eBay

Maier Hancock Professional 16mm/8mm Warm Splicer, - The Industry Leader and Best

OK - Lets build the Best Splicer from scratch.

1, Lets build it heavy so it doesn't move around on the Editing Bench. Cast Aluminum, and 1/4" thick Machined Steel Plates. Rubber Feet. 5.5 pounds should do it.

2. Scraper that works well and doesn't go out of adjustment at the wrong moment. Let's make it Carbide Steel and put it in a lubricated frame with half a dozen hex screws for precision adjustment and a nylon edge guide. Lets use 15 hex & normal screws to align the plates, and 3 spring loaded clamps that self adjust the tension.

3. SPEED! Lets heat it a little so the Film Cement will evaporate faster, and save us one second per splice. Lets make it the absolute Easiest Splicer anyone has ever used.

- OR - we could buy a Maier Hancock Professional Film Splicer model 816.

Bell & Howell & Triad recognized the excellence of these splicers, and Licensed them for decades, but for some unknown reason let the license lapse, and Maier Hancock started selling them under their own name, and became the most successful brand in the Television Industry. The B&H Filmo versions will be the oldest, and more worn than the MH models.

Why are they the best? They are Heavy Cast Aluminum & Thick Machined Steel, and don't move on your bench. They are simple to use, and the Carbide Steel Scraper doesn't go out of adjustment or show wear. They are also slightly heated to help the Film Cement evaporate faster - a major plus in fast paced production environments. People refer to them as HOT Splicers, but that isn't accurate. They are Warm. This one heats up, and it takes about half an hour for all of the models.

I recommend NOT plugging them in. If you aren't in a fast paced high pressure production environment, they work just as well cold. And they are still HEAVY, the EASIEST to use, and Don't easily Go Out of Adjustment.

You will find them looking brand new like this one. You will also find them looking trashed with missing & damaged paint. That comes from the high pressure production environment where you don't have time to be neat with the film cement. Those look like hell with some of the paint under the right blades gone, but most work very well. A second version is larger for 35mm/16mm film - you can recognize it because it has a Red power light on the front right-hand side. But current 35mm Film Stock does not work with Cement - you need a tape or ultrasonic splicer. The 3516 Model has pop-up pins for 16mm.

But I do have a warning. They bite. If you are in a hurry, your left 4th finger will tuck under the right top blade, and it will crush and slice. (Many splicers bite - Neumade Griswold is the worst. It doesn't crush, but really slices well....)

These originally came with a metal template to adjust the blade. It wasn't marked, and I've never seen one. I include a card with instructions on adjusting the blade, and the 2 very small hex wrenches you will need. Camera Original Film, and Camera Negative film are thinner than Release Stock. It comes adjusted for Release Stock, and the blade is very good. It's my favorite kind of splicer, and it will be your favorite as well. I include a 4 page leaflet with detailed instructions on splicing with a Maier Hancock. I include a set of the small hex wrenches used to adjust the blade, and instructions on how to do it. But don't try it now - it is adjusted well. NOTE: These are built for 110 volts and are not adjustable for foreign voltages, but as I mentioned, they work very well cold - not plugged in.

Only the Best.

A note on shipping. USPS Priority is shipping by Airmail. USPS offers Flat Rate Medium Boxes 12x9x5 inches that fits this splicer very well at a low cost.. But if your state touches Arizona, ground is just as fast.

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Tip: Film reels should always be stored vertically - never horizontally as the weight of a stack of reels can break off edges of film that are sticking out. In fact - you never want to stack reels of film horizontally - so buy a film rack for Vertical Storage - or build one out of 2x2" wood rails held about 6 inches apart.

Tip: if you have film with Vinegar Syndrome, a solvent discontinued decades ago has just been reintroduced. Vitafilm can restore simple cases with a light cleaning. More difficult cases may need the film to be placed in the wide side of a film can and be soaked in Vitafilm. Remember that Vinegar Syndrome isn't an emulsion problem - it is a deterioration of the film base plastic. Vitafilm is available from several eBay sellers.

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I used all of this type of equipment in my career, but I noticed that much that ended up on eBay was in poor shape and some of it was not in working condition. Most of the Rewind sets had LONG shafts for A+B Roll Editing - not very usable for Today's Editing. So I had the shafts cut to 5", and discovered that it was easy to make them work for all widths of film. I started combining sets so they would be complete, and when I couldn't source parts, I found a great Machine Shop and had parts manufactured. I found, and also manufactured Film Clamps to make it easier to work with the 5" shafts. On some Moviola sets the Paint looked terrible, so I had Paint custom blended at $30 a can, and made sure my sets looked good. So my sets aren't "Estate Sale" refugees, and I don't sell Clamps for $145 each nor Rewinds for $1,000 a set.... I sell Editors Tools in good working condition - Not Perfect - but very usable. I sell mostly to Universities & Film Libraries.