Just an odd observation i noticed with my own Eiki.
Currently, i use super lube as recommended by one repair specialist in the states, but i also purchased molycote 33 as recommended by the UK's best repair man.

What i have noticed is this, i have used my Elf for around 20 features, when i took a look inside the other day the worm gear looks almost dry as if the grease has vanished. using my finger and a firm brush i put another small application on as this is one part of the projector that obviously needs to be well greased. The service book states to check approx every 500 hours of use so to me this is a bit weird. Theres no point in over greasing otherwise it just get thrown around the inside and makes a mess.
I have not as yet tried the molycote 33 so i dont know if this sticks to the parts any better. Whats your experience with this please?

Tom,
I believe I have used Super Lube synthetic on the Kodak CT-1000 (Elmo 16-CL clone), or for sure another projector. This was several months back. I will pop the back off and see how things look later this evening or tomorrow. The one thing I think is a slight negative on the Super Lube is it's color. Since it is virtually clear, it is not as easy to see on the gears compared to the old brown/tan poo that is typically seen on projectors....

Dow Corning Molycote grease is excellent at protecting nylon moving parts, especially those in reciprocating fast action duties or those that revolve. There are different grades of this grease but I prefer 33 Medium on my nylon cam and followers etc etc.

I cannot speak for Superlube and it's qualities regarding revolving Nylon parts as I have never used it or seen it professionally recommended in the workplace.

Tom,

Sorry for the delay in responding! Here are a couple pics of the gears on my Kodak CT-1000. Not sure how dry your gear looks, but it seems to me there is still a "glisten" of the Super Lube in the bottom lands of the worm gear on mine. Of course, I am not really sure how it should look...

Hi Greg,
Thank you for your reply. I will pop up some images tomorrow evening

Andrews' recommendation of Molykote 33 grease is what to use if you can get it. Dow Corning products are not easy to find off the shelf in UK and a tube costs £15 -£20 by mail order.

Some projector mechanisms are lubricated via felt wick ribbon therefore grease is not viscose enough to migrate down the wick. A thick oil is used. Unused 'blobs' of manufacturers' original grease can usually be found around the gear wheel perimeters so I push the grease back onto the acting surfaces

One important thing I always remember from when I did antique clock restoration, is that clock and watch gears and pinions are never lubricated. Hard steel pinions driven by soft brass gear wheels, being unlike metals, produce little friction therefore lubrication to gear teeth in horology is unnecessary. In fact, it is steel that wears down most, not the brass. Any clocks I came across that had oil or grease on the gear and pinion teeth were usually disasterously worn, since the unwanted lubrication had acted as slow grinding paste over years. Like metals with bearing surfaces acting together require lubrication while unlike metals have self-lubricating qualities.

Bearing this in mind with projectors, obviously they run at a rapid speed and require lubrication to gear and worm surfaces to reduce friction. Nylon projector gears have 'waxy' qualities that reduce friction when acting together. It is important that the grease is not contaminated with dirt and grit that will cause wear. One thought, on the Bell & Howell worm gears, the two large sprocket gears that engage with the nylon worm have nylon gear teeth on the outer perimeter of the metal wheel casting.

Ian

Thank for yoy replies. I do have molycote 33 here and it is readily available from Amazon.
I was baffled as to where my grease(superlube) keepes vanishing to.
I will clean it off altogether soon and try the molycote which Bill uses so i know it will be the best on to use.

Here is a photo of prototype worms under test.

Ian

Ah the old thread gauges surfaces again!

Nice engineers photograph there Ian! 😊😊

Molykote 33 is available from Amazon. 100g for £22.15 and post free.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Molykote-33-Med...e/dp/B00VATQJ82

And also from any decent remaining Engineering Merchants more locally.
Should be a fair bit cheaper there too!

It's an industry standard brand Maurice.