| Author |
Message |
    
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 9
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 06:12 pm: | 
|
Yes, I'm currently in the process of finding a drafting pen. If I cannot find one (no shop in town sells them, I'm looking into the archives at my high school, but I'm fairly pessimistic), would there be an alternative to the draftman's ruling pen? What kind of tweezers are you thinking of? The other question I had was that I bought some Zippo Lighter Fluid, but the contents say that it is a petroleum distillate, and not petroleum naphtha, is this still alright to use on plastic?
And thanks again Rick, you've been a lifesaver. |
Glenn
Tinkerer
Username: Glenn
Post Number: 42
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 08:37 pm: |
|
I think you will find that all lighter fluids will be described as 'petroleum distillate' these days. The distillation range will be pretty close to that of solvent naphtha. I do not know the supply chain in the US, but here in the UK 'pure' solvent naphtha is only available from Laboratory supply companies.
The product should not attack the plastics commonly used in cameras. It is worth noting that I have come across Naphtha based stocks obtained from reclaimed/redistilled solvent mixes. These are sold by various outlets as cleaning solvents, they can contain small amounts of solvents that soften/dissolve common plastics.
All the well known brands of lighter fluids I have come across, originated from virgin base stocks. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 54
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 08:43 pm: |
|
I think one of those quill-style pens from an art supply store would work, though I haven't used one for it..... any pointy tweezers will work, but you have to hold the points steadily a tiny distance apart in order to hold a drop of solvent in them. Some office-supply or school-supply departments have a compass with this type of inking tip as an extra accessory... no one ever uses them, draftsmen quit using these things back before I even started out over 30 years ago, but sometimes you still find them in these kits. If you can't find anything else, just wet a cotton swab and press it against the places where you want to apply the solvent.
Zippo fule is perfect. Coleman stove fuel is also the same stuff, as is petroleum naphtha at a paint store.
Good Luck! |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 55
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 08:50 pm: |
|
The brand of lighter fuel that I use is Ronsonol; it is marked "naphtha" on the bottle. I think any name brand of lighter fuel will be quite pure, though the paint store stuff might be less so. I have seen the manufacturer's specs for Coleman brand stove fuel, and it is very pure, only a fractional percentage of a dye added for identification.
I don't know just how specific the definition of "Naphtha" is, as it seems to mean different things in different places. Chemically, the stuff that we're dealing with here is essentially a liquid paraffin in the range of N-octane / N-nonane. |
Howpow
Tinkerer
Username: Howpow
Post Number: 7
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 09:03 pm: |
|
I've used Zippo Lighter Fluid and its works just fine. |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 10
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 08:09 am: |
|
I've applied the lighter fluid on the pallet, and every other gear, with focus on the pallet. The next thing I did was apply the lighter fluid on the shutter leaves, which I then exercised repeatedly. Everything seems to run smoothly, problem is, when you put it all back together, it still won't run smoothly.
The pallet will snap from the top position all the way down. When I move the lever for the shutter, they open and close rather smoothly. But when I hook the pallet up to the lever, it will not move without some help from me. The next step is going to be lubricant on the pallet, but I'm beginning to doubt if that is going to work... |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 18
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 12:16 pm: |
|
I have a Kodak shutter that operates in a similar manner and I think the only solution is to remove each leaf and clean each thoroughly. The camera is waiting patiently in pieces in a box. |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 11
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 10:49 pm: |
|
A bent piece of metal and dirty shutters. No wonder this camera stopped working, if the dirt didn't take care of the job, that bent piece of metal would always keep it from split second openings and closings.
So now that the bent piece of metal has been rectified, there remains ONE LAST OBSTACLE! It looks as if the end is in sight. The mechanism performs perfectly right after lighter fluid is applied to the shutter leaves. If I leave it for a few minutes, the lighter fluid will have dried up and the shutter will not fire properly.
I understand this has something to do with the lighter fluid absorbing the dirt and freeing up the shutter leaves to function. But once the lighter fluid dries up, the dirt resettles. I remember seeing a topic with the same problem using the search function on this board, and I am hunting that topic down to see what should be done about it.
If I recall correctly, it was to keep applying lighter fluid and sponging it off with Q-tips or compressed air... |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 12
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 11:08 am: |
|
I was discussing this camera with a friend. The topic of the shutter working fine with the lighter fluid on came up, and why it was sticking once the lighter fluid dried up. He is not into the camera repair hobby, but he did suggest using contact cleaner. The thought was that it would leave a thin film of lubricant behind and that it would not eat away at the plastic.
Would (electric) contact cleaner work? I haven't heard anything about it being used on the shutter leaves, and wasn't sure if there was a reason it hadn't been brought up before. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 19
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 11:26 am: |
|
If you click on "search" at the top of the page, enter "shutter cleaning" and in the last "300" days you will find lots of discussion and info. |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 57
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 06:24 pm: |
|
You don't want to leave a film of lubricant behind: it is a film of lubricant that is causing the shutter to stick. If the shutter sticks again after you have cleaned it, this simply means that you have not yet finished cleaning it and you need to clean it again until all of the old dirt and oil has been flushed away and it is clean.
There are some other useful solvents besides lighter fluid, though: CRC brand "QD Electronic Cleaner" seems to be safe and evaporates faster than lighter fluid. It is not really funamentally different, though, and anything you can clean with it could have been cleaned with lighter fluid too. I prefer using the least possible number of chemicals, to reduce the possibility of an unknown incompatibility between a cleaner and a plastic creeping in. |
Tagg
Tinkerer
Username: Tagg
Post Number: 13
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 05:55 am: |
|
I just wanted to thank Rick for all of his help. I've been working on the camera as much as I can. I finally got it working and I took pictures with it a few days ago. The quality of the pictures were far from sharp, but I don't think it can get any better. I'm still doing some reworking to see if I can get better quality pictures, but I think this is pretty much the end of the road for this camera.
It wouldn't have been possible without Rick's help, so I would like to extend a big thank-you in your direction, sir.
-Neil |
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page