Best felt for clutches

[Frank Raia]

What is the best type felt to make replacement felt clutches for reel arms?

I know the thickness that I need. 1\8 inch

I see compressed, Wool, dense etc, also there seems to be a "F" rating, F1, F2, F3 etc.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Compressed is probably wood-based, which I'd skip? Wool is natural fibers, which I'd also skip. I guess the best option is synthetic, made from acrylonitrile with the highest F-rating you can get. I'm not sure if that qualifies as dense...

The higher the F-rating, the more flre-retarding properties the material will have.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I think "compressed" is a structual/density spec, and not limited to the rayon (wood pulp) felts. I've had mine out and they are pretty dense, but I can't testify if they qualify as "compressed" or not.

[Frank Raia]

So Ryan, what felt do you use?

[Jim Cassedy]

Somewhere, in all the years I've been doing this, I seem to recall having a set
of reel arms that used cork, instead of felt. Or maybe it was a combination of
the two.

[Ryan Gallagher]

So Ryan, what felt do you use?

I have no exact advice, I have not ventured to replace ours yet... just re-oiled them.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

If these are for Kelmar or similar arms you can get them from Ny dealer. Kelmar is still in business.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I’d love my venue to invest in some Keller 35/70 arms, because yes they are still in business, but stuck with our Ballantyne/Simplex arms for now (with the spindle latches that don’t like the FT plastic 70mm reels).

[Jesse Crooks]

Somewhere, in all the years I've been doing this, I seem to recall having a set
of reel arms that used cork, instead of felt. Or maybe it was a combination of
the two.

Some really old clutches also used leather.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

I’d love my venue to invest in some Keller 35/70 arms, because yes they are still in business, but stuck with our Ballantyne/Simplex arms for now (with the spindle latches that don’t like the FT plastic 70mm reels).

Ask the bean counters which they'd rather do: Pony up a few grand or so for new reel arms that work safely, or pay out up to tens of thousands for a damaged print when (not if) a reel decides to exit the chat with the projector running. (Not to mention revenue lost on refunds or worse, a Workman's Comp claim paid out to an injured projectionist.)

Looking at Kelmar's 2019 price list, a set of arms with 35mm and 70mm spindles is around $1750.00 per projector, so figure maybe $2200-$2500 per projector today's pricing. And you can find them on fleabay as well for less.

Reel arms are cheap compared to the alternatives, and as capital equipment, they're a tax write off as well.

[Steve Guttag]

I would suggest making the Ballantyne arms work. Seriously, they are a better reel arm than Kelmar. The spindle is more substantial, the clutch mechanism is better. Back when we were selling them new, we never had a problem with the latches. If the problem is with the plastic reels, consider what you can do to accommodate (it may be a matter of filing/machining the hub or how the spindle mounts to get the length).