Topic: I just made/fixed ...

[Bryan]

Just to reassure you, there were more parts a few hours ago...
I had it taken apart up to the aperture blades... what a b**** to put back together.
On this camera, the aperture is entirely adjustable by loosening 3 ill placed screws and rotating a mount that also holds the blades. No markings whatsoever.
And my marks for where the helix should mate got wiped-out from all the handling... I guess I've got a few more hours to go on this one...

I can take a lens apart no problem, putting it back together, not so much.  Hopefully you don't have any parts left over.

[Indofunk]

Just to reassure you, there were more parts a few hours ago...
I had it taken apart up to the aperture blades... what a b**** to put back together.
On this camera, the aperture is entirely adjustable by loosening 3 ill placed screws and rotating a mount that also holds the blades. No markings whatsoever.
And my marks for where the helix should mate got wiped-out from all the handling... I guess I've got a few more hours to go on this one...

I can take a lens apart no problem, putting it back together, not so much.  Hopefully you don't have any parts left over.

  Me too. I have a Minolta HiMatic 7 that is wonderfully disassembled and will likely never be whole again. Unless someone on this forum cares to rescue it

[Francois]

Just finished putting it back together.
My back aches from staying in the same position concentrating on those b***** screws and washers...
Lucky I won't have to take it apart ever again!
Now the blades swing in and out freely. I've found the infinity, adjusted the aperture properly (they use a really weird way of setting it), cleaned the glass... I even managed not to loose the small ball bearing used for the aperture clicks!

Took me maybe 4 or 5 hours, much of it trying to properly mesh the helix together. And maybe 1½ trying to figure out how to take the thing apart without breaking anything.

[Sandeha Lynch]

I'm starting to like these little roller-blind shutters.  Once they're cleaned up with a new curtain and cord and a touch of grease in the right place they are really quite smooth, at least, no more jarring than a Packard.  Like most, this is a Thornton Pickard, and presumably a bit over one hundred years old.

[Francois]

That looks like a neat mechanical contraption.
How does it work? Pull the cord that is wrapped around a spool attached to the shutter spindle on one side with the opposite side of the shutter on a spindle with a clockspring?

[Sandeha Lynch]

Yep, that's it.  The spring is at the bottom end (left in the picture), the cord spindle at the top, and an open window cut into the middle of the curtain.   Pull the cord half way down and one of the tines on the gear wheel will catch against the long lever as the curtain is pulled up.  Focus, then pull all the way down and the curtain is drawn up to close the aperture.  Release the lever and the curtain whips down again, allowing exposure as the window guillotines past.  Back in the day it would have had a bulb cable release lodged under the key shape on the lever. 

On the other side there's a dial for speeds, from 1/15 to 1/90 and there's also a bulb setting.  I imagine the spring would be a weak point if over-tensioned, but in reality it only takes a little weakening of the screw holes in the wood for the mechanism plate to slip downwards messing up the synchronisation.  It took a big fat screw to fix that.  But still, playing with it is as soothing as a nice Compur and more fun than bubble wrap.   

[Francois]

Then I have a screw that slips or is loose in a piece of wood, I usually fill the hole with wood glue and break a bunch of toothpicks in it. I can then put the screw back and it's usually as solid as can be.

[Sandeha Lynch]

Sure, but in this case since the screw also went through to the lens plate and was loose there too a larger screw was more appropriate.

[Chalky]

really really cool to be able to bring that back to life, good work!

[Sandeha Lynch]

Thanks.  I've worked on two of them so far, and they are pretty cool.

[Francois]

Definitely pretty cool. I just love simple and efficient mechanical gizmos.

[Bryan]

Last night I repaired the battery compartment of a Canon T50and made sure everything was functioning properly for a co-worker.  Turns out one of the cheap zoom lenses he had was not stopping down but everything else worked great.  He was quite grateful to get it working. 

I then moved on to my Kodak Signet 35 to clean the rangefinder and try to make the RF patch more visible in the viewfinder like we were discussing in the Olympus XA thread.  One thing I noticed after cleaning it is that there are three images in the RF patch rather than two.  one is brighter than the other and is clearly the correct one but I can see where there could be some confusion when focusing.  I tried placing some tape in the viewfinder window but the image is still not very visible under most normal conditions.  What I think happened is the coating is totally gone from the beam splitter and I'm getting an image from both sides of it.  my conclusion is that I need a new beam splitter before I go any further with it.

After looking at a few web sites that cover adjusting and repairing the Signet 35 I found that the Minolta Hi-Matic F and the Konica Auto S2 both have beam splitters that will fit perfectly.  I have a good working Minolta Hi-Matic F but I don't want to destroy it for this.  What I need is parts camera that I can salvage one from.  If anyone has a non-working Hi-Matic F or Auto S2 that they can part with let me know, maybe we can arrange a trade or something.  I know I can order the beam splitter glass and cut it to shape but I hate cutting glass, I always screw it up. 

[Indofunk]

Last night I repaired the battery compartment of a Canon T50and made sure everything was functioning properly for a co-worker.  Turns out one of the cheap zoom lenses he had was not stopping down but everything else worked great.  He was quite grateful to get it working. 

I then moved on to my Kodak Signet 35 to clean the rangefinder and try to make the RF patch more visible in the viewfinder like we were discussing in the Olympus XA thread.  One thing I noticed after cleaning it is that there are three images in the RF patch rather than two.  one is brighter than the other and is clearly the correct one but I can see where there could be some confusion when focusing.  I tried placing some tape in the viewfinder window but the image is still not very visible under most normal conditions.  What I think happened is the coating is totally gone from the beam splitter and I'm getting an image from both sides of it.  my conclusion is that I need a new beam splitter before I go any further with it.

After looking at a few web sites that cover adjusting and repairing the Signet 35 I found that the Minolta Hi-Matic F and the Konica Auto S2 both have beam splitters that will fit perfectly.  I have a good working Minolta Hi-Matic F but I don't want to destroy it for this.  What I need is parts camera that I can salvage one from.  If anyone has a non-working Hi-Matic F or Auto S2 that they can part with let me know, maybe we can arrange a trade or something.  I know I can order the beam splitter glass and cut it to shape but I hate cutting glass, I always screw it up.

I have a HiMatic 7 if that would work...

[Bryan]

Last night I repaired the battery compartment of a Canon T50and made sure everything was functioning properly for a co-worker.  Turns out one of the cheap zoom lenses he had was not stopping down but everything else worked great.  He was quite grateful to get it working. 

I then moved on to my Kodak Signet 35 to clean the rangefinder and try to make the RF patch more visible in the viewfinder like we were discussing in the Olympus XA thread.  One thing I noticed after cleaning it is that there are three images in the RF patch rather than two.  one is brighter than the other and is clearly the correct one but I can see where there could be some confusion when focusing.  I tried placing some tape in the viewfinder window but the image is still not very visible under most normal conditions.  What I think happened is the coating is totally gone from the beam splitter and I'm getting an image from both sides of it.  my conclusion is that I need a new beam splitter before I go any further with it.

After looking at a few web sites that cover adjusting and repairing the Signet 35 I found that the Minolta Hi-Matic F and the Konica Auto S2 both have beam splitters that will fit perfectly.  I have a good working Minolta Hi-Matic F but I don't want to destroy it for this.  What I need is parts camera that I can salvage one from.  If anyone has a non-working Hi-Matic F or Auto S2 that they can part with let me know, maybe we can arrange a trade or something.  I know I can order the beam splitter glass and cut it to shape but I hate cutting glass, I always screw it up.

I have a HiMatic 7 if that would work...

The Hi-Matic 7 came out in 1963, the Konica Auto S2 came out in 1965 and the Hi-Matic F came out in 1972.  If they used the same rangefinder mechanism on all of them then it would probably work.  Does the rangefinder look good on it and can you open it and get a rough measurement? 

[Indofunk]

Last night I repaired the battery compartment of a Canon T50and made sure everything was functioning properly for a co-worker.  Turns out one of the cheap zoom lenses he had was not stopping down but everything else worked great.  He was quite grateful to get it working. 

I then moved on to my Kodak Signet 35 to clean the rangefinder and try to make the RF patch more visible in the viewfinder like we were discussing in the Olympus XA thread.  One thing I noticed after cleaning it is that there are three images in the RF patch rather than two.  one is brighter than the other and is clearly the correct one but I can see where there could be some confusion when focusing.  I tried placing some tape in the viewfinder window but the image is still not very visible under most normal conditions.  What I think happened is the coating is totally gone from the beam splitter and I'm getting an image from both sides of it.  my conclusion is that I need a new beam splitter before I go any further with it.

After looking at a few web sites that cover adjusting and repairing the Signet 35 I found that the Minolta Hi-Matic F and the Konica Auto S2 both have beam splitters that will fit perfectly.  I have a good working Minolta Hi-Matic F but I don't want to destroy it for this.  What I need is parts camera that I can salvage one from.  If anyone has a non-working Hi-Matic F or Auto S2 that they can part with let me know, maybe we can arrange a trade or something.  I know I can order the beam splitter glass and cut it to shape but I hate cutting glass, I always screw it up.

I have a HiMatic 7 if that would work...

The Hi-Matic 7 came out in 1963, the Konica Auto S2 came out in 1965 and the Hi-Matic F came out in 1972.  If they used the same rangefinder mechanism on all of them then it would probably work.  Does the rangefinder look good on it and can you open it and get a rough measurement?

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler



(you can click to embigify it)

[Bryan]

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler



(you can click to embigify it)

The angled mirror on the left at the viewfinder window.  You don't need to be exact in the measurement just as close as you can get.  I'll measure the Signet 35 this evening to see if they are close. 

[Indofunk]

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler

The angled mirror on the left at the viewfinder window.  You don't need to be exact in the measurement just as close as you can get.  I'll measure the Signet 35 this evening to see if they are close.

Width is about 2.5-2.7mm, depending on where I measure from (the bottom left screw, or trying to actually see where the mirror begins). Height is about 1.5mm.

[Sandeha Lynch]

It should be a problem free transplant if the glass is the same thickness.  If it's not you will have adjustment problems.  Not impossible, but tricky.

[Bryan]

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler

The angled mirror on the left at the viewfinder window.  You don't need to be exact in the measurement just as close as you can get.  I'll measure the Signet 35 this evening to see if they are close.

Width is about 2.5-2.7mm, depending on where I measure from (the bottom left screw, or trying to actually see where the mirror begins). Height is about 1.5mm.

I think your measurements are cm not mm unless it's very small.  Either way it looks like it's a different size.  The one in my Signet 35 measures about 19mm wide, 10mm high and 2.5mm thick.  Thanks for checking that Satish. 

[Indofunk]

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler

The angled mirror on the left at the viewfinder window.  You don't need to be exact in the measurement just as close as you can get.  I'll measure the Signet 35 this evening to see if they are close.

Width is about 2.5-2.7mm, depending on where I measure from (the bottom left screw, or trying to actually see where the mirror begins). Height is about 1.5mm.

I think your measurements are cm not mm unless it's very small.  Either way it looks like it's a different size.  The one in my Signet 35 measures about 19mm wide, 10mm high and 2.5mm thick.  Thanks for checking that Satish.

Of course you're right, it's cm not mm. I'm American, I don't know about this metric stuff Sorry it didn't work out

[Bryan]

I just recently found a Kodak Flurolite Camera shortly after I built my film scanning contraption:  http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=8655.msg121179#msg121179.  I wish I had found it sooner, it's much easier to work with.  I already have a full set of Flurolite glass-less negative carriers for 35mm, 127 and 120 film.  I just need to make this work with 4x5 film which will require making an extension for it.   I will probably use the mount for the camera that came with this to make a 4x5 negative holder.   

All I had to do to mount the camera to the lens board was attach a filter ring adapter ring to it.  I got a 52mm to 82mm adapter and cut the 82mm threads off and trimmed the flat part to fit.  Then I attached it to the lens board with contact cement.  The Flurolite negative carries fit into a ring on the back where I removed the camera from (see the links below for the intended purpose of this device).  I then place a translucent piece of plastic behind the negative and a light source behind that (an iPad in this case).  I set the camera timer to 2 seconds so there's no shake when it the shutter is triggered.  I tested this setup last night and it worked great. 

http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/KodakFluroliteCamera.htm

https://books.google.com/books?id=GV0zAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=Kodak+Flurolite+Camera&source=bl&ots=1r9UldZ_fT&sig=aG7xz_-QDzRUBgtUqukoJkmBIW8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNg6Ho67DTAhVE_mMKHaqVADkQ6AEIMzAD#v=onepage&q=Kodak%20Flurolite%20Camera&f=false

[Francois]

That is an odd looking bellows set...

[Bryan]

That is an odd looking bellows set...

It's the same bellows as the Kodak Flurolite Enlarger.  Instead of a light they had a camera mounted to the back.  The camera mount is the same as the negative holder mount.  It came with a Kodak Supermatic Flash shutter and a Kodak Ektar 101mm lens on the front.  That's what I took off the lens board to mount my camera on the front.  The camera that was mounted to the back of mine was a modified Kodak Pony.  There's a ground glass on a sliding plate so you can focus then move the camera into place to take the picture.  It's not a very practical 35mm camera for anything other than making copies or microfiche which was probably what it was mostly used for.

[Sandeha Lynch]

My fist in the air nearly broke the sound barrier when the last little stud popped into place.



I would not have needed to disassemble the unit if I'd remembered that when the aperture starts bowing when it closes it means that grease is sticking the leaves together.  Better to immediately remove the unit for a Ronsonol bath, which with the older Compurs is not a difficult task.

But I forgot, and a leaf popped out.  Fortunately none of the leaves were damaged and following a clean up it all went together quite easily.  After one hour it was mostly in place with the top plate screwed down lightly.  Then ten minutes of jiggling the next morning, (leaving it overnight is an important part of the procedure) and it was done.

[Francois]

I must admit that it's quite satisfying when blades go in and actually work properly!

[thatguychad]

My fist in the air nearly broke the sound barrier when the last little stud popped into place.

I know that feeling....last weeks Leica Summitar blades had me doing the same thing.

[02Pilot]

This was stone dead when it arrived - no signs of electronic life whatsoever. It has been resurrected and is now feeling quite really better. Full details here: https://filmosaur.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/meet-the-camera-hexar-af-rhodium/

[Indofunk]

This was stone dead when it arrived - no signs of electronic life whatsoever. It has been resurrected and is now feeling quite really better. Full details here: https://filmosaur.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/meet-the-camera-hexar-af-rhodium/

Love the Python references!

[Bryan]

Ok, what do I measure, and how accurate does it need to be? I have digital calipers, but I'm pretty sure they're out of whack. Other than that, I have a ruler

The angled mirror on the left at the viewfinder window.  You don't need to be exact in the measurement just as close as you can get.  I'll measure the Signet 35 this evening to see if they are close.

Width is about 2.5-2.7mm, depending on where I measure from (the bottom left screw, or trying to actually see where the mirror begins). Height is about 1.5mm.

I think your measurements are cm not mm unless it's very small.  Either way it looks like it's a different size.  The one in my Signet 35 measures about 19mm wide, 10mm high and 2.5mm thick.  Thanks for checking that Satish.

Of course you're right, it's cm not mm. I'm American, I don't know about this metric stuff Sorry it didn't work out

I found a beam splitter from a Minolta Hi-Magic F and it fit perfectly.  What a difference it makes, the rangefinder window is clear and bright.  Someone was parting out a Hi-Magic F on eBay so all I had to buy was the rangefinder mechanism and remove the beam splitter.  It's calibrated and ready to go.

[Pete_R]

Guess this counts...

I lost the cap to my 135mm Tele-Elmar so drew one up using Tcad and got it 3D printed by Shapeways. I thought red might help me to stop losing another (but got two more printed at the same time just in case I do).

[ManuelL]

I recently heard that you should paint faces on things you don't want to lose, as people normally can remember faces better and they jump out at you when you look around - not sure if that works. 

[ManuelL]

I just finished making my first camera. I am a bit proud as I haven't been building a lot in recent years. I designed it on the computer and had the wooden parts laser cut from plywood- had to tweak it quite a bit though when I put it together.

It is a square body with Graflok compatible back (I did have a look at Sandeha's fantastic Tutone for some ideas here, but then made it a bit different to match the materials I was using). The front lens board is square as well so I can put it on in any direction. Configurations are:
- Super Angulon 75mm 5.6 (slightly off-centre)
- Angulon 90mm 6.8
- Pinhole (80mm) with one centre and one off-centre hole.
I might build some more boards for it in future.

[cs1]

What a pretty machine! I hope that there're no light leaks and that all your hard work pays off. Well done!

[Sandeha Lynch]

That looks excellent, Manuel.  And I do like your colour scheme.

[Francois]

Quite nice and it looks like it's super versatile

[ManuelL]

Thanks a lot for the kind comments. 

[Adam Doe]

ManuelL, that looks great! Nice project.

[ManuelL]

Thanks a lot Adam! 

[MiguelCampano]

Unfortunately I do not have a manual, and my Google searches have come up empty handed. Anyone who owns/has used a Beseler Printmaker 35... Do you know the size/diameter of the screws that attach the base to the stand? I'm planning on setting it up, however, I'm still missing the screws!

Thank you,
Miguel.

[Francois]

Do you have calipers?
Since Besseler is an American company, expect the size to be imperial.

[Klaus]

... a stopper for an old Paterson dev tank where the cap was missing. A pipe end stop from Screwfix for £1.09 and some insulation tape to make a tight and waterproof fit. So now hoping to use the tank for two or three 4x5 negatives, taco style, needing max 700ml liquid.

[Kai-san]

The aperture blades on my Kaleinar-3b 150mm f2.8 lens for the Pentacon Six were rather sticky, so what to do? I had never opened up a lens before, but I figured this could be the perfect lens to rehearse on. Seeing that the aperture is sitting close to the bayonet of the lens I decided to start from the back. Three screws removed and the back cap came off. But when I lifted it out, two broken bits of a brass coloured washer fell out, see the second picture. Not very nice! I proceeded to unscrew the rear lens element, it can be done just using your fingers. And there they were, the bronze coloured aperture blades. I dared not go further in, so I cleaned them in situ with lighter fluid and brushed them with a tiny amount of graphite dust. When I reassembled I just left the broken bits out. The aperture and focus rings run smoothly so I believe it's ok.

[02Pilot]

Those brass pieces are very likely shims to get the lens optics square to the mount. If you can discern where they were originally, reinstalling them would be a good idea. If not, well, you might be able to figure it out with a micrometer - I'm not familiar with that lens, so I can't tell you how to proceed.

[Kai-san]

I'm afraid it's not possible to find out where they were sitting, and one of them is warped as well. I'll shoot a test film with it and see if it's a problem.

[Francois]

Seeing that they are cut square, I could guess they could have been part of the infinity stop system...

[Bryan]

I recently picked up an Argus A-Four with a stuck shutter.  The stuck shutter turned out to be an easy fix but in the process of taking the front lens element out to fix it I discovered that I probably messed up the focus scale.  After a little searching on the internet I figured out how to calibrate the scale. 

As you can see in the photos below I opened the back of the camera and placed a strip of cellophane tape across the film plane.  I did this from top to bottom because the sides are slightly recessed and I wanted the tape on the same plane that the film would be on.  I made sure the tape was pulled tight to keep it flat.  This can also be done with a ground glass from an SLR if you have a spare one. 

To hold the shutter open I set it to "B" and used a cable release with a nut to hold it open.  I opened the iris all the way, f/3.5 in this case.  looking at the tape with a loupe I focused on an object far away to adjust it to infinity.  I then loosened the two screws on the front of the lens and rotated the scale to infinity.  You don't need to take the screws all the way out, the pressure of the ring against the lens is all it uses to rotate the front element.  After setting the infinity focus I tightened the screws and checked the close focus.  It took some fine tuning to get everything just right.  Now I need to put some film in it to see how I did. 

[Bryan]

my sewing skills are not the best but I was able to repair this case that came with my Leica IIIc.  The top was only held on by about two threads.  The tread was rotted and falling apart but only on the top, the rest of the case seems to be in good condition.  I first had to strip the cardboard and felt off the top piece to get be able to work with the top leather piece.  I then sewed it back on re-using the old holes.  A few holes were torn out so I reinforced them with super glue.  I then used contact cement to re-attache the cardboard and felt to the inside of the top.  It's not a Leica brand case, it's an American made one but it fits the camera properly.  I think I'm now inspired to try fixing a few other cases that I have, it really wasn't very hard to do with the right needle and thread.  There are also a lot of informative web sites that show how it's done.

[Francois]

Does look way better once it's fixed...

[Bryan]

I fixed another case.  This is a Bolex movie camera case for a B8 or C8 camera.  I have had it for several years and have been meaning to fix it so I finally decided to do it after fixing my Leica case. 

The first step was to remove the old thread, this is the hardest part because the rotted thread falls apart when you try to pull it through the holes.  The next step was to sew it one direction using the old holes.  As you can see in the second photo every other stitch is missing.  This is because a machine uses two threads, you can do this by hand but it's much easier to just work with one thread.  Originally this was done with a machine but it takes an expensive specialized machine to sew heavy material on a corner like this.  After making one pass I made a second pass going back in the other direction sewing every loop that was skipped on the first pass. 

Both sides of this case needed to be repaired.  There is an inner part of this case that the camera mounts to but that thread still seems to be in good condition so I didn't do anything with it.  You can see that there is a nail directly in the path of the stitches, there is an identical one on the other side as well.  The nail supports a wood brace inside the case.  I had to pull the nail out a little to sew past it.  The leather on this case is still in pretty good condition so it should work great.

[Francois]

That looks pretty good. I have the same one with my grandpa's Bolex...