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Paolo_bonello
Tinkerer
Username: Paolo_bonello
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 08:25 pm: | 
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Hello all, First time post here. Great to find a group of people interested in fixing old cameras.
Need a bit of advice or wisdom here. I had fixed a couple of Electro 35's POD and stuck shutters. One thing that stands out is the variety of causes that manifest the same apparent symptom.
With the stuck shutter especially I noticed in two cameras a number of different causes and the current one has me stuck and still questioning the method in which I 'think' I fixed it.
Ok I'll start with the first stuck shutter I fixed. After cleaning it still operated slowly once dry. I tried cleaning again, even removed the entire lens to remove the rear elment and clean from behind and it didnt work. At that point I thought I will throw the towel in but curiosity made me take the self timer mechanism off it to see if I could salvage it for another camera that had a timer problem and I found a very strange anomoly. The lower screw that hold the timer mech onto the plate (some just have a locating post) was protuding into the shutter ring that hold the shutter leaves. This ring is supposed to spin freely but with a small amount of friction caused by the offending screw it bound up. Presto, an improvised washer (layer of dry contact adhesive) under the screw and it releived the pressure in the shutter ring. That one was a bonus camera that I got in a dissassembled state as a freebie with another Electro that I bought so I am a very happy camper having aquired a lovely black Electro GT for free.
The current camera I am working on is the GS which has been a monumental head case for me. No matter how much I cleaned and dried the shutter blades when I put it back together (total shutter dissassembly done here) it always felt sticky and had resistance throughout the travel. I didn't feel like a mechanical binding but rather it felt like 'stiction'. That's a term they use in the bike industry when they talk about front suspension forks that have a sticky resistance to it's initial movement.
Anyhow, I have only just started doing this type of repair work as a hobby but I had no idea why or how to fix it for a few days until I decided to try and sand the shutter blades very lightly with 1200 emery paper and also apply a light dusting of graphite powder and wipe it off. The result actually surprised me. It works quite freely now. I really didn't want to sand the leaves of the shutter and don't know if that is advised or what but you need to understand it was a last ditch effort. I had scratched my head wondering why these perfectly clean and dry shutter blades were sticking. I looked closer and deduced that years of use had given them an incredibly polished and smooth surface, unlike other blades I had seen which were smooth but not like glass. Anyhow with nothing to loose I did the sanding and I also polished and sanded some filing marks on the shutter ring which were left from factory to ensure that those marks did not contribute to the issue.
I will try to let you know how it fared once I get the clockwork stuff back in the lens but for now operating the shutter blades with a screwdriver on the protruding nib it feels really quite free and nothing like before.
Some very poor quality pics on the attched links I took with my phone but you'll get the idea. The ring looked like it had been attacked with a file. Can't be good so I smoothed that.
http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp1/eXraycer/53091442.jpg
http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp1/eXraycer/da8860fd.jpg |
Paolo_bonello
Tinkerer
Username: Paolo_bonello
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 09:54 pm: |
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I remember that I did a small video of the sticky shutter even after cleaning with lighter fuel and drying it thoroughly. You can see what I mean, After a few cycles it starts to bind and gradually get worse until it virtually grinds to a halt. I assure you this video is after I had the shutter blades out and cleaned them thoroughly then reassembled it.
Here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjmNXOI_Oy0 |
Paolo_bonello
Tinkerer
Username: Paolo_bonello
Post Number: 7
Registered: 03-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 28, 2011 - 09:19 pm: |
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UPDATE: Lens is back together. It took some fiddly work and nutting-out how the springs are supposed to rest but after a few hours of quiet time I got it all back together and working. It really is fiddly and you got to persist when all the springs want to do is jump out onto the floor. Following the manual in reverse to the letter is the key. Surprised myself to be honest. I actually had less faith and expected it to not work once it was back together.  |
