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Mattboston
Tinkerer
Username: Mattboston

Post Number: 12
Registered: 01-2009

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Posted on Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 07:41 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hello everyone, I am looking for ideas here. After re-assembling my Rolleiflex (k4a, I think), and putting the front panel on so I can adjust the lens focus/test flash sync, I have noticed that the shutter speed dial is very hard to turn. Not just to 1/500th- the whole range takes two fingers to turn it. The aperture wheel is perfectly smooth.

Both wheels turn effortlessly when the front panel is off the camera. Both shutter speed and aperture rings on the lens seem to turn OK with no front panel. I have checked, cleaned and re-lubed the shutter speed lens ring a number of times to try and make it spin better. This is the ring on front of the shutter with the cutouts for the shutter speed cam followers.

All shutter speeds work properly. The camera seems to work perfectly in every way but the tight speed dial.

Now- I just slapped on the front panel for testing- will adding the spacers to the front panel free this up somehow? Did I forget some spacer or shim somewhere? I am overlooking something very obvious?

When I got the camera it was a basket case- I completely tore it down to the metal box and refinished most of the parts to put it back together. I took me weeks to get the focus action to feel perfect. Aligning the lens board, and getting the film thickness rollers working properly was no walk in the park, either. Got all the shutter speeds firing dead on- but the VERY LAST piece I put onto the camera is giving me the most grief!

Anyone have any ideas? please?

Thanks in advance,

Matt
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Mareklew
Tinkerer
Username: Mareklew

Post Number: 179
Registered: 03-2010

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Posted on Friday, September 10, 2010 - 09:02 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The obvious: does the shutter sit proper in the lensboard? It took me few tries to get all the shims and rings beneath really get to their right positions even though the shutter looked right and straight each time. If these are out of order, the shutter will sit too far to the front and interfere with the front panel.

Marek
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Mattboston
Tinkerer
Username: Mattboston

Post Number: 13
Registered: 01-2009

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Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, September 17, 2010 - 04:44 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Thank you Marek,

I finally had a chance to play around tonight and realized it was the seating of the front panel to the shutter. Shimming it out a bit more and securing it down did the trick. I also went back and cleaned and re-lubed all the shutter setting stuff (since I had taken the shutter completely out again to check the seating- this may have helped a bit too) playing around with some different weights of oils and greases. Bottom line: I was using too heavy a grease and switched to a much lighter lubricant.

I went from a Moebius microgliss D-5 down to a Moebius 8141/9010-2 combo. It feels too smooth with the cover off- but has a great feel once the front panel is back on the camera.

Thanks for your help- sometimes the obvious is not so obvious to me!

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