    
Peter Wallage
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 12:42 pm: | 
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Hi all,
I've been given a Baldamatic I from about 1959 which had been dropped onto concrete. The front top panel was dented, glass was broken, the brightline mask and rangefinder were out of kilter, the lens flange was dented and the shutter interlock was jammed. Apart from that it wasn't bad!! So instead of just stripping it for screws and bits, I thought I'd have a look to see if anything could be done, or at least to learn something. It's got a Schneider Xenar lens in a Synchro-Compur 1 to 1/500 shutter, and it seems quite well built. It ought to be a quite reasonable little camera if I can sort it out.
So far, I've sorted out the rangefinder and brightline mask, straightened out the top front panel, cut some new glass for it, and sorted out the shutter interlock. While I'd got the top cover off I noticed that the match pointer for the match-needle coupled meter was missing, or so I thought at first, but then peering down behind the square front panel that fits round the lens and shutter I saw there were some gears and a geared quadrant. The quadrant had become disengaged from the gears. Moving the quadrant into engagement brought the match pointer back into view but it sprang back as soon as I released it.
I presumed the gears connected in some way to the EV shutter setting ring, but couldn't see enough to be certain so I decided the next job would be to take the lens and shutter out. The lens front ring and front element presented no problem. Under them I found a plate held by a thin shim circlip. When I took this out, one of the geared depth of field pointer rings jumped out, but I've figured out how it goes back and matches to its brother. I also figured out the rangefinder coupling lever.
So far, so good. But now I'm stuck. The big square front plate round the lens and shutter came loose after I took off the release knob and one screw, but it won't lift over the M-X-V setting lever, nor over the two plastic ears on the EV ring. There aren't any screws visible inside the camera to release the whole shutter assembly, so I assume it's got to come off from the front. However, it's a complicated little beast and I don't want to start taking off everything in sight if I can take things off as sub-assemblies. Getting inside will also let me CLA the shutter as it's a shade sluggish on the slow speeds. If I can't get it sorted I'll reassemble it as a working camera without a coupled meter, but I'd like to get everything working if I can.
I really would appreciate it if anyone who's taken one of these apart, or taken apart a camera with a similar shutter arrangement, could give me a few tips, or possibly come up with an exploded diagram so I can get an idea what links with what before I dive in again with the screwdrivers.
Thanks in advance,
Peter |
