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Bomobob
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Username: Bomobob

Post Number: 26
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 06:20 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Help...I've done something terrible.

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex II. I was reassembling the rewind knob assembly. There is a little spring that slips into a hole in the shaft, and a tiny ball bearing that the spring pushes out into the detent ring in the inside of the rewind knob. Well, I put it together, but as I rotated the knob to find the slot the retaining screw goes into, I accidentally passed the screw hole over the ball bearing, and it shot out of the hole.
I found it, miraculously, but now the knob is jammed on the shaft. It turns, but does not come off. Since the screw is not in, it doesn't turn the rewind shaft, so I can't even use it like this. It barely pulls out far enough to see a little bit of the screw hole. I guess the spring is jammed into the dentent slot, and without the bearing, it's stuck in there good.
Actually, now that I think of it, if it were jammed into the slot, I would still be able to reveal the screw hole.
Anyone have this happen to them? I really don't want to rip the knob off.

Yikes!
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Bomobob
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Username: Bomobob

Post Number: 27
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 08:25 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

OK, OK, I managed, using brute force, to pull off the knob. The spring was indeed jammed in there, but it's all back together now.

So now....how do I get to the shutter blades? It's very sticky and needs a good cleaning.
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Rick_oleson
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Username: Rick_oleson

Post Number: 520
Registered: 07-2006

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Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 10:09 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The problem may well not be in the shutter blades, but in the aperture stop-down mechanism which is sandwiched in between the shutter and the body. Getting to the shutter internals is pretty conventional, you go in through the front to clean the escapement etc. For anything more than that it's best to remove the shutter, which will also give you access to the stop down stuff. Inside the camera next to the lens is a star shaped wheel thing with a screw blocking one of its arms. This is the stop-down spring tensioner, remove the stop screw and it will unwind. Now you just remove the retaining ring around the rear of the lens and the shutter comes off. On reassembly, be sure that both the shutter and the body are uncocked before putting the shutter back on, then wind the star wheel thingie counterclockwise to retension the diaphragm and put the stop screw back in.
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Bomobob
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Username: Bomobob

Post Number: 28
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 06:14 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Oh OK, so do I start like on a rangefinder and get under the leatherette first?
Conventional for me means "rangefinder" :-)
I pulled away a tiny corner of it and it's going to fall apart if I go for it, so I thought it best to check first. I don't mind replacing it, but I don't want to take it off for nothing.
Is the lens assembly just held to the body by four screws?
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Bomobob
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Username: Bomobob

Post Number: 29
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 06:22 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Oh, a couple of other small points...

I tried unsuccessfully to remove the top plate, and figured I'd get a little more info before doing the wrong thing. Once the advance and rewind mechanisms are taken apart, the top still seems to be anchored somehow near the viewfinder. I couldn't see any obvious way to remove it. Is it just a matter of cranking off the viewfinder?
I was hoping that like on many of the rangefinders I've restored, it would be all about lubricating the works, and not so much cleaning the shutter/aperture blades, so I figured if I could get the top off, I could clean and lube it.

Second thing is that from what I can glean from the web, this appears to be a Contaflex II "version 1". The metering is different and bit more strange than what the available manuals describe. If anyone has a manual specific to this first version, I would be very grateful.
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Bomobob
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Username: Bomobob

Post Number: 31
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 10:34 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Alright, I need just a little bit of hand holding here.
I removed the top plate, the leatherette, and the 4 screws holding the lens assembly in place. It's still held in somewhere near the top and just jiggles right now. What else do I have to remove along the top to free it up?
And when it does pull off, are there any linkages I should look out for that might go flying off?
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Rick_oleson
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Username: Rick_oleson

Post Number: 521
Registered: 07-2006

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Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 04:29 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

email me at [email protected]

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