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Jerry Thomas
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 12:22 am: | 
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I am working on restoring the functions of an eBay Olympus 35 SP for which "the guy I got it from said it worked" had several problems.
1. A leaking mercury cell.
2. Frame counter which would not reset the count when the back is opened.
3. A non functioning self timer.
4. tight spot in the focusing ring
5. dusty viewfinder
6. dust on the lens surfaces inside the shutter chamber
7. shutter speeds below 1/15th are slow.
8. reeked of tobacco smoke.
I worked on it over the weekend and was able to correct everything except for the slow shutter speeds and the self timer which is slow and gets stuck some times. I think that the trouble with the shutter speeds and the timer is that there was oxidation on the gears, dry axles, or both. I am thinking that I need to lube the delay mechanism but with what. I tried a drop of WD40 applied with a pin. Made it worse. So I rinsed it all off with naphtha. (Lighter Fluid) The naphtha wet assemblies worked better until they dried. Which reinforces my lube idea. So what do I need to do. Are those assemblies lubed or do they need to be cleaned of oxidation. What oil is thin enough to lube the axles but not so thick as to retard the gears? What can clean them off if need be? Electrical contact cleaner? Everything else works. Once I get those two gear boxes right, I am going to replace the light seals and I will have a resurrected 35 SP. |
Winfried
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 12:31 am: |
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Most gears on cameras are designed to run dry. So you'd better clean them thoroughly first. If it does not work on the first run, try another one.
If gears in a camera should need lubricating, WD40 is the worst thing to try. It is good for maintenance of machines - it leaves a gummy layer preventing rust and corrosion, but this the hell for gears in a camera. You can use gun oil (such as Nyoil) or 10W grade synthetic motor oil. But prior to lubricating them the gears should be able to run dry. |
Colin Melhuish
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 09:17 am: |
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I've had good luck using "3 in 1 Easing and Penetrating Oil" on mechanisms that refuse to run when dry. It's a very light oil and I apply only the smallest dab with using watchmakers screwdriver to the ends of gear spindles. Usually does the job! |
