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Thread: Bolex Camera Factory 1960's
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3rd Oct 2011, 12:06 PM #1.
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Bolex Camera Factory 1960's
The Swiss firm, Paillard Ltd made some nice movie cameras. Their H16 model Bolex Collector | Cameras | H-16 REX-2 would be one of the best known cameras, a favourite amongst documentary film makers.
I picked up the little D8L shown below, years ago. I've never used it because of the unavailabilty of standard 8 film. You blokes with your mobile phone video cameras would wonder why anyone would bother with this old stuff.
Anyway, here is a link to some movie footage, taken around 1961, inside the factory. Fast forward to the second clip. The narration is French but who cares!
Bolex Collector | Articles | Inside Paillard Bolex (September 2, 2011)
Always in awe.
BT
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3rd Oct 2011, 12:47 PM #2Most Valued Member
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Hi BT,
They are an interesting bit of kit and at least I have a chance of understanding how they work, unlike my phone lol. Lovely machines making them as well, I've always been a little amazed(if thats possible?) of spring making machines.
Stuart
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3rd Oct 2011, 01:40 PM #3Member
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Shock eeek horror...
not a cnc machine in sight... all cam controlled lathes... can you imagine programming that...!!!
Just shows how great the early engineers really were...
BUT, the down side, was a lathe built for EACH purpose... where as a CNC now will do just about everything but the final assembly, which is left up to another machine...
sigh...
regards, Sandy
(mind you, there was a time when movie cameras were made by Carpenters... hahah from my collection)
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3rd Oct 2011, 02:11 PM #4Distracted Member
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At 2.29 in clip 2 is a reference to Salvador Dali. Anyone speak french?
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3rd Oct 2011, 04:50 PM #5Diamond Member
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Camera Machining Operations
Bob
Totally marvellous !
A joy to behold !
regards
Bruce
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3rd Oct 2011, 04:58 PM #6.
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And these blokes weren't carpenters.... I've always loved these photos. The article was removed from an English CRAFTS magazine which often focused on the work of individual craftsmen and women with articles illustrated with the work of the photographer David Cripps. Evocative stuff.
BT
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3rd Oct 2011, 05:21 PM #7.
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Hello Bruce,
Pete F voiced his desire to use cutting oil rather than water based coolant in a previous post. We see copious amounts of the former in the film clip. I'm keen to use it in the Schaublin which has an integral sump cast into the base. Have you had experience with the stuff?
BT
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6th Oct 2011, 10:42 AM #8Diamond Member
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Straight Cutting Oil
Bob
I also noticed the straight cutting oil being used in the Bolex machining operations.
Many moons ago I worked a Turret Lathe actually a Capstan an english made Herbert.
For some weeks I machined the same component out of stainless steel. 100s & 100s of the same part,in stainless steel.
The workpiece was 1/4 " dia about 4" long.
The operations were...
Release collett
Feed workpiece to a dead stop
Index Turret
Round end of workpiece from tool in turret.
Cut a groove from the front toolpost
Index turret
Reduce headstock speed.
Cut a 1/4 " BSF thread for 3 & a half inches using Coventry Diehead with thread chaser inserts .The diehead mounted in Turret.
Increase headstock speed.
Part off workpiece from rear toolpost.
I mention the operations because tool life was exceptional.
The cutting oil used was a Sulphur Chlorinated dark oil, which gave superb tool life.This oil reduced the premature cratering of the cutting tool & "welding" of the workpiece material to the toolbit.
In fact on all of the stainless steel operations in that shop, the straight cutting oil was used.Remember this was a time when all of the cutting tools were high speed steel.
Maybe others could comment on its use with carbide tooling.
Now getting back to the fiddly stuff I do today on the Hercus.
Even though it is equipped with a coolant tank & pump, over time I found because of its occasional use, the water soluble oil in the tank tended to go rancid, separate, & at times cause staining of the lathe bed under the saddle if left for a period.
A while back I got hold of an original Hercus drip can. The soluble oil is now a mix of a lot of oil & less water, & that has proved to be good.
Perhaps the next move would be to use straight cutting oil.
Another bonus for the straight oil is the lubricity it provides to the lathe.
I would be interested for others to comment on the straight cutting oil vs water soluble oils.
Hope Bob, this may be of some assistance.
regards
Bruce
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6th Oct 2011, 08:38 PM #94-6-4
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Bolex
Dear Bob I had the privilege of using a 16 mm Bolex occasionally during my teenage years. The camera belonged to a Bob Prentice who was a leading light ob the Tramway Museum Society here in Vic. Bob was not short of a Quid and he shot lots of trams and trains in the eastern states. One memorable trip was as far north to Proserpine to photo the narrow gauge. This was done in bobs fathers 1956 Daimler Conquest. Yours 4-6-4 .
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6th Oct 2011, 10:08 PM #10Senior Member
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I always thought that 'Standard 8' was made with 16mm stock with sprocket holes down both sides, just run in oposite directions, exposing one half of the film stock each time - take the full spool out at the end, flip it over and swap it with the now empty spool, shoot and the film ends back on the 1st spool.
Then the film's stock was split as part of the developing process, giving 2 lengths of standard 8 with the sprocket holes down one sides. The trick was to avoid light contamination when switching over the reels.
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7th Oct 2011, 12:04 AM #11
The "pull-down" (so called) of 8mm film is half the pitch of 16mm. So there are double the number of sprocket holes per inch (or meter). And woe betide the lab that slits 16mm footage thinking it was intended for 8mm. Probably only happened once.
IIRC, 16mm film stock for silent filming has sprocket holes on both sides. There's still enough room for pre-exposing footage marks or frame numbers before packaging.
I still have my Bolex H16 Rex. Also the Rexofader for fade-in/fade-out. I built a bellows extension for DIY 1:1 re-photography; in effect a poor man's optical printer. It's in a box hidden around here someplace.
I did about half the material for an industrial documentary on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab - not yet (if ever) on YouTube.
When video and computer graphics took over, my fire went out. Sigh. So I took up woodturning to satisfy my lust.
Cheers,
JoeOf course truth is stranger than fiction.
Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain
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22nd Nov 2011, 04:32 PM #12Diamond Member
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Straight Cutting Oils for Lathe Work
Noting the recent writings of Pete F & Anorak Bob where mention is made about straight cutting oils for lathe use, I have relisted the story I wrote after Bobs question, at the time on Straight Oils.
Anyway that was my experience & I think there are merits for the use of Straight Cutting oils vs Water Soluble Oils for certain applications & occasional use to minimise corrosion & staining of the Lathe Bed particularly under saddle & tailstock, compound slide etc.
regards
Bruce