Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Question about Brenkert Frame Adjust

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Posted by Sam Hunter (Member # 1119) on 07-13-2003, 10:40 PM:

My BX80's framing adjustment is pretty hard to turn.
First off how tight should they be normally?
Second, what would be the major sources of problems in this area? I did find my Intermittant retainer climp was way too tight. I took care of that and that helped a great deal but the adjustment is still hard. It seems to have something to do with the shutter compensater unit being stiff. The adjustment is not really that hard to turn anymore but it is stiff to use at first and frees up a little after the initial use.
Thanks.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 07-14-2003, 12:02 AM:

First, either loosen up on the drag screw some more, or remove the intermittant and then see if the excessive binding goes away. If not, there is probably a binding somewhere in the compensator. If the bind is in the compensator, dismantling and cleaning might be in order. Beware, it can be a real "bear". If you dismantle it, you have a 20% chance of getting it put back together correctly in the first attempt. The taper pin hole alignment is what will screw you up. It will align only if the shaft position is correct. [Smile]

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 07-14-2003, 06:54 AM:

They are tuff to turn on my BX-40's, too. Long time ago I decided not to mess with them, for reasons Paul brings up! As long as I thread in frame (and splice in frame, too) I'm OK. [Wink]

Posted by Sam Hunter (Member # 1119) on 07-14-2003, 08:39 AM:

Those compensaters remind me of the insides of a vehical manual transmission. Of which I rebuilt one or two.
Yeah Jeff, I probably should leave it be but it bugs me so forward I must go.
Thanks!

P.S. Paul, still got that ORC lens?

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 07-14-2003, 03:34 PM:

Sam, yes I do.

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 07-14-2003, 07:01 PM:

There's a drag adjustment at the top left as you're looking at the gear side. I fiddled with it on my BX80 and it helped, but basically, it's just tight...My BX40 is tight as well...they're just tight! You'd expect it to be as smoothe as silk on such a beautifully made machine, but it just isn't. The good thing is....it will never slip out of frame!

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 07-14-2003, 07:08 PM:

I didn't know you had a BX-40 also, John. That's great. [thumbsup]

I found an orphan BX-60 last fall in an out of biz theater in the southern part of the state. It's gonna get the once over later this summer or fall and hopefully I'll have it running this winter. Sure is fun to bring this machinery back to life.

Posted by Sam Hunter (Member # 1119) on 07-14-2003, 09:55 PM:

It turns out I had tightened the intermittant retainer too much.
Reread the manual and adjusted accordingly.
Love my brenkerts, all 4 of them [Smile]

Now all I need is a RCA100.

P.S. Paul, did you get my last Email I sent you today?

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 07-15-2003, 06:18 AM:

No, Sam...now all you need is a Cinerama screen!

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 07-15-2003, 05:05 PM:

Sam, yes an RCA 100 would be neat. The big glass door really lets you watch the film running through. Doesn't seem like there's too many of them on the inexpensive used market, though. [Mad]

Posted by Sam Hunter (Member # 1119) on 07-15-2003, 05:21 PM:

Didn't they only make about 1500-1800 of those?
Oh well, one day I will find one.