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Stuart Williams

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Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 01:59 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi,

i bought a IIIa at a grage sale, it was dismantled in a baggie, but seemed complete at the time. However, it has a problem, i mean why else would someone dismantle it ;) The symptoms are:
The second shutter follows the first shutter across like they are stuck together. If i gently hold the shutter dial while pressing the trigger, they will separate and run normally, sometimes.
It appears that the second shutter cam is not engaging in the lever, and so follows the first shutter across. The lever stop screw has a piece on plastic tubing on it, and i am guessing that the plastic is not the correct diameter for the cam to hit the lever. i found a diagram on the web of how the IIIf shutter works, and there are some differences to my IIIa. Notably the second shutter cam has a pin in it and the lever looks kinda funky, and the plastic tubing bit.

So, can anyone supply me with a photo, or diagram of the IIIa shutter sytem? Should the pin be there? And is the lever flat when viewed from behind? What sould the lever stop diameter be?
Am i on the right track?

Thanks for any help, if it helps i could post photos.

Stuart
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Stuart Willis

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Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 05:46 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hello Stuart ...

Your name is "nearly" right - but I disclaim all reponsibility for the obscure IIIa identification ;-)

What is the make of camera to which you refer?

Best

Stuart Willis.
Australia
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Stuart Williams

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Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 10:17 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Sorry, it is a Leica IIIa. i realised that mistake, but i do not know how to edit these posts. There is a Leica II on ebay that is for parts. It has some nice photos of the shutter mechanism. i removed the nylon tubing, and it seems to work better now. i guess the shutters will have to be timed, as i get some shading on 1/200 and 1/500. 1/1000 does not work yet, the timing pin does not fit in the hole, i don't know if that is the problem.
Our library has some fix-it books on Leica so i will check them out today.

Stuart
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rick oleson

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Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 11:07 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi Stuart:

I don't recall any bits of nylon tubing in the Leica shutter, so you may have just cleared away some debris. If I remember correctly, I think the hole at the 1/1000 position is made slightly undersize so that the knob does not drop fully into place. I think this was because the 1000 and 500 were so close together there wasn't room for the hole at full size.

The main thing to do before adjusting your curtains is to clean the shutter. Make sure there is no dirt, fuzz or film chips in the big gear at the bottom of the shutter drum, and try to see that the bearings are clean and running smoothly. If you don't do this, adjustment efforts will be disappointing as the shutter won't run the same way twice.

rick :)=
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Stuart Williams

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Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 01:51 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Debris it was not, hard to imagine that tubing would fall onto the pin, its a very tight fit. THe library had both the books by Romney and Tomosy. Both nice, but not really that in depth. I get some not so nice noise from the shutter, so i think i need to take it all apart clean, reassemble and set it up properly. Does the NCI Leica IIIf manual go that far into detail?
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rick oleson

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Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 08:46 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I think I have some sketches to get you through the basic disassembly (this doesn't include such things as removing the shutter drums from the chassis...)

There's also a very thorough stripdown of a Zorki detailed here: http://www.fedka.com/~jay/page17.html ... the Zorki is a near-clone of the Leica II, which is the same as the IIIa except for the slow speeds (and the 1/1000 top speed) and strap lugs.

The slow speed dial stuff is different on the IIIa from the IIIC and IIIF. I can give you some notes on that.
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Stuart Williams

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Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 04:58 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Thanks for the link. i had found that web site, but only got as far as rangefinder adjustment, and could not get any further. Some of those pages format funny on my computer. Anyways that is just what i need.
i played some more last night, and the fast speed run fine now, except, 1/1000 does not trip, and there is some shading on the drum side with 1/500. i thought that increasing the opening tension might get it to trip at 1/1000, but in doing so i realised that the springs are reversed. In your "HOW IT WORKS" article i found on the web, the opening spring is front/lense side. In mine the front one is the closing spring. Lower the tension and the shutter does not close. i guess this really means take it all apart.
Just after i promised my wife i was finished with my new toy......

Stuart
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Stuart Williams

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Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 06:34 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Ok, how do i get the speed disk off?
I got the screw out, but it didn't just fall off the shaft!
Do i need a special puller? Heat?

Stuart
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rick oleson

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Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 07:38 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

did i sketch that backwards? the closing curtain is indeed the front one, i believe. sorry... i'll go check into that (the 'how it works' articles are over 20 years old, but i didn't think i'd made a mistake of that magnitude). i don't remember the SS dial, but if it doesn't lift off after removing the set screws, try unscrewing it. it won't need a puller or heat.

i have quite a few notes on these on paper at home, but none of it is on my computer here... if you can send me an email to remind me, i'll dig them out and scan some for you.

:)=

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