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Werrington
Tinkerer
Username: Werrington
Post Number: 1
Registered: 09-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2010 - 03:34 pm: | 
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Having been brought up on digital cameras I wanted a change. I bought a working Zeiss Werramatic from eBay a few months ago in great condition, it works well except for the jammed self-timer. Another reason I like the camera is because my surname is 'Werra' so it adds a little customization 
I'm intrigued into the 'analogue' workings of the camera so I decided to buy another one that popped up on eBay as it was only £5.99, it was listed as 'for repair'.
I expected it to be in a worse condition for that price, but I think it's fixable (even though this is my first camera restoration).
Thanks to the guide on this page from Tony:
https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/forum/messages/6899/6058.html
I took it apart and looked into the issues. Please could anyone give me guidance with the problems I have?
- IMAGES ARE VERY LARGE -
This is the camera I have:
Link
Issue #1
When I recieved the camera, I opened the back and to my surprise it had a capping shutter, along with the Prestor leaf shutter.
I tried to wind it on, and the film advancing wheel was stuck, but then I realized it was already cocked and pressed the shutter button - this worked well. Then when I wound it on it seemed that the capping shutter got stuck, it's been stuck since then, after many attempts to free it. It's still visible around the edges of the back shutter.
Picture
I tried to unscrew the back shutter ring but it seems my camera is one of the victims of the welding corrosion that occurs. I guess there's no way round this?
Issue #2
The aperture control on the lens of the camera has a blade that is stuck, it's just visible.
Link
Is it possible to fix this? I see a couple of small screws on the side of the lens but I'm not sure which to start with.
Issue #3
This is more of a 'screw problem' than a camera problem. It was impossible remove the View/Rangefinder from the camera because some sort of metallic glue-type paint had been placed over the screws, it's hard to scrape off.
Link
Anyone have any ideas for removal?
Issue #4
The selenium lightmeter is very insensitive, in the picture it is held against a 60W bulb and the needle does not shoot up to the top of the scale, unless you shake it.
Link
In the picture it seems that there is a screw that someone has tightened in the past maybe, I did not do this. Is this a sensitivity modificator? The last picture on the line shows the wire connection, I read that it has to be bonded with a special material. Is this a sufficient connection? (It came like this)
Well that's it, sorry if my posting style seems a little robotic.
Any help whatsoever is appreciated and thanks for reading. |
Ethostech
Tinkerer
Username: Ethostech
Post Number: 157
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 10, 2010 - 08:32 am: |
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Unless you can successfully address "issue #1, Picture" all the rest becomes worthless to address.
If you want to get at the shutter; capping shutter, self-timer or whatever, you must remove the total lens/shutter block because initial access is from its rear. I have completely rebuilt a dozen or so Werra models over the years and i regard them as superb cameras. However a Werramatic and then a Werramat defeated me because the rear outer slotted ring which secures the shutter lens-block could not be released.
There are many techniques for addressing such and I tried them all - unsucessfully.
Custom- manufacture of a tubular release key was my first move.
Later still - trickling a little acetone into the screwthread seam - several sucessive times and overnight pauses.
Later still to make an aluminium foil mask to protect the rear element when applying heat on the slotted ring per pencil tip butane torch.
The fact is that these cameras are over 40 years old. And the black slotted ring is made of brass into a dissimilar metal. That ring is galvanic-action welded now for all time. No matter the precision of the custom key, the shoulders of the brass slots will collapse under heavy release-torque.
You may get lucky at any stage of what I have described - but be prepared to lose. This has happened to me only twice however and it is not inevitable. The culprit Werra models became spare parts junkers for me.
As to the rangefinder - the screw sealant will soften under a drop of acetone.
As to the metering - selenium cells have a finite life and will die on the shelf even if never used. After 40 odd years, not many selenium meters work any more. Make sure that the galvometer balance shaft is not displaced (perhaps by the camera having been dropped at some time) and correct as necessary. If it pivots are stuck and gunked - clean with petroleum spirit using a fine sable brush but be careful not to break or twist the hairspring. Check that the wire as connected to the front selenium-paint side of the cell is not broken. If all of these aspects are good and the meter still doesn't work, desolder and remove the ballast resistors and retest the metering as with no resistors in circuit. If still no metering you have proved the selenium cell to be dead. (Not unusual however -and a Werra without a meter is still a superb and useable camera).
Note that wire to the selenium paint surface of the plate is not soldered to the selenium surface. You cannot solder to such a surface.
It can be reattached however using the electrically-conductive adhesive as available at automative stores for repair of the heating elements in motor-vehicle rear-screen demisters.
Hope this helps
Ethostech |
Georgeboosh
Tinkerer
Username: Georgeboosh
Post Number: 16
Registered: 04-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2010 - 09:17 am: |
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Ethostech-- What's the brand name of that electrically-conductive adhesive? |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 315
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2010 - 02:47 pm: |
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The capping shutter going awry seems to be the major reason for Werras biting the dust in my (less than Ethostech's) experience. I found a small square of sheet metal almost exactly the right size and thickness to bridge the slots in the locking ring was the perfect tool for unscrewing the shutter etc from the front of the camera, though I suspect a proper lens spanner would do the job just as well.
Actually - I've just looked up your location, and I know a repairer in the UK who handles Werras (he bought the UK spares stock back in 19XX). He can certainly deal with the shutter because he did one of mine when I couldn't sort it a second time, and his rates were very reasonable - though he did take his time. Send me a message through my profile (just click on my name) and I'll pass on the details. I also have a spare Tessar from an interchangeable-lens Werra if your lens can't be fixed - though I haven't looked at it in years so I can't make any promises on condition other than the aperture is better than yours! |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 850
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 11, 2010 - 06:59 pm: |
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There is a way of removing the corrosion 'welded' retaining ring if all else fails, and one feels brave enough. The method involves splitting the ring at one of the slot positions - Using a new 1mm drill bit in a pin vice or small drill 'chain drill' along the length of the slot. Grind off the tip of the 1mm drill so that the tip is completely flat and mount in the drill chuck so that only a length of bit equal to the total thickness of the ring protrudes. Then use the bit as a slot drill to completely remove all the metal from the slot. Place a parallel ground screwdriver blade in the gap and very gently twist so that the male and female threads fractionally part, then use a lens spanner or piece of suitable steel to unscrew the ring.
I have found that the split ring will retighten quite securely; however, if you firmly clamp the ring between two square steel bars it is very easy to repair the split with a sliver of brass and the smallest dab of silver solder. Only fill half the length of the slot with the sliver of brass, keeping the end well clear of the inside threaded diameter - If the infill piece reaches the threads the silver solder will probably flow into the threads and bugger up the repair!
Have resurrected three 'mats and two 'matics from the scrap bin using the above method as their cosmetic condition warranted the effort. |
Werrington
Tinkerer
Username: Werrington
Post Number: 2
Registered: 09-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 12, 2010 - 04:01 pm: |
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Thanks for all the excellent advice!
I bought some acetone as Ethostech recommended, and just a little drop was enoughto free up the screws on the rangefinder block.
I then dribbled a little into the thread of back ring but sadly with no movement, I even left it overnight and the problem was still not sorted.
I then decided to see if I could free the capping shutter by repeatdly winding on and pressing the shutter button. I did this many times and it actually worked, the capping shutter became slightly visible so I gently tugged on it with some bent nose pliers and it clicked shut. It was covered in what I believe to be old grease, so I wiped it away with a cotton bud.
That's the shutter problem sorted.
I'll take a look at the Selenium lightmeter later this week using your guide as a checklist Ethostech.
Thanks for the info Adrian, it's good to know that there are Werra enthusiasts here in the UK. I may ask for the repair contact details in the future but really I want to get an insight into the workings of this camera myself, atleast now the capping shutter is working I feel a little more confident I could restore it perhaps.
Also thanks for the offer on the Tessar lens. I'll see how my attempt to fix it goes, although my expectations are low haha.
Glenn, your guide may come in useful if I ever decide to try and fix the self-timer. Although your method sounds risky, I'm sure if enough precaution was taken I could pull it off.
I'm really impressed at the response I got here, to be honest I thought very little was known about the cameras as they are not that common.
I only have the lightmeter and aperture to fix now before I have a working camera, hopefully.
Now then, how is it possible to open the lens to fix the aperture? I see a couple of screws but I'm not sure where to start. |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 317
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 13, 2010 - 03:52 pm: |
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Blimey - I'm impressed - in my limited experience, once the capping shutter jams, it's spanner time. Either you are lucky, or it will bite you again. Hope it's the first - though be aware that there is probably oil on the other side too...
The secret to the shutter is that the leaves are symmetrical, and rotate around a pivot - hence the capping shutter, because the shutter has to open to reset. So effectively the mechanism runs two shutters at once, via a tab to the actuation ring. Something of a solution in search of a problem, especially if you are trying to put one back together, but when working well they're great little cameras. |
Ethostech
Tinkerer
Username: Ethostech
Post Number: 158
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2010 - 08:21 am: |
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Glenn .. re your posting here.
We both know that manufacturer's change detail over production years - and I don't question your ring-splitting logic.
But the Mats and Matics which I have dissembled would not lend themselves to your methodology because the fairly robust slotted ring is only the tip of the iceberg. The ring extends a threaded portion beneath and it is that which seizes solid. It is several years ago but I recall considering splitting the ring - before concluding that such wouldn't get me anywhere. It also occurred to me that if the entire visible slotted ring were ground off with a Dremel, the tension released might enable the captive threaded remnant to be unscrewed. But I moved on as labelling the job uneconomic.
Still - at least it is a proper engineering challenge. Quite unlike today's plastic & polycarbonate junk :-) Would you like a bucketful of EOS examples? :-(( |
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