Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: who makes carbon savers?

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-27-2003, 10:57 AM:

Who currently sells carbon savers for 7mm and 8mm carbons? Apparently the guy who used to make the most common type (the skinny ones that hold the carbons in place with a small clip) has retired and no longer has any for sale. Marble apparently sells a type that is significantly larger (in diameter) than the carbon and is too thick to slide across the positive support in the lamphouse (which makes it essentially useless).

Are there any other suppliers?

Does anyone have a stash of the good type for sale/trade? Hopefully there are theatres that have converted to xenon and/or equipment dealers who might want to get some cash for their "old junk."

Thanks.

Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 05-31-2003, 03:38 PM:

Ah, memories! Some of the booths I worked in practiced every imaginable cost-saving means including carbon savers, and those that I recall were round copper sleeves with a crimpable standing seam joint. These were perhaps 1-1/2" long, crimped using gas pliers, and were re-usable to a point, but in my zeal to help the bottom line I cut it too close many times and the saver was burned through, adding to the copper spatter on the lamphouse floor. As the savers were of light gauge copper, they were practically un-noticeable on the screen when they burned through. Cartoons and newsreels were wonderful for using up stubs.

Have you checked with Marble? Since they still carry carbons, there is a slight chance that they may have carbon savers in their old stock.

Most of these supplies in the Los Angeles area came from National Theatre Supply, Pembrex and John Filbert Co. back in the 50s and 60s, and from the Budd Company in the 70s.

Good luck. [Razz]

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 06-11-2003, 11:37 AM:

For what it's worth, here is the type of carbon saver that I'm looking for; sorry for not posting this earlier. This is slightly different and more useful than the type that Marble sells, as it is thin enough to slide easily over the positive support to allow burning the positive carbons down to 1" (or so) stubs. Currently, we can't really burn them down to more than 2.5" or so (in Enarc lamphouses), and that usually ends up being more like 3", which seems sinful to throw out considering what carbons cost.

Thanks for any help with this!

Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 07-07-2003, 09:04 PM:

If there is a supplier of the above mentioned carbon savers I too would be interested in a pair or two.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 07-08-2003, 12:29 PM:

Me too!

Posted by Stan Gunn (Member # 554) on 07-09-2003, 04:02 AM:

There is a god in the film world, Its not me, but I am able to make carbon savers.
I have made a differnt type some time ago, can you tell me why you have a neg rod in your pos saver or is it a neg saver?

But on a serious note,the cost in aust dollars would be $25.00AUS each made from brass for any size to 8 mm. [beer]

Contact me at kalart@bigpond.net.au

[ 07-09-2003, 08:11 AM: Message edited by: Stan Gunn ]

Posted by Peter Kerchinsky (Member # 1098) on 07-09-2003, 05:32 AM:

Scott
I haven't seen those type of carbon savers for years. We used to use them all time time.
Might check with either Dick Prather or Bob McRae on this site to see if they have any laying around. I hear they are both pack rats, saving everything in sight so you might luck out.
By the way, where in hell do you use these things. I thought carbons were a thing of the past, like me!

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 09-26-2003, 03:59 AM:

quote:
in my zeal to help the bottom line I cut it too close many times and the saver was burned through, adding to the copper spatter on the lamphouse floor.

I wonder if a small porcelain donut the diameter of the carbon could be found or cast to place ahead of the saver & prevent destroying the saver.

Posted by Howard Johnson (Member # 62) on 09-26-2003, 07:32 AM:

For a classic sinking feeling in the stomach nothing used to beat the realisation that you had miscalculated the length of carbon, there was still 5 minutes left on the reel, the positive had stopped the gap was getting bigger and the light was going blue!!! The good old days!!!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 09-26-2003, 07:44 AM:

I once had a "penny pinching" manager who would periodically look in the carbon waste can to be sure I used each carbon to the shortest possible length. And he kept count of how many carbons were in the booth, so I couldn't "cheat". Unlike the other theatres I worked in, he cashed in the copper drippings, rather than give them to the Will Rogers collection. [Roll Eyes]

Fortunately, I never had a "flame out" or risked damaging the carbon contacts. You really got to know your lamp's "personality" and burn rate, and how to judge the length of a reel.

Posted by William H. Ward (Member # 1797) on 09-26-2003, 03:30 PM:

Man does that bring back the memories!!!! We used to make our own out of the small tin cans they used to ship trailers in. I'm sure they did not appreciate it. If you will buy a small piece of thin copper sheet, cut a piece about 2.5" square, clamp your carbon in a vice carefully, (I used stubs for this) leaving the end of the carbon sticking out of the side, bend the copper piece around the carbon tightly and bring the ends together. I took a pair of pliers, gripped the copper pieces together right at the carbon very tightly. Bend over the remaining tail piece of the copper. Remove from vice and push carbon, copper tail into the vice from the top and, using the vice, crimp it tight. You will then have one good copper carbon saver. A little practice and you will have it down pat. [Wink]

Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 09-26-2003, 04:11 PM:

> By the way, where in hell do you use these things. I thought
> carbons were a thing of the past, like me!

I'm gonna take a guess.... I'd say it's a Delgarian. [Smile]

The Avon Cinema is one of the few crazy places that are running carbons still.

--Chris

Posted by William H. Ward (Member # 1797) on 09-26-2003, 06:30 PM:

You would be surprised...... There is a theatre supply dealer in my town that still stocks and sells carbons to theatres in the Texas Valley. I'm sure they are far and few, but they are still there.

Posted by Edward Jurich (Member # 1787) on 09-27-2003, 09:06 AM:

You might check to see if the carbon fill fit inside a piece of brass tubing. If you're handy, you might be able to make a holder from brass tubing.