Fitting issue on the Yashica-12 TLR

HHS · Sep 10, 2025

@Dan Daniel and @monopix
Thank you both for your very, very helpful assessment—it all makes sense now:

And indeed, the winding stop arm was adjusted to the radius of the rotary disc without the claw running inside. It should have been adjusted to the radius of the claw running inside, as can be seen in the monopix video. That's why it kept getting stuck instead of running smoothly.

To my surprise, it could actually be bent into shape by hand without tools, I tried to do the best I could, as the metal seems rather brittle.

Apart from the lack of lubrication, and the now really worn out used film, which gave additional resistance, it now runs perfectly in my opinion.

Please take a look at the video:

monopix · Sep 10, 2025

Looks good to me.

HHS · Sep 10, 2025

monopix said:
Looks good to me.

A better video:
Is there anything I need to pay particular attention to when cleaning and lubricating the parts? For the small black levers, I would use a needle tip of low-viscosity lubricating oil, for the surfaces of the brass gears, medium-viscosity lubricating grease, and for the axles and bearings, low-viscosity lubricating grease - would that be correct?

Dan Daniel · Sep 10, 2025

Leave the black levers alone unless they are showing signs of needing lubrication. You want them moving freely.

All in all, the less lubrication the better. The brass gear off of the main center disk and the gear off of it that drives the spool can use heavy grease. Leave the counter assembly alone- it needs to move freely to react to release and the pawl dropping. No grease on gear teeth that drive the counter.

YashicaMats are known for a bit of a potato masher feel. Not really possible to get quiet slick operation.

monopix · Sep 11, 2025

HHS said:
Is there anything I need to pay particular attention to when cleaning and lubricating the parts? For the small black levers, I would use a needle tip of low-viscosity lubricating oil, for the surfaces of the brass gears, medium-viscosity lubricating grease, and for the axles and bearings, low-viscosity lubricating grease - would that be correct?

The spring disk that you've been holding down with your finger needs some thick grease under it. Other than that, I wouldn't lubicate anything. Cameras usually need minimum lubrication. Never lubricate unless there is a particular need for it or there are signs of previous lubrication (though that might have been applied in error).

HHS · Sep 11, 2025

O.k., so those two mentioned gears - the brass one and the one which drives the spool - should be lubricated, and the spring disc.
With heavy grease you propably mean medium-viscosity lubrication, something like Japan Hobby Tool 3000, which is recommended for tlr winding? I wonder which viscosity would be best for...

monopix · Sep 11, 2025

HHS said:
O.k., so those two mentioned gears - the brass one and the one which drives the spool - should be lubricated, and the spring disc.
With heavy grease you propably mean medium-viscosity lubrication, something like Japan Hobby Tool 3000, which is recommended for tlr winding? I wonder which viscosity would be best for...

3000 grease is meant for helicoids. No where near thick enough for that spring disk. You need the same grease as you'd pack the wheel bearings on your car with . Same stuff that is on the focus mechanism in the camera.

HHS · Sep 11, 2025

Ah, great! So a light one you would use on AF-lenses.

Dan Daniel · Sep 11, 2025

When I suggest lubricating the two drive gears (AFTER the main center drive disk- DO NOT lubricate it), it's mainly to quiet and smooth down winding a bit. All in probably best to not do that for now.

monopix · Sep 12, 2025

HHS said:
Ah, great! So a light one you would use on AF-lenses.

Never put grease in AF lenses. Grease also acts to dampen movement and that is not what you want in AF lenses.

monopix · Sep 12, 2025

Dan Daniel said:
When I suggest lubricating the two drive gears (AFTER the main center drive disk- DO NOT lubricate it), it's mainly to quiet and smooth down winding a bit. All in probably best to not do that for now.

Probably won't hurt but unlikely to help much either. I've tried various things to reduce the noise but nothing seems to work well. The ratchet to stop the film winding backwards makes most of the noise. Some cameras seem better than others. My 12 is quite quiet but others I've had are real noisy. One of the reasons I prefer the earlier knob wind versions.

HHS · Sep 12, 2025

monopix said:
Never put grease in AF lenses. Grease also acts to dampen movement and that is not what you want in AF lenses.

I kindly disagree. As an example, the official service manual by Nikon for their Z-lenses lists up to four different kind of lubricants/ greases. Because even in AF lenses you want some damping. But it depends a lot on the lens - and their service manual clearly says only when indicated.

HHS · Sep 12, 2025

HHS said:
I kindly disagree. As an example, the official service manual by Nikon for their Z-lenses lists up to four different kind of lubricants/ greases. Because even in AF lenses you want some damping. But it depends a lot on the lens - and their service manual clearly says only when indicated.

And of course - only a trace applied with a brush

HHS · Sep 12, 2025

monopix said:
Probably won't hurt but unlikely to help much either. I've tried various things to reduce the noise but nothing seems to work well. The ratchet to stop the film winding backwards makes most of the noise. Some cameras seem better than others. My 12 is quite quiet but others I've had are real noisy. One of the reasons I prefer the earlier knob wind versions.

I tried it yesterday without a film - and it sounds very much like a newer, serviced clean 124G. There will be a noise, but it is not louder than my Olympus 35RC, when advancing. Only the shutter is surprisingly louder than on my Yashica635 - but the later slowly needs some service.

HHS · Sep 12, 2025

1967 reloaded - and back to duty. This wasn't a camera stored in a vitrine - the patina and dents shows, that it was actually in heavy use! If it could, it would tell stories!

Many Thanks to you @Dan Daniel and @monopix - without your help I wouldn't have it done! I have learned a ton about repair and old cameras. In near future I will solder the sync-cable, but for now I'm happy. And maybe I find some deeper information how the lightmeter is built - it reacts on light, but not the way it meant to be.

Fitting issue on the Yashica-12 TLR

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