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Author Topic: "Motorboating" with Simplex soundhead Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 04-30-2004 04:53 AM                     On all those little rollers and in particular the ones on the rotary stabiliser soundheads that hold the film in contact with the drum I use neat Slik 50 motor or gear oil. This stuff is Teflon based and only the smallest drop is needed and lasts and lasts and lasts with very little if any gooey build up and best of all no oily deposits to work out the ends and drop down onto film etc. Slik 50 comes from USA and maybe is known under a different name over there but it works a treat. It is Teflon based. Prior to pulling out the pair of Simplex standards that is all I ever used throughout the entire machine even in the Intermittent mixed 50/50 with normal oil. These ran beautifully for 7 summer seasons and never missed a beat and never dripped oil onto the floor which most of the other Simplexes of this vintage I had ever worked on always did... great pools in fact... one was so bad it would empty the intermittent in about 2 days and had a film can lid on the floor to catch the stuff. The rollers in the upper and lower fire traps were always difficult to lube the inside pivots and I started using Slik 50 on those initially on some other machines as to do them properly you had to pull the spool boxes off to get to the oilers. When I set up my own outfit I used Slik 50 there and in the 7 seasons they ran I never took the spool boxes off to lube the rollers that stuff stayed there for the whole time and never once had a roller seize up. The soundhead tension rollers in the newer Century/Westrex combo also got the same treatment as those do work hard with the tension on the film at that point so some form of good lube that stays there is essential. The lateral guide roller is critical in ensuring correct stereo and must revolve very freely and not be allowed to develop flats or grooves in the flanges. Lindsay [ 05-01-2004, 04:01 AM: Message edited by: Lindsay Morris ]  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-30-2004 02:08 PM                     Lindsay, How thick is Slick 50 compared to SAE weight and is it 100% synthetic or are just the teflon particles synthetic? Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 04-30-2004 08:34 PM                    http://www.slick50.com/  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-30-2004 08:43 PM                     Donno, That link told me less than Lindsay did about it. I do use Slick 50 grease on AW-3 platter bearings though. Mark  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 05-01-2004 03:55 AM                     Mark, Not sure of the exact specs for Slik 50 but is used by a few motor mech friends of mine extensively in gearbox and engine rebuilds and they almost put their life on the line for the stuff. I put it into my diesel ute motor and gearbox and although have not really noticed any change in the engine the gear changes are a lot smoother since adding it. It does not say much about it on the bottle and there are 3 types marketted here.. for Engine, Gearbox and Diff NOT for Auto boxes and NOT for Hypoid diffs though. I think the recommended mix for a gearbox is 1 litre for 5 litres of gear oil and on an oil change you just whack the required amount in first and then top up with whatever oil you are using and there are no notes about any differences between use with mineral or synthetic oils...seems to be compatible with most. About to buy another gearbox shot soon so will look more closely at the label as I am only going from memory now. Viscosity looks similar to about SAE 20 and for a while we could get it in small squeeze packs as a GP oil for general workshop use with about 3-4 oz in the bottle. When I started using it in the ute I just used some of that Gearbox mix in the projector oil can and as I said did a mix of 50/50 with the normal Capella oil we had for the intermittents and used about an almost neat Slik 50 mix for any other spots. I tried the intermittents one at a time watching for wear any unusual noise and picture shake on the first one and it seemed to run a lot quieter than the untreated mate. So I then did that one and it too became quieter... if that is possible with a Simplex of these vintages... Like 1929 and still going. I was never worried about stuffing an intermittent as I have box full of spare units on hand so if I screwed one up I was ready to replace it but after observing the performance on most of the other oiling points I reckoned that the intermittent would not have a problem. Best thing was virtually no oil drips from either machine as these Simplex have oil holes everywhere and a lot of it escapes and with Slik 50 you use very little. Have since put the Century CC on a 50/50 mix at the start of the season and after about 100 sessions this season no sign or sound of anything unusual in that one either. On the Century there is one quite small roller after the final sprocket of the Westrex soundhead and that one really works hard as the film wraps around that one quite tight as it heads off to the first large roller on the machine prior to getting onto the transport rollers across to the MUT. If I use anything else in that roller it begins to squeal like a pig after 3 or 4 sessions .. use Slik 50 and it goes for weeks before it looks like it could do with another dose. In my case I only run one session a night being outdoor so things may well be a little different on a complex machine going all day but try it and see how you go.. a little experimentation may well show up any problems that I have missed. When you get the stuff on your fingers you can certainly tell the difference in "slipperyness" IF that is the word between Slik 50 treated oil and normal oil. Lindsay  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 05-01-2004 09:17 AM                     The suspended solids in Slik 50 and other similar products will melt and clump in extreme overheats. It happened to a coworker about 15 years ago. A rad. hose blew at high speed on the interstate and all the steam, water went behind the vehicle, by the time the light came on the damage was done. Some bearings had run dry. The shop that did the rebuild dug out some plastic material blocking an oil passage, lab analysis proved it to be teflon. The additive was not Slik 50 but another national brand. On being presented with the evidence they paid the claim for the related damage without much protest.  |  IP: Logged Lindsay Morris Expert Film Handler Posts: 233 From: Darlington, WA, Australia Registered: Sep 2002 posted 05-02-2004 07:46 PM                     Bill, I dont think much would have saved a motor when all the coolant goes as the retained heat in the block takes the temps way up and really weird things happen then. In my own case ages ago my father in-law and I were jogging back from the goldfields after a non productive gold hunt with a metal detector.. but a very pleasant few days camping out. At the sedate speed of 80kmh (50mph) his manifold heating hose on the Holden HR blew and we did not notice anything at all until he said he thought he was loosing power When he stopped steam went everywhere and when it all cooled down the motor was locked solid. When we got that apart 2 pistons had melted crowns with quite a bit of metal in the sump so obviously the temps in there were horrific and I doubt whether any additive would have saved that motor. The makers of a lot of this stuff claim that once treated one could drain the sump and run a 1000kms or more without any futher oil and suffer no damage.... hmm I wonder... not quite game to try that one myself. A whole lot different in a much slower moving piece of machinery such as a projector with far less extremes of temps from hot to cold and my experience in the Simplexes and now the Century is that I use very little oil and it stays there for a long long time and I do not need drip cans on the floor. Lindsay  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-02-2004 08:03 PM                     Reminds me of the deomonstration years ago in which a bottle of Marvel Mystrey Oil was to a 1957 Pontiac with a hige V-8 in it. The car with Marvel added to it was left to idle for about 30 min. and then the oil drained out. The car was then sucessfully driven across Death Valley with out it seizing up which considering how big some of those engines were is pretty amazing. Perhaps thats why Marvel Mystery Oil is still a favorite of Cinematographers to oil camera movements. Use 40% pure Mineral oil and 60% Marvel. Mark  |  IP: Logged Gary Crawford Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: Neptune NJ USA Registered: Nov 2003 posted 05-05-2004 11:50 AM                     Thank you for all the suggestions guys. Gary  |  IP: Logged

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