. Perhaps a torch and heat would be the way to avoid that. I've considered maybe a bench press and a couple custom dies might be the way to go. Perhaps not the whole reel at once due to size of the press and spacer needed. And debatable if in a perfect world it should be done at the annealing temperature for aluminum (570F to 770F)?

For surface reconditioning I've learned that heated Simple Green soak and scrubbing is a great product to restore aluminum parts. Will have to try that too.

[Randy Stankey]

I can't really say much more about straightening as you have, already, but for cleaning, use Barkeeper's Friend.

https://barkeepersfriend.com/products/cleanser/

Barkeeper's Friend contains oxalic acid which works well to remove dirt and oxidation from aluminum. It'll shine them up, almost like new!

Don't use alkaline products to clean aluminum! It'll turn them gray! Aluminum reacts strongly with bases like sodium hydroxide. You shouldn't even put aluminum cookware in the dishwasher because most dishwasher detergents are very alkaline. That's why many aluminum pots and pans turn gray!

[John Eickhof]

An old time operator, Jim Criss used a piece of two by four made to fit inside the reel and the concrete booth floor and would beat on the bent parts with a large rubber hammer to straighten them out. He always told me, 'the best way to keep reels straight...is to hire a good operator'!

[Ryan Gallagher]

That was probably back when 2x4s were a decent hardwood. I feel like today’s Home Depot grade stuff would give before the aluminum does! Lol. But noted.

Work hardening is still an issue potentially with that approach though. But seems more likely to work than wrenching on them.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

'the best way to keep reels straight...is to hire a good operator'!

Then why were they bent in the first place John? Am just curious about that??

[Ryan Gallagher]

Other than dropping or storing loaded with film at an angle, I’m not even understanding how they can get that warped in the first place. But sone of these might be older than me, so long history, probably even before we got em.

[Jim Cassedy]

I've been wondering about this topic myself recently, since I have several Goldberg
aluminum house reels that could use a bit of rehabilitation. This week, for example
I have more than my usual amount of 35mm shows scheduled, so I'd really like to
be able to use some of the slightly bent reels I've been avoiding. I've seen the old
"2x4 on a concrete floor + rubber mallet trick " that John E described
demonstrated to me by a long time projectionist over 20 years ago, but I've never
tried it myself, although I've been tempted to do so. I'm not too worried about finding
a good hunka wood- - they tricky thing these days might be finding a concrete floor,
or at least one in the booth. Back when I first started, most of the booths I worked in
did have concrete floors (often covered with asbestos tile!) due to the old nitrate fire
code regulations. But they're a bit rarer these days. These days, IMO most booths
are fire-traps, if one ever managed to get started. (Although a booth fire is a lot less
likely these days since not only are most booths un-staffed most of the time, there's
also not the danger of hot carbon stubs dropping onto the floor or a pile of oily rags.)

[Barry Floyd]

I can't really say much more about straightening as you have, already, but for cleaning, use Barkeeper's Friend.

Barkeepers Friend is mazing stuff. I have a 1981 Delorean as my mid-life crisis play toy, and I use Barkeepers Friend to clean it.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Experimenting with the mallet + 2x4 method, and some gentle wrench persuasion with larger warps... i've managed to move some of my worst reels into the perhaps usable category. Hard to get em perfect though. Wrenching on the older styles is pretty risky though, the line between getting it to retain a move and snapping something is pretty fine.

The pounding method on the floor works well for outward bends that are short enough to straddle the 2x4. For inward bends/warps it is less effective, as well as warps that span larger sections of the reel.

Not ideal methods but can be used if one is careful.

For evaluating my progress I set up a short white leader loop between the left hand kelmar rewind and the tight-wind arm. With a loose roller placed in the bottom of the loop it provided enough gravity/friction to drive the loop. Watched the film between the reel and the tight-wind roller for edge distance/rubbing/binding. Ignore the bottom loop because it will definitely rub, gravity pulls it towards the bench side flange due to the kelmar motor's having that slight tilt away from plumb. If you don't have the tight-wind guide roller could just as easily use two reels with a longer loop... provided your other reel is an excellent one.

I tried some white vinegar+water solution (sprayed on and let sit for a few) on an oxidized reel at work, but without much visible change... it might have removed some of the white powder only, but no visual improvement otherwise. It was however 5% food-grade white vinegar... probably need the stronger stuff to make a better ratio.

At home I tried some barkeeps friend on some personal reels, it also was an improvement but not the drastic change I was expecting.

Would wire-wheeling them with a copper or brass wire wheel be too abrasive for cast aluminum? Perhaps if the inside flanges were re-buffed after?

ALSO, be very careful if you opt to wrench on the flanges while it is mounted on the rewind stand, very easy for you to actually bend your rewind spindle before bending the reel if you are not careful. Ask me how I know. ;-) It can be done, you just have to counter pressure the flange somewhere rather than just yank on it. But safest is to just not do that.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Another method for progress monitoring rather than just looking/running loops, would be if you had a trustable flat surface near eye level you could eyeball the flanges for gaps and high points. I didn't have that handy. But good way to evaluate each flange relative to itself.

[Jim Cassedy]

I've got all the aluminum Goldberg reels at work more or less sorted on a rack, with the
"good ones" starting on the left side, and then all the reels in less-than-perfect shape
following that, and getting progressively worse the further down the rack you go. So,the
first 8 or 9 reels on the left side of the rack get used most often, and since most 35mm
features average between 5 to 7 reels, I usually never have to use any that are in the
bent bunch. although last week, I had a situation of having to play two 7 reel flicks on the
same night, and I needed inspect a 3rd print for the following day. I've got the hubs on
most of my reels marked with either marker or tape with condition codes like "SB" -
(slightly bent); "VB" (very bent) and there are several marked "DNU" (do not use!)

. . and then there's this one:

- - which is just a bit 'bent-ish"

Ironically, I have a stack of about 25 Goldburg reels that I acquired a while
back from a closed screening room. I suppose I could bring a few of them
in to work and use them, but these are all in EXCELLENT, "like new" condition
- - and I want to keep them that way... so here they sit:
JimsReelPile.jpg

( Hey! - - Don't laugh! - - last year I bought myself a nice new umbrella that
I've never used, because I don't want it to get wet. )

[Steve Guttag]

I would NEVER stack them like that. The reel at the bottom is more likely to bend its flanges as any sway in the stack has the weight of the stack to try and bend the flanges (aluminum). I've seen it numerous times. In shipping it is one of the issues. That is why there is a 35mm cardboard spacer on new reels and when boxed up there should be a sacrificial empty box on each end of the stack to absorb the weight if the shipping stands the box on end.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I would NEVER stack them like that. The reel at the bottom is more likely to bend its flanges as any sway in the stack has the weight of the stack to try and bend the flanges (aluminum). I've seen it numerous times. In shipping it is one of the issues. That is why there is a 35mm cardboard spacer on new reels and when boxed up there should be a sacrificial empty box on each end of the stack to absorb the weight if the shipping stands the box on end.

I generally agree. I think the best way to keep them safe is to hang them (from both flanges on a bar or shelving support) or have them stand vertically on their flanges. Our booth lacks the wall space for hanging, so our best ones stay in the period film reel cabinets, only a few of the worst ones are stacked under the desk like in the photo.

[Jesse Crooks]

If you're resorting to open air storage, a bankers box is the perfect size to fit six house reels side-by-side. Put a trash bag over it as a dust cover and you're set.

Why are you trying to bend back the reels that are bent out instead of in? If your projector still has magazines, that side needs to face out so it doesn't scrape the magazine. Otherwise, what harm could it do? Pinching, on the other hand, should immediately put the reel in the reject pile. Everyone I know who has tried the 2x4 method has ended up with cracked reels...

In terms of cleaning house reels, the best solution I've found is using naphtha and cotton rags. You'll want some ventilation. It's cheap, effective, and it won't leave any residue that might encourage oxidation or contaminate the film. Even if there may be some aesthetic issues, if a naphtha soaked rag is coming up clean, I don't think any dirt will be transferring to the film. I would not use a wire brush. Bronze is harder than aluminum, and I'd be more concerned about the mess you'd make than whatever you're trying to clean up.

If you want to keep film projection alive for many years to come, you might want to just invest in some new reels while you can still get them. Goldberg Brothers already lists barn door hardware and home theater decor before professional movie theater products on their website... I wonder how many of the reels they manufactured in the last year got used in wine racks instead of projection booths.