Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: century projecter maintenance

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Posted by Brian Zeisler (Member # 1333) on 06-04-2003, 04:48 AM:

i am using a century: model hh, with a sound reproducer: model tr-3-b. during todays show, about 1/2hour into matrix 2, i got this loud (squealing, whistling, not quite grinding) noise coming from the projector. the noise was coming from between the middle feed sprocket (just under the intermident) and the lower feed sprocket (just under the sound drum). the machine has plenty of oil in it and all the gears in back are all greased up. i think this place im at has a repair guy that can come out, but i would like to know what is going on for my own piece-of-mind. are there any thoughts on what the problem might be with any possible remedies on how to fix it. [Confused]

(please list remedies in a "projecter maintenance for dummies" format) [Smile]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-04-2003, 05:55 AM:

CHAPTER ONE.....TROUBLESOME PROJECTOR OILING SPOTS...... and other spots that most people forget about......

Place a drop or two of LAVEZZI SYNTHETIC OIL in the outer intermittent bushing oil well and on the collar.

There should be an oil well with a cap just above the upper and lower sprocket on the operating side. 3 drops once a month in each.....

Frame the intermittent all the way down and place a few drops of oil on the verticle shaft just above the intermittent drive gear where it slides up and down on the shaft. Work the framing up and down to work the oil into the gear hub..... This'll keep the gear from becomming seized to the verticle shaft.

CHAPTER 2........

OILING THE SOUND REPRODUCER(aka: sound head) On the drive(belt) side....USE LAVEZZI OIL HERE TOO!

Check the round black tensioner that takes up the slack on the belt between the sound head and the projector. If you have the older brown or blsck pheonolic type these typically become dry and will squeel quite loud. This is the MOST COMMON PROBLEM if your Century is squeeling!! Consider replacing this with the newer ball bearing style tenioner from Wolk.

Some earlier Century sound reproducers have bronze bushings on the main drive shaft....later units have all ball bearings. so on the drive(belt) side check to see if there is an oil well with cap just behind the large drive gear where the shaft goes through the main frame. You may need a flashlight to check this....possibly a search light..... If you find there is a well there place a few drops of oil in this well once a month. If there is no oil well then you have a ball bearing model. Don't worry about the well....but go ahead and worry about the bearings......they fail once in a while too! Being very careful so the screw driver does not become loged in your brain and with the projector running, put a screw driver tip on the casting near each bearing and put the screw driver to your ear and listen. Anything other than a normal whirring sound from any of them and you've found a bad bearing, when they fail sometimes it'll sounds like grinding gravel. Replace all three if need be....There is a Bearing Headquarters over in St. Charles just south off Rt 64 and Dunham Rd that should have them in stock if needed, get new belts too!! The parts should cost you less than 30 bucks......
Also, check on the casting that that darn belt tensioner mounts onto for a metal gear about 2.5 inches in diameter that used to run the take up arm. All of these have a bushing in them that get dry over time and they also require oil.....They can squeel too and become annoying...... Best thing is to remove it if you are no longer running reel to reel.

Check the "Davis" tensioning rollers where the sound is scanned. Many out there are still the bushing type and they need oiling once in a while. If they are ball bearing skip this tip.....If they are the bushing type replace them with the ball bearing type!!

MArk @ CLACO

P.S.'S,

Clue 1: I used to service your D.I. once in a while when I lived in St. Charles.

Clue 2: LaVezzi oil being a synthetic will not evaporate like regular projector oil and you will experience less trouble if you use it.

Clue 3: Some other Film-Techer will let you know if I missed an oiling spot!!

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-04-2003, 10:02 AM:

What Mark said. It sounds like the belt idler, judging from your description of where the noise is, and that it is loud.

Btw, it's "projector". [Smile]

Posted by Michael Rourke (Member # 1142) on 06-05-2003, 03:26 PM:

If you need a maintennance schedule for your projector, the manual should have one.

Add Grease to all gear surfaces every week or two depending on how often you run, changing out all grease when the build-up becomes too clumpy or if the grease becomes dried up or runny. What kind of grease do you use? Century Gear Grease TU-0380 is the best, if you use anything different you might think about de-greasing and switching.

Oiling: I oil the projector every month, I use Lavezzi oil (Century Oil is fine) in the cups above the Feeding and Holdback sprockets (3-4 drops in each), then add a drop or two to the oil well on the intermittent sprocket bracket, and to the collar while the intermittent is turning. I then use a light machine oil (3 in 1, or Sewing machine) to oil the lateral guide roller on the trap to ensure it moves in and out freely, run a light bead of oil around the gate housing and open and close it, push back on all the pad rollers and add a drop of oil to the shafts. Wipe up any run off before re-threading. Make sure to add a drop of oil to the vertical shaft above the intermittent bearing as Mark said.

Annually: Make sure to change the intermittent oil and sound head damping fluid. This can be done more often, I usually get to about 10 months before doing the change out, but MAKE SURE it gets done at least every year.

The rest is pretty straight foward, make sure all your fittings, collars, nuts and screws are tight, check for gear teeth wear or weakening while greasing, early detection of a worn out gear will save you from having a down screen.

If you want to learn more about anything just do a search on this site, it's a life saver. Thanks again Brad.