500CM - Repair or another body...

[fajitas!]

Hi all,

Just looking for any advice here, I have a (second hand) Hasselblad 500CM, that's after getting 'hard jammed' (as opposed to soft jammed, which is pretty common). I'm pretty handy with taking apart, repairing, and putting back together most bits and pieces, but it's looking like one of the screws needed to fix it has been glued in to place by the previous owner... Not fun. I have the lens off the body, and there's no problems there, it's just down to the body itself.

Anyways, I'm sure it could be taken apart and fixed, even with the glue, but putting solvents and the like is something I'm not willing to do myself, so firstly, is there anyone local to Dublin that would be up for it, or is it a matter of sending it away?

Looking online, I can get a second hand 500cm from the UK for under €200, inc a WLF (Don't really need it, I have a prism in good nick) and a warranty, but, I'm in a wee bit of a hurry with it, I'm preparing for a large enough show in a few weeks, and I'm hoping to have the bulk of the project shot over the next 12 days (Lifes never easy, is it?)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - Generally, I'm more than able for these things myself, but I just can't pop that screw out

 

[mudman]

Never hurts to have a spare... I'd order the second hand camera and see about getting the first one fixed.

 

[fajitas!]

That's quite true, it's just a horrible kick in the budget to have to go for another body at this stage I guess

 

[archphoto]

Try to scrape away as much glue as posible and then give it an other try.
If the previous owner used Lock-tight you will have to apply more force.

Good luck,
Peter

 

[fajitas!]

Well, some good news...

Tried another go at scraping away the glue, but did get too far, got right in there with my macro, and can it's pretty gunked up, so I couldn't get anywhere - Some research pointed at repair stores using a varnish to stop them coming loose...

Out of sheer frustration, I went back to scratch with the unjamming process, and winding on the gears manually... aaaand, it got the mirror down, and recocked the body. Wow. I don't think I left out a sigh of relief like that in a long long time.

As Mudman said though, I'm going to invest in another body, I'm not happy at all if I can't fix something myself, ie, the varnish.

Thanks for the help folks... Thread seems pointless now, but I'd been working on it since last Tuesday...

 

[archphoto]

If it is just laquer: try a Q-tip with aceton.

I used nail-polish frequently to secure screws as a repairman, and that desolves with aceton.

Peter

 

[fajitas!]

Aha, will do - Appreciated

 

[epatsellis]

One thing to remember/keep in mind, any time you seperate the housing from the body on a Hassy, you need to use a dial indicator and jig to get the flange to film plane distance correct again.

 

[martinhughesireland]

Ring Declan he is based in Dublin (Mobile 086 668 4400). He will give it to a guy called Alan to fix/quote. Ask for just a quote and get some advice from them as to if to bother repairing it or not. These guys are very good and very honest, lots of experience of old cameras, very little they cannot fix, very reasonable prices, very quick turnaround also....

M

 

[fajitas!]

Cheers for that Martin, will keep that number handy, seems like an incredibly handy one to have.

Is he based in city centre, do you know?

 

[Kimberly Anderson]

Tell me more about the 'soft-jam' and the 'hard-jam'. I am working with some Hassy 500c's and 500cm's and I would love to get a few tips from you veterans.

 

[martinhughesireland]

Declan is based on Sundrive road on the southside. I think Alan is based in Artane on the northside but you would need to ring and check.

 

[fajitas!]

Dead Link Removed

That's the link I found handiest the first time I had any problem with jamming - The tool that Hasselblad (And other 3rd party producers) make for fixing the soft jam can easily be made yourself with the right sized screwdriver and some shrink wrap - The shrink wrap ain't essential, but comes in handy if you don't want dents inside your camera or the screwdriver slipping past and putting a nasty little bit of damage into your glass!

A hard jam requires a bit more work (As I found out). Having a screwdriver or multitool in your bag can be a lifesaver if any situation arises!

If you're morbidly curious, it's worth popping open the 'bonnet' and seeing how it works!

Cheers for that Martin, very handy to know!