Bolex 18-5 Projector Repair

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

Remove the spring and bolt. There are two ball bearings under the washer.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

After removing these springs and the bolt seen in the previous post, the pulldown claw should be free.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

There was some wear on these pads, but they were still OK.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

The jerky image was caused by these grooves which were worn into the pulldown claw.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

I repaired this by filing the affected areas smooth again.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

I removed the old grease here and re-greased with teflon grease that is safe for plastic.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

I removed the old molybdenum grease from the cam and the pulldown claw. I re-assembled with fresh molybdenum grease.

The claw rotates around the circular opening, so it needs lube there. That is also where the ball bearings are located.

The cam moves the claw in two axes. The cam presses on the rectangular pad to move the arm up and down and presses on the circular dimple to move the claw in and out of the sprocket holes (green arrows).

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

When re-attaching the shutter, either put it back where you marked it. In my case, since I filed the claw thinner, I wanted to re-adjust the timing. The shutter can be moved forward or backward slightly so the aperture is completely covered by the time the claw starts to move the film.

ic-racer · May 19, 2024

Re-assembled after bending back to shape and re-greasing and re-lubricating the moving and spinning surfaces.

Andreas Thaler · May 20, 2024

Very nice work, thanks for presenting!

Tracyeurey · Sep 26, 2024

Hi, I'm new here. This model was the first projector I bought, I got a power cord on eBay, need to figure out what type bulb to buy. It currently has Sylvania 50 watt 8 volt. Is that what I should be looking for?

ic-racer · Sep 27, 2024

There were two different style of bulb, depending on what type of socket the projector has.

The projector described here uses the "Diver Dan" bulb: Osram 58.8008 or PHILIPS 13113C/04 50W 8V.

There were a number of different "18-5" style Bolex projectors that took different bulbs. They even had an adapter to convert from "Diver Dan" lamp to a MR16 lamp.

ic-racer · Feb 15, 2025

The AC cable for these projectors has a unique connector for the back of the projector. I was able to find a cable. Though, all I saved was just the connector. I replaced the cord with a fresh cord.

ic-racer · Feb 15, 2025

BTW, after doing all the repairs outlined here, I found a like-new projector still in its box. I'll keep the others as spares and use this one.

Andreas Thaler · Feb 16, 2025

A passion that requires a lot of storage space

Is there a repair community for these devices or are you a pioneer here?

ic-racer · Feb 16, 2025

Andreas Thaler said:
A passion that requires a lot of storage space

Is there a repair community for these devices or are you a pioneer here?

Yes, actually. There is a forum for 8mm film collectors. That is where most information on these projectors is found. In contrast, I think most of the 8mm cinematography and movie-making forums are populated by people that are going to scan the film to digital for editing and they don't discuss the projectors much.

Personally, I'm not 'digital' so I edit by splicing the tape and then view my movies on these projectors.

Bolex 18-5 Projector Repair

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