| Author |
Message |
    
busker
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 09:52 am: | 
|
I have a Canon A-1 with a bit of shutter squeak.
Know of anyone who is reliable and can fix that right for a reasonable price? I mean fix it right, which I assume means taking the top off of the camera (without screwing anything up). :>)
I can't do the job myself. I have neither the experience or correct tools.
It probably needs to be resealed too, but I CAN do that myself, since I have the materials on hand and have lots of reseal jobs behind me. |
R.W.G
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 12:06 pm: |
|
Can't live with the squeak? I have, on/off for over twenty years! But if you want to get rid of it for a while, and Bristol is not too far away, try John Quantick, (Black on White) Coldgarbour Road. Clifton. He's in the directory.
Regards
R.W.G |
R.W.G
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 12:07 pm: |
|
Can't live with the squeak? I have, on/off for over twenty years! But if you want to get rid of it for a while, and Bristol is not too far away, try John Quantick, (Black on White) Coldharbour Road. Clifton. He's in the directory.
Regards
R.W.G |
busker
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 12:21 pm: |
|
Thank you, but if that's in the UK, I doun't want to ship it outside of the USA.
I guess I could live with the squeak, but I was told the mirror would eventually slow down and stop working, unless it were fixed, i.e, lubricated internally at the proper spot.
As long as it takes good pictures, I could live with it.
I'm getting my first roll of film shot with it developed now, then I'll know how good she's working. Still should replace the light seals though.
I'm proud of the A-1, if you don't mind me bragging a bit.
I got the A-1 with the Canon 28-85mm f4 zoom, Canon 24mm 2.8, and Canon 50mm 1.8, the Canon 199A Speedlite, all for $200, and it was all in good shape. The zoom was mint, looked unused even.
I've since replaced the 50mm 1.8 with a 50mm 1.4. |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 05:00 pm: |
|
If you do not already know,the squeak is cause by the worn 'bearing' in the mirror inertia damper flywheel.I will not cover this problem in detail, as I have already put my findings onto the Forum and you can search if you require more.
All I will say is that if your particular A1 is internally clean and the rest of the mirror mechanism is lubricated,the mirror will not slow down or behave erratically.However if the mechanism is dirty and all lubricant dried out,then the mirror will eventually seize up.Note the seize up has nothing to do with the squeaking damper flywheel,but everything to do with the need for a CLA for the rest of the mechanism.
All the squeak indicates is a well used camera.This is why some people can operate squeaking A1s for years with no trouble. Others, after the onset of the first squeal rapidly become paper weights. |
Harlee
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 05:25 pm: |
|
If I might add my two cents,I "desqueaked" one AE-1P and two A-1s myself without dismantling the camera or even taking off the top. They can be oiled through the bottom of the camera. I got this off a UK website. I know there are some out there that would poo-poo the way I do it, but it does work - at least it did for me, and my three Canons are still going strong without any problems. The AE-1P was desqueaked about two years ago and the two A-1s about 8-10 months ago. If you're interested, let me know and I'll explain how I did it. Harlee |
Steve T.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 05:50 pm: |
|
Yes Harlee, please explain away.
Thank you all. |
Harlee
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 07:58 pm: |
|
OK, here we go. I must start out with, you really should have some aptitude in mechanical things, but it really isn't all that hard. On my AE-1P, while I can do minor repairs on cameras, I didn't want to mess around taking the top off. I use to take my FTb apart quite often, fiddling with the meter pods, but this was a whole different ballgame. I also have three Russian Zenits that I've dismantled and have them working really nice - at least as nice as a Russian camera can be. But I came across this UK website which dealt with "desqueaking" the older Canon cameras, and it immediately caught my attention, as I have around 6-7 older Canons, all of which work very nice, and none of them squeak - at least not any more. One of the first things you'll have to do is to get ahold of a very fine oiling device. I originally made my own with a squeezable plastic eye drop bottle, with a hole drilled through the cap and inserted a tube from a WD40 spray bottle. The fit should be tight so that no oil, or very little oil escapes when the bottle is inverted. Oh, by the way, I mix my own lube, not to thin and not to thick. My ingredients are, now don't laugh, a little Slick 50 and lighter fluid. Almost equal parts. Lighter fluid is a good lube and it mixes very well with Slick 50. I now use a very fine lubing tube which screws directly on to the lube bottle.
Next, remove the bottom plate of your camera, but be careful not to mar the screw heads. I ground down a small driver with a torque handle that will break loose most any tight screw.
With the bottom of the camera removed, turn the camera up-side-down with the lens facing away from you. As you look at the base of the camera, carefully insert the lube tube into the camera up along the front of the body of the camera, left side, along where the lens mounts. The mirror box is directly beneath that spot. It helps to cock the camera and leave it cocked - that gets a few obstructions out of the way. Gently turn the lube tube and slide the tube into the body of the camera until it can't go any further. If you hit the right spot, the tube will stop at the mirror box gears. Very gently squeeze the bottle to apply just a drop of oil onto the gears. Practice this before hand so you know how much pressure to exert. Pull the tube out and trip the shutter a few times. On my AE-1P, the squeak stopped immediately. On the A-1s, I had to trip the shutter several times before the squeak stopped. I don't know why the difference. Perhaps the A-1s needed more lube. DO NOT TRIP THE SHUTTER WITH THE LUBE TUBE INSERTED! I made that mistake, but I was able to rectify it quite easily, but it sure gave me a scare. On the AE-1P, the entire operation took less than 5 minutes. A little longer on the A-1s. Getting the tube inserted was a little tricker, but if you're careful, it will insert quite easily. The smaller the tube diameter, the easier it will go into the body of the camera.
That's about all there is to it. Replace the bottom and the squeak should be gone. I accomplished oiling the first time on all three cameras. Perhaps it was just luck, but there are no adverse effects. Some folks have questioned that procedure, but as I said, it worked for me on all three cameras. Just be very careful of how much oil you squeeze out, just a little dab will do ya.
If you're not sure just where the tube gets inserted, let me know and I'll try to send you a digital picture of the bottom of my camera with the tube inserted. It's sort of like giving your camera an anemia!!! Let me know if you have any questions. Harlee |
Steve T.
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 08:31 pm: |
|
Sounds like it's easy enough, but I'd sure hate to mess up my A-1. It's the best manual focus camera I have at the moment.
Slick 50? Isn't that stuff quite expensive? I know back when it came out (1970's?) it was around $50 a quart or something like that. I don't forsee my buying any Slick 50.
I assume your mixed lube thickens up after the lighter fluid evaporates a bit?
Thank you for the tips. |
Harlee
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - 08:39 pm: |
|
Slick 50 has come down considerably since it first came out. The last time I put some in my car it seems to be it cost about $12-15 at Walmart. But you don't have to use Slick 50. I suppose there's a lot of lubes out there that may work just as good or perhaps better. I've even read one post where one fella used straight WD40, and claimed it worked just fine. If the lube has thicken up, which it may have, my cameras haven't complained about it. I certainly can understand your concerns, I guess I just love living on the edge!!! Harlee |
|
