Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Tension bands cannot stay clean?!?

This is topic Tension bands cannot stay clean?!? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Ben LaCrosse (Member # 4662) on 04-28-2008, 01:57 AM:

PR1060 Curved Swing gate

We have 4 of 14 houses that do not require showly cleaning, if you will. We've recently replaced all tension bands. Man the old ones were so shot it wasn't even funny.

It has become extremely cumbersome to keep them all clean. I'm convinced now that the gates are the culprit. Our 4 best shiniest smooth gates are on the houses we'll clean once a week. The others?? They have nicks and lil bity crevices, coincidentally enough the buildup occurs right where these imperfections meet the bands. Imagine that.

Does the gate tension come into play, as well? And if the shotty gates are the true infidel, is there a way to polish them up somehow? Refinish them so to speak? I really hate the fact that essentially every movie we play gets torn to shreds. Ohh and we don't use filmguard, that's probably our biggest mistake. The people I work with want no part of it. I'm still working an angle, however.

ps. btw after band replacement, our tension settings are 3 and above. Not good, I know. probably a whole other issue.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-28-2008, 02:16 AM:

Remove the swing gate and put it on another machine that is doing fine and see if the problem follows it. If it does and the other gate is doing fine then the problems is with the rails. If the problems stay with the machine then the tension may be to much or other issues. After you changed the bands did you reset the tension knob back to one or a setting that did not allow the picture to jump erratically.

Posted by Fred Tucker (Member # 4482) on 04-28-2008, 02:57 AM:

Do what Daryl said, but remember to set the film gate distance before you adjust tension bands. You want the gate set to where you get even focus top - middle - bottom of the screen, RP-40 is best but a loop of green trailer bands will work too. Once the gate is set keep tension bands as loose as possible yet keep a steady picture. Hope this helps.

Posted by Ben LaCrosse (Member # 4662) on 04-28-2008, 03:56 AM:

Yes, this does help, thank you both.

No, we did not set the film gate distance before adjusting the tension bands. You're talking about the adjustment screws for the gate tension, right? I will tinker with this next shift, as well as swapping gates around.

And yes, we set the knobs to zero and increased from there. The one and two setting created a lot of noise and the film was
slopping around, so to speak.

Posted by Ben LaCrosse (Member # 4662) on 05-17-2008, 03:39 AM:

Well, I have swapped gates on different houses and played with the gate tension some. I say "play" b/c I'm still unable to grasp the fundamentals.

Is there a rule of thumb to follow with setting the traps? Say, if the tension is set at 2 and the film is jumping all around then the gate is... a. too tight b. too loose
c. stupid question, or d. look elsewhere ???

If there is a good gate/tension band relationship in one house, could I use this gate as an example to set the others with?

When I run the motor with no film and the trap closed, a slight ticking occurs. If I pull the shoes back a tick, it goes away. What is happening that is causing the sound? Is the intermittent being abused from this? Too tight of gate or shoe alignment.

Sorry for all the questions, just been up awhile and couldn't stop typing.

Btw, shedding has been reduced overall, with yalls help ofcourse. Also we've just received our first bottle of film-guard ever. I am really intrigued to see how shedding is affected.

And.... Please, someone tell me I am crazy for wanting to use it for the first time ever on IJ4. I need to be told "NO". Otherwise, I just might do it.