I just bought a Kodak viligant six-20 and the frame has a few issues. There is a rivet at the top that comes loose and it won’t lock into place and is crooked. I can pop the river back into place and hold it and then it mostly works. The only problem is there is a pin at the bottom that won’t stay down all the way and when I push the shutter button it misses the lever. When I hold a lot of pressure on the top and bottom it holds everything together and it works. What can I do to fix it?
If you're sure that the rivet is the problem, you could try 2 things: 1) swaging it: put it together, clamp it so it stays (forceps), put a steel block behind the whole stack, and hit the top hard with a flat-nose punch and hope it spreads out the rivet. Or 2) work the existing too short rivet out, and replace it with a longer one (softer stock than the existing steel would probably work, just not as long-lasting as the steel).
An arts and crafts store, like Michael's in US, have DIY rivets and tools. That can potentially fix your missing rivet problem.
Not so sure about your bottom pin problem though. I don't have Vigilante, but I have a Monitor. The linkage between shutter button and lens shutter is the weakest point in Monitor, and I have to either use a cable release or trigger directly on the lens. Don't know if Vigilante has similar problem.
Well I fixed that problem but I think when drilling the rivet out I think I got metal shavings in the hole where the shutter trigger goes in. It still worked but would stick and you would have to push it back. After a lot of tinkering I got it working decent and then decided to put some sowing machine oil down in it. BAD IDEA!!! Now the shutter is stuck open and depending on the position of the shutter speed lever it binds up. I partially disassembled the shutter assembly but didn’t get far. Any idea what I can do now?