Kodak 66 Model III Velio Shutter Cocks but Does Not Fire

[FilmShooterX]

I have a Kodak 66 Model III with a Velio shutter. The camera is in good condition but the shutter does not fire. The shutter lever is locked and I do not want to force it. The shutter is free from oil and if I move the shutter mechanism manually, it moves freely. I can not figure out why the shutter lever is locked. The speed escapement moves freely. Anyone here have experience of working on the Velio shutter?

 

[Kino]

I am no expert, but looking at the photo, I suspect your problem might be with the circled spring. The upper portion of the spring does not appear to be in a position to be captured and exert force, in whatever manner is supposed to exert.

Carefully examine the area around this spring and see if it was not installed upside down. The upper portion of the spring appears to have an end facing upward. Is there the chance it should be facing downward and engaged in a slot or hole that provides downward force against the other end?

 

[FilmShooterX]

Thank you for your message. I did not notice that spring. I move it back to the little notch where it should be I think. It is still the same. Thank you

 

[OAPOli]

That looks like a Prontor shutter. Are you sure about the oil? From the photo it looks like there is a film of contaminant on the shutter blades.

It looks like the shutter is cocked but the release lever remains locked? You can try to manually push the lever that blocks the release and see what happens. There is a nice NatCam service manual for this shutter

 

[FilmShooterX]

No oil on the blades. I cleaned them thoroughly. Like I said, it opens freely if manually activated.

 

[OAPOli]

I don't understand what you mean by "it opens freely if manually activated"

It is generally ill-advised to clean the blades in situ as the contaminant can migrate under the pivots.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Have you traced the levers starting at the release lever? And can you make the shutter fire by moving a latch in the main spring area? Should also install speed cam and determine how the B lever works; sometimes if they aren't in the right position, the whole shutter can not work.

I can't give specifics. Just worked on one but found that someone had jammed the cocking lever backwards, bending a major latch and even warping a plate in the escapement. Basically done for.

 

[film4Me]

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FilmShooterX, the shutter lever is supposed to lock, if you mean "cocking" lever.

It won't unlock unless the release lever is pressed, the one on the left and down a bit, in your photo.

If nothing happens when you press the release lever (left and down a bit), something is catching in the shutter and you need to probe around while you keep the release lever pressed.

There could be excess friction, a bent part, a spring not doing it's job, or lack of knowledge about how shutters work when they're off the camera.

If nothing is bent, and springs are in place, apply a thin film of oil to surfaces with a tooth pick. Quite often that's all that's needed.

 

[FilmShooterX]

I don't understand what you mean by "it opens freely if manually activated"

It is generally ill-advised to clean the blades in situ as the contaminant can migrate under the pivots.

I am able to open the shutter by moving this. It opens and closes freely doing this.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I am able to open the shutter by moving this. It opens and closes freely doing this.

If it moves freely, that means the main latch to the right of the main spring/cocking lever mechanism is not engaged. Which makes sense because the cocking lever itself should be closer to the body if fully cocked.

You can pull the escapement out and see this better.

 

[OAPOli]

@Dan Daniel is correct, the leaf lever on the cocking lever is loose, it should catch on a stud similar to the one you were manually actuating. It has a tiny spring that should push it away from the lens tube; it may have unhooked.

 

[FilmShooterX]

Thanks all, I will try to take the escapement out to see if the spring is unhooked.

 

[FilmShooterX]

You are correct @OAPOli. There is a spring out of place. After removing the escapement, I saw a spring out of position. I moved it back to where it should be and the leaf lever does what it should do.

However, the cocking lever does not latch. It just activate the shutter as soon as I releases it. I think I may have to take a careful look at that side of the shutter.

 

[FilmShooterX]

I found a loose spring near the release level after taking some of the levels off. Now the shutter lever is latching and shutter is actually working as it should. There is one problem though. When latched, the shutter is partially opened. Not sure what the problem is. I feel I am almost there.

 

[BrianShaw]

It might be that the shutter blades or the shutter blade ring or the escapement is not really clean, causing the shutter to jam.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Ok, first shot showing latch lever and blades closed. On the main cocking circle, there is a notch at about 6:30 o'clock. Something is supposed to go into that notch to hold the cocking lever (and latch thing) in position so the blades stay closed. Then when the shutter release is pressed, that tab pulls away and the shutter should fire.

Last time I worked on one of these, mentioned above, someone had forced the shutter hard enough to bend that tab over flat.

First, puit the speed cam back and confirm B tab position. Then find that tab and work backwards to the shutter release lever.

 

[OAPOli]

The main lever is still not properly latching.

PS. the shutter leaves look a bit dirty

 

[FilmShooterX]

Thanks, I will look at why the lever is not latching this weekend and clean the shutter leaves.