Bolex Splicer!!! update.

[noahstout]

So,
I know that at least one person on here uses this splicer. I've used it a few times now. Its not perfect but its pretty damn good. The splices don't get caught in projection and are pretty much silent going through. You do still see the line of the slice, but less than on my other splicers. I still don't see exactly what makes it a "bevelled edge" splicer?
Here's my question: The splicer seems to be very mechanical, like it almost does everything for you; but I want to know exactly how much to grind the film down. It seems like there is a pretty obvious line where the grinder stops (and the emulsion scratching stops)- and a line is created after grinding only a couple seconds. But will the amount I grind (ie. 3 sec. or 40 sec.) change where the emulsion line is (very slightly)? I think it might, and this would change how the pieces of film matched up. You wouldn't be able to tell when looking at the film- only in projection. In the directions it says to grind the film until there is"no emulsion", but there is definately always some emulsion to be seen (not where you are scratching but just to the left). And again, the problem is that "where you are scratching" seems to change slightly by how long you decide to scratch.

[BolexPlusx]

Hi Noah,

Sorry to take so long, but I had to get to a sane moment where I could sit down and work this one out myself. I'll bet you've figured it out too by now, but it's useful information for anybody who's new to this splicer.

The good news is that you actually can't overdo the grinding operation. A friend I correspond with who is a Bolex Splicer Guru tells me that when properly adjusted the grinders actually don't touch the metal plates the film sits on. They float parrallel to them with a clearance of .002" (in other words, practically nothing!)

So you can scrape all day and pretty shortly be accomplishing nothing as far as grinding more film goes.

So we've settled what the maximum is. What's the minimum? I found at less than seven strokes of the grinders, the film was very tough and the blade had trouble cutting off the waste end. It got easier at 8 and easier still at 9, so I settled on 10 strokes as my standard.

The strokes should be as long as possible to make full use of the grinding serrations (using just a small section would clog those teeth and would be tiring) I've found a reasonably light pressure on the grinders is fine, certainly less than what it takes for the film to zig-zag back and forth with the blade. (Remember, you're cutting a little piece of film with a sharp grinder, not a steel girder with a hacksaw!)

I found that placing a fingertip on top of the right hand door helped squish out air bubbles in the splice which would weaken it.

My next step with this is to splice a silent project so I can get really good with the splicer on a film not intended for striping. After that, I have two projects which will be striped, and hopefully I will be ready to splice them very well after all this practice.

The instructions that came with this splicer are very good, but using one has as much Art as Science to it. Practice, practice, practice!!