Kodak Monitor 620 shutter repair

[bhaning]

I purchased a Kodak Monitor 620 with a Kodak Anastigmat Special 100mm f4.5 lens and No 1 Supermatic shutter a while back. It had lots of pinholes in the bellows which I patched with liquid rubber paint. The first negatives show a light leak in the center of the image. So I check the shutter at various speed and it remains partially open after tripping it on all speeds except 1/400. So I think the light leak in the center is probably related to a sticking shutter. How hard would this lens be to repair myself? Or would it be worth sending to someone for CLA? Thanks.
Ben

 

[shutterfinger]

Supermatic shutters are moderately difficult to service if you have no experience servicing shutters.
The service manual can usually be found for $20 online and it covers 3 or 4 versions of the shutter.
I can email you the 10 pages for the Monitor 620 for half that.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Supermatics are often greasy. Which will cause them to bind up, etc. You'll need to get this old grease out and add a small amount of new lube in the appropriate spots.

As to how hard this is, that's your call. If you haven't been inside a leaf shutter before, assume that you will be doing an autopsy, not a repair. You can try the lighter fluid flush system, but for Supermatics this will be a 5-step process because they can be pretty dirty. And there is no guarantee that it will work.

 

[moto-uno]

+1 for what Dan says . Don't ask how long my last shutter repair took . And it's one heck of a learning curve ! Peter

 

[MattKing]

The Monitor 620 is a really nice camera, and I don't think there are a lot of them left that are still in working or near working order.
If possible, it would be a good idea to learn camera repair on something more common.

 

[bhaning]

Thanks for the advice. I may check with a couple local camera repair shops to see if they would take a look, or I might try just flushing with lighter fluid. I guess I could just use it on 1/400 speed. I'm also thinking about just looking for a 6x9 folder that has already been serviced.
Ben