I was just looking for the next film. The projector was still rewinding, but I thought I would get back in time. The feeling when returning to this...

I try to never be away until it's done, though this has happened a couple of times for me too

Oh dear not good Eivind,hope your film is ok.

Just as a side issue to this post how many use their projectors to rewind films.Personally I rewind using hand rewinders or if it's the full 16mm feature then the long play unit has the rewind facility separate.
May be its a personal thing or as a result of working in 35mm that I rewind by hand and not use the machines,but I find I can check the film and any joins etc by hand.I don't think I can remember the last time any of my machines were used to rewind or went in reverse.I know it may be a bit odd to some but am I alone in this .......???📽📽

Gwyn, you are far from alone on this,
We always use rewind arms, very rarely i will rewind a 200ft reel just to make sure it all works properly but rewind arms are a must. Over the years you are saving a hell of a lot of wear and tear on the projector,especially when you use them as often as we do. As a tip, (from a professional, not me), if you use the projector for rewinding, A/ do not walk away from it & B/ using only the lightest of touch, use your hand on the rear full spool while rewinding keeps things nice and tight, but DONT stop the reel spinning by hand once you turn off the rewind once its done, you can see when its almost done so let the reel go, let the rear reel stop on its own, certainly on the 1200/HDs as by stopping it dead by hand will eventually knacker up that rewind clutch.
But wherever possible using the rewind arms if you can is definatly beneficial to the projector. IMO

The film was not in mint condition, but wasn't too bad. I can't notice any change. I really should know better :-)

Elvind, i think we have all experienced this, i know i did in my early years,

In answer to Gwyns earlier question here, aside from an odd occasion when I want to clean a film that is on the largest of reels using the LPU, I always rewind my films on the projectors themselves.
In my small home, the least amount of kit you need out at once, the better!

I have the same problem: space. If I had a separate projecting room and the rewinders where up all the time I guess I would have used them more frequently.

To be honest mate, even with infinite room, I doubt I'd use rewinders for anything other than cleaning large reels of film.
On Super 8mm, I've never experienced any negative impact from rewinding films using the machines themselves, unless of course, you attempt to clean a film in rewind mode, that is.

It's just so much quicker and easier to rewind the film using the projector.
On a two reel feature, I often just do it at the end of the screening.

I've started to rewind Super 8 only on my Goko viewer now. I like to retard the take up spool with my finger so that I get a nice tight wind. I also like to use film clips to keep the leaders on the reels. If you hand rewind, the film tends to wind flat and flush on the sides, meaning film clips will go on easily, and there's no risk of damaging the film edges.

All true Martin but I always found the S938 produced a nice tight wind.
I always use film clips for the leaders and I detest films that arrive with me held down with masking tape etc.
First job is always to remove the gum it leaves behind, that's before anything more productive can be done!

The best two machines I have for the tightest and fastest as well as the most flat rewind is produced from either an ST 1200 or a Beaulieu with their clutch pressures set correctly.

I often see in archive footage, people holding onto the freewheeling spool during rewinding to keep consistent tension. This is also something I wouldn't recommend other than just very very light single finger friction.
Ordinarily, all things being well, this should never really be necessary.

Hei Eivind,
Once I was watching a reel, and the projector was BEHIND me. I didn't notice that the take-up reel had stopped working, because the film was running through the projector normally. But when I looked back to see how much time the reel had left, I noticed the take-up reel first. Then I saw the film in a pile on the floor. :-)

That has happened many times for me to find the take up reel not following :-) Mostly it has happened to my 16mm that has problems with big reels (hopefully fixed now), but I have done it with faulty threading too. Very fun each time :-)