Hollywood Film Co TS-16 35mm Tape Film Splicer For Parts Missing Arms

Hollywood Film Co TS-16 35mm Tape Film Splicer For Parts Missing Arms

The Hollywood Film Company TS-16 is a benchtop tape film splicer designed for splicing 35mm motion picture film using splicing tape. It features a cast aluminum base with a central pivot block that would originally carry two swing arms: a razor blade arm for cutting the film cleanly at the splice point, and a gripper arm for holding the film in alignment during the splice. This unit is being sold as-is for parts or repair — both swing arms are absent.

Specifications & What's Included

• Manufacturer: Hollywood Film Company (Hollywood, New York, Chicago)
• Model: TS-16
• Film format: 35mm
• Construction: cast aluminum base and pivot block
• Film guide rails: present and intact (two parallel rail guides visible)
• Center pivot post: present (brass post visible in bore)
• Aluminum knob/stop: present
• Ring pull hardware: present
• Razor blade swing arm: MISSING
• Gripper swing arm: MISSING
• Base engraved: "Spencer 23 July 69" — suggests manufacture or ownership date of 1969
• Serial number partially legible on label plate (label worn)

Applications

Tape film splicers like the Hollywood Film Company TS-16 were standard tools in professional film editing suites, projection booths, and film processing labs from the 1950s through the 1980s. Unlike cement splicers, which bond film by dissolving and fusing the base material, tape splicers use transparent splicing tape applied across the cut, allowing the splice to be undone without damaging the original frames — making them the preferred choice for editing work prints and release prints where non-destructive joins were needed. The TS-16 was part of Hollywood Film Company's line of professional splicing tools, which were widely used in motion picture production, broadcast film, and educational/industrial 16mm and 35mm film environments during that era. Today these units are collected by film preservation enthusiasts, vintage cinema restorers, and working projectionists who still run 35mm equipment. A unit in this condition — with its base intact — may be useful as a parts source or restoration project for someone who already has the missing swing arms.