Conley Safety (Wollensak) Shutter timing off . . .

[DannL-USA]

So, I have this Conley 5x7 with the standard Conley Safety Shutter (circa 1910 or thereabouts). The only thing wrong (now) are the speeds at 1/5, 1/25, 1/50 and 1/100 positions which were "all" measured to be operating at 1/30 of a second. The only thing that looks abbynormal is the spring that appears to be broken off (marked in photo). This spring probably applied pressure to the brass claw for the plunger rod/release button. The T, B, 1/2 and 1 second settings all appear to operate correctly. (1/2 second position was measured to be 1/3 of a second. And 1 second position was measured to be 1/2 second). Any thoughts on this matter would be very much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[John Wiegerink]

It's been a while since I work Conley Safety shutter and my old Gudlach 5X7 is down state so I can't check its shutter. I don't think the spring is broken, but could be wrong. Did you pull your pistons and cylinders for a good cleaning? If not wipe the pistons down and make sure there are no nicks. Take the cylinders and clean with a Q-tip. I put the Q-tip in a cordless drill and us an up and down motion. The same technique as honing an engine cylinder. Re-assemble (NO OIL) and see what happens.

 

[DannL-USA]

Thank you John for the recommendations. I went through those exact cleaning steps to no avail. The 1/5 of a second position acts like it wants to be different than the other three settings, (by sound alone). I may dismantle it completely to have a look at each part.

 

[BrianShaw]

As you further investigate, consider these two possibilities. I've been hesitating to chime in because I've not worked on this particular shutter, but have successfully overhauled a similar-aged one-speed shutter.

The levers are quite dirty and corroded. Cleaning and lubrication would likely make the shutter run a lot smoother.

The spring at the 'finger" most likely did intend to interact with the arm immediately above it. The arm (cam) appears to be quite worn, perhaps to the point where it no longer interfaces with the spring. In other words, it could be lever that is broken rather than the spring. (this is not unusual in antique cuckoo clocks where cams/levers sometimes need to be "re-shoed" to restore functionality.)

... but I could be completely wrong...

This might give you further insights. The description of Master Lever, part 16 and subparts (tripping lever, part 54) functionality might be useful information:

US990509A - Photographic shutter. - Google Patents

patents.google.com

 

[DannL-USA]

Thanks Brian. Figure 57 of the Patent seems to suggest (I think) that the spring (17) is not engaging the claw. It's going to take a few minutes to absorb how everything interacts, but the text of the Patent document appears very complete. Very enlightening.