This is topic Breaking down from the AW3 in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-04-2001, 08:29 AM:
I've noticed that when breaking down a feature from the platter to 6000 foot spools that the tension becomes too high as the second 6000 fills up and the beginning of the feature approaches. Is there a way to disengage the motor altogether so that the platter can spin freely without any back tension for the last (first!) couple of spools? I feel that this would be a little easier on the film itself, as well as the make up table's motor. This was also a problem on the Speco LP-270 as there was barely enough torque in the make up table's motor to finish winding right to the end! On Strong and Cinemeccanica platters, the drive motor on the platter disengaged entirely for break-down.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-04-2001, 10:05 AM:
Ideally, purchase a 19" center ring from Christie to use for breaking down. As the diameter is larger it will not put quite so much tension on that last 1000 feet. The big tip here is to run the 6000 at 3:00 on the dial (assuming your dial runs from 7:00 to 5:00). Once you hear the motor start to strain with that "whump, whump, whump" noise, slowly turn the speed down just enough to eliminate it. If you don't, you will burn out the MUT's motor with a little bit of that kind of torture. Using that procedure, I've never had a problem breaking down a short 5 reel movie onto an 8000 foot reel in it's entirity with the small center rings.The other big tip is to place a cd jewel case (sping touching the film) into the opening of the center ring just before the last show. Generally if the rings have not been bent badly, it will fit snugly in there and will prevent the ring from collapsing during breakdown, which can cinch scratch the film. I think I have a picture laying around somewhere of what I mean here and will try to post it when I find it.
And now for the dumb question of the day...you ARE pressing the appropriate makeup button in before breaking down, right? Many people I've found only press the button in for loading, but don't realize that if they fail to have it engaged for breakdown that it will put waaaaaaaay too much stress on the film.
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-04-2001, 10:17 AM:
Remember to push the appropriat button in like brad says. also if you can get it out you can remove the tension spring that presses the motor against the platter. I have done this before in certain situations.
Posted by Sean M. Grimes (Member # 445) on 02-04-2001, 07:02 PM:
One other trick that you can use with AW3's is to take a door stop and put it between the motor and the tree. The platter will spin and there will be no stress put on the motor. The only thing that you need to do is stop the platter from spinning manually - I would just take a paper towel and grab the deck with it just like a brake caliper. Never had any problems what so ever with this method.Sean
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-04-2001, 07:24 PM:
the door stop is a better idea than removing the spring. You can also do something similar to that with the speco's. Just use the magnet and wedge it between the motor shaft and the hole the shaft sticks up thru so it pulls the motor away from the platter.
Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-05-2001, 01:47 AM:
Brad: Thanks for checking about the make-up switch; I should have specified in my original post that I had pushed it.The 19 inch centers you're referring to...on our platters, there are only two sets of holes already there, one set only slightly further out from the ones we normally use. The two holes are almost adjacent, so I guess one would need to drill more holes in order to use the larger center rings?
I'd like to see more about the CD jewel case idea if you can find the photos.
The rubber wedge method sounds fine, too...thanks everyone for their suggestions so far!
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-05-2001, 07:34 AM:
If you have more than one pair of holes in your platters, someone has drilled them. To use the 19" center rings you do not need to make any modifications to the platter. They are designed to use the existing holes.If you absolutely HAVE to disengage the motor, any typical sized screwdriver works nicely, but beware you can cause film damage and poor winding if you do not provide smooth backtension with your hand, which is fairly difficult to do.
Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-05-2001, 09:09 AM:
Sounds like the best solution for now (using what I've got) is the "3 o'clock" method you first described. If that works for you then it's good enough for me! No point risking cinch marks on the film.By the way, could you still fit a movie like 'Titanic' or 'Magnolia' on the platter using a 19 inch center?
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-05-2001, 09:45 PM:
Yes, Titanic will fit easily with a 19" center ring. In fact, using it will only cause a loss of about 20 minutes (on what is roughly a 5 hour capacity deck).ADVANTAGES WHEN USING THE 19 INCH RINGS:
- You can re-time your platters to 15 1/2 RPM at 100% to make it virtually impossible to throw a print.
- Your film clamps will be able to hold a much longer film.
- Breakdown is super smooth with a perfect amount of tension.
DISADVANTAGES WHEN USING THE 19 INCH RINGS:
- They can not be effectively removed from a print and replaced on an empty deck (during re-threading) with one hand.
- If you have to move prints through doorways, this will make the overall diameter of the film rolls larger, meaning they must be tilted to more of a vertical position for clearance. Fortunately, most booths do not have doorways between them.
I love them! 
Does anyone know if Christie makes a 70mm version?