There is a lot of misinformation going around about Bell & Howell 16MM projectors. Let me try to correct a bit of it.

I was head technician and manager of a main B&H warranty and repair station in their heyday and until their (real) end in 1986 when they were sold to Eiki Industries. I have rebuilt hundreds of them ranging from the old 156's and on to the last of the 2500s. I literally know them inside and out and people still search me out to work on their units. Trusting your cherished film collection to some unknown projector is not wise and they know it.

B&H 16MM projectors come in 3 varieties - manual load, slot load, and auto load. The manual and autoload models trace their origins back to the 500 series of the 1960s. The later models, the 1500s and 2500s are simply slight modifications to that design. Because of that they share the same general properties and weaknesses.

The one most often mentioned is the worm. This is a plastic spiral molded onto an aluminum core. It drives two "worm gears" that turn the spindles that move the film in and out of the projector. The top gear also drives the take-up and rewind.

The original worms went through several design changes because they had a bad habit of cracking as they aged. The problem is inherent in wrapping a plastic around a metal core.

The plastic used - General Electric "Nylatron" - was, like most of its cousins, prone to shrinking as it aged and lost the more volatile oils in it. It also got more brittle as it aged. Once it got too tight around the unyielding metal core something would give - the nylon would split/crack.

This is not unique to B&H either. Elmo projectors also suffer from gear splitting. Not the worm itself but the front and rear sprocket worm gears. Same nylon material and on an aluminum hub.

On the B&H projectors the worm usually starts to show small cracks after 10-15 years. The first clue is usually noise as the crack hits the teeth on the driven gears. Opening the back and looking at the worm (it's the white gear that runs horizontally) will usually reveal horizontal cracks/lines.

The cure is to replace it and a new gear made of a different material is now available. Made of a gray material it is thought it will not age as poorly as the original. We'll know in a couple of decades.

BTW, lubrication is critical. You should not use general-purpose grease made for metal, especially ones with particle lubricating agents like lithium. They will scrape off of the plastic and/or dry out. Some are also prone to attacking the ABS plastic the driven gears are made of. Use a silicon-based lube made for and compatible with plastics. Check sporting goods stores for fishing gear and marine lubes. Many are silicon-based.

There is also talk of a "second" gear that can fail and can't be replaced. This is untrue of the manual & autoloads. What they are thinking of is an idler gear used in the Slot Load models. On these units the worm does not drive the lower sprocket directly as on the others. An idler gear is used instead to reverse the rotation of the lower sprocket and it is this white gear that is a problem. Last I looked it was still available but few people like the slot load machines. They were designed for school teachers and kids to use and are not safe film handlers.

In addition to the gear they have a great many cams and linkages that are prone to failure. They also lack an automatic loop restorer and can chew up a lot of film if you aren't quick to the knobs.

Another area where B&H projectors have a bad reputation is in the autoload mechanism.Most of these have been abused by operators who don't know how to use them, especially how to open the mechanism after closing it or if there is a misfeed. They usually pull at the film guides and bend them when all they have to do is tap the bottom roller or pull the loose end of the film to release it.

After it has been bent it will no longer load properly. Some of the really old machines, like the 500s, may also have sticky or partly frozen shafts in the autoload mechanism. Bad lube and non-use are the problem there.

But properly maintained units are dependable film handlers and I know several that have been (and still are) used in film societies and in daily service without any harm to the films, some run repeatedly.

You can get a good projector on eBay and even a borderline one can be nursed along. Even slightly cracked worms can be lived with for a while. I have known people to file the edges of the crack to lower the catching on the gear teeth.

If you have a valuable film collection you should get a good projector and have it gone over, even overhauled, so you know your films are safe. A known projector is always best. If yours is junk either get it fixed or get a replacement on eBay. Maybe get a pair so you have a backup or a parts donor.

Most important parts are still available and there should be someone like me in each part of the country who has the tools (not too hard to get or make, BTW) and experience to work on them, often for a very modest fee.