Brownie Hawkeye parts?

Maybe a long shot - but does anyone have a spare shutter release spring for a hawkeye or hawkeye flash?

I could just buy a camera on ebay for 15 bucks and grab the spring, but then I'd have another perfectly good camera that just needs a spring and I'd be back here asking.

I guess I've reached that age where wasting things rankles me!

I just bought one in like new condition from eBay $4.99. Just saying.


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This thread has me laughing about a personal experience. When my brother moved out, he gave me his 2A Brownie. I did what I could to clean it up (it had been gathering dust for ten years). When I got my pictures back, they looked like the ones on this thread (sharp at the very center and blurred otherwise). I had removed the lens to throughly clean it, but had inadvertently reinstalled it backwards.

That was the same roll of Kodacolor that had the white seal: "Kodak will no longer make film in this size..."

farmersteve said:

I just bought one in like new condition from eBay $4.99. Just saying.


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Yeah, I know… like I said above, I'll pull the spring and then have another dead camera that JUST NEEDS ONE TINY PART and I'll be back here posting… I do understand it's a long shot, those things last forever. I have two, steel knobs and no date codes… so 65ish years old??

If you can see the spring in a working one and get dimensions, you might be able to fabricate a replacement for the other camera and have two working cameras! (Never underestimate the power of creative tinkering.)

That is above my pay grade!

1L6E6VHF said:

This thread has me laughing about a personal experience. When my brother moved out, he gave me his 2A Brownie. I did what I could to clean it up (it had been gathering dust for ten years). When I got my pictures back, they looked like the ones on this thread (sharp at the very center and blurred otherwise). I had removed the lens to throughly clean it, but had inadvertently reinstalled it backwards.

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People do this on purpose.

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:

People do this on purpose.

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I have a flipped and a non-flipped. I wouldn't use the flip for every shot, but it's a cool look.

Been playing with making a shiftable version for my RB or maybe for 35, which would get the zoomy-look more on the edges and make it possible to place the center where you want it.

Richard S. (rich815) said:

People do this on purpose.

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Yeah, I just realized I posted this in the wrong Hawkeye thread. Funny there would be two Hawkeye threads running near each other

Being a piano tuner I have many sizes of piano wire on hand. I have been able to make such springs with a length of the right gauge wire!

I just had one of these apart as I'm going to convert one into a pinhole camera. It should make a good pinholer, as it's got nearly a 4" focal length, and I want my PH camera to be a little more telephoto than usual.

It looks like there's 4 springs in there. One for the shutter release button, one that slings the shutter plate around, one the holds the catch, and I think one that has something to do with the bulb setting. Which one are you looking for?

bergytone said:

I just had one of these apart as I'm going to convert one into a pinhole camera. It should make a good pinholer, as it's got nearly a 4" focal length, and I want my PH camera to be a little more telephoto than usual.

It looks like there's 4 springs in there. One for the shutter release button, one that slings the shutter plate around, one the holds the catch, and I think one that has something to do with the bulb setting. Which one are you looking for?

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The shutter release spring - though you may need that for a pinhole camera? There are a few web pages where folks have added a cable release. I tried but none of my releases were the just-right length to trigger the shutter and also allow it to return to the closed position.

BTW, I found a good way to get filters on the hawkeye. I bought a yellow sky filter that was made for the brownie. It has a retaining ring with no spanner holes, but I hot-glued a CPCV 1/2" coupling to it and it screwed right out. Then (I think) a 28mm-52mm step up ring screws in. Thread's not exact but you can sort of force it. 52 filters are cheap and plentiful, works well for me to do IR, etc., and the whole thing just pops off. Sure beats all the "electrical tape" ideas out there.