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Mcallinder
Tinkerer
Username: Mcallinder
Post Number: 1
Registered: 02-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 01:27 am: | 
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First off, hello everyone!
I have a Signet 35 with some shutter problems *gasp*
Everything seems to be in order but the cocking lever will often get stuck halfway down upon release. This, in turn, leaves the shutter wide open until I press up on the cocking lever, forcing it to close. Mind you, it doesn't take much force, but it still won't do it on it's own. The slower the shutter speed, the more this happens. At 300 this never happens. I've peaked inside the shutter housing and have also noticed that the mechanism which controls the speed also gets a little stuck. I have to shake the camera in order to get it to loosen up and change speeds (it seems to default at 300). All springs seem to be tight. Might these be related problems? Will a little lube do the trick? If so, what kind? Any other suggestions? I'm going to grab some lighter fluid tomorrow and try a little light cleaning to see if that helps. Any advise is greatly appreciated! |
Tom_cheshire
Tinkerer
Username: Tom_cheshire
Post Number: 276
Registered: 04-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 06:39 am: |
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If you see any gears in there, clean them. And pivot points where "arms" or levers move as well. Lighter fluid is good but better is degreasing spray like 5-56 electronics cleaner which does a nice job of cleaning and leaves no residue.
I have a repair pamphlet on these somewhere but the scanner quit on me so it may take some time to remedy that. Also another sheet on altering the shutters to X sync. |
Charlie
Tinkerer
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 228
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 10:22 am: |
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This - http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=signet35 - may be of some help. |
Mcallinder
Tinkerer
Username: Mcallinder
Post Number: 2
Registered: 02-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 11:09 am: |
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Thanks Charlie, that makes things a little simpler. I'll do a good cleaning today and report back. Tom, I'd be very interested in seeing that pamphlet if you manage to resuscitate that scanner |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 1063
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 03:09 pm: |
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The Signet 35 shutter has the rare property of being able to be fully CLA'd without even owning a screwdriver. Quite remarkable really... though that's just about the only good thing I can think of to say about it.
Clean it with electronics cleaner (make sure this is solvent ONLY, no lubricants) as noted above, or cigarette lighter fuel. Do not lubricate afterwards, let it run dry.
The speeds are controlled by an escapement - a 2-horned rocking "pallet" - a sort of pendulum - and a star-shaped wheel that its 2 horns engage. These are located at the 8:00 position as you look in the front. (there is a second, similar set at 11:00 - this controls flash delay, not a very important function generally). The shafts of these 2 parts should get a couple of drops of solvent each, applied right on top of the shaft. You can remove the parts for this or just leave them in place, it doesn't matter much. These are geared to a large ring around the lens barrel, which is pulled by a coil extension spring at the 3:00 position. Apply a few drops of solvent around the edges of this ring too, this is probably what's hanging up your shutter blades.
This will probably put you back on the road. |
David_nebenzahl
Tinkerer
Username: David_nebenzahl
Post Number: 172
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 03:43 pm: |
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Hi, Rick. Just to clarify, when you say that a shutter can be cleaned using electronics cleaner, you do mean when the shutter is removed from the camera, don't you? Or not? Seems like spraying cleaner into a shutter still in a camera would be asking for trouble. Or should it be applied with a brush? |
Tom_cheshire
Tinkerer
Username: Tom_cheshire
Post Number: 277
Registered: 04-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 05:56 pm: |
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"Electronics cleaner" is a type of spray that dries "clean". At worst, it maybe leaves a white-ish haze on metal. Not all electronics cleaners are alike. Some cheaper ones are greasy or oily and do not dry (like one from Radio Shack). Some brand names of the better stuff are Crc 5-56 Electronics Cleaner, Blue Stuff, and Tun-o-Wash.
In earlier days these products were mostly used for cleaning contact points on tv tuners, etc., but, with digital tuning coming in and rotary analog tuners obsolete these spray cleaners are not sold in as many different name brands or produced in the quantities as they were in the "old days".
But, to answer your question, D. Neb., no you don't need to remove a shutter from the camera, etc., to clean it. I just put a couple of paper towels or a good absorbent rag behind the shutter (usually after removing at least the front lens from it) and "hose" it. |
David_nebenzahl
Tinkerer
Username: David_nebenzahl
Post Number: 175
Registered: 12-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 06:22 pm: |
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Thanks for the reply; but doesn't "hosing" the shutter that way risk splashing stuff on any inner lens elements? I suppose you could remove both front & back elements, but then some cameras have inner elements that require disassembly to remove. |
Mcallinder
Tinkerer
Username: Mcallinder
Post Number: 3
Registered: 02-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 22, 2010 - 12:13 pm: |
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Thanks for the info! I managed to take apart and reassemble the shutter to clean everything out. The diagrams really helped but I had the hardest time with the bulb lever spring, a part whose reassembly was very vague. I should of paid more attention to how I took it out, lol. Anyways, the camera is firing beautifully. I'll update with further complications if they arise. |
