Konica Pearl III: Film Advance Mechanism Disassembly (Help)

[brysys]

Hello. I've had my pearl iii for quite a few years now. I've only shot a test roll with it and unfortunately the film advance mechanism jammed and since then it's just been sitting on my shelf. Decided to open it up and see what's inside. I have managed to disassemble the film counter mechanism but I am stuck on the advance mechanism. I can't find much resources about it and I'm hoping someone would have an idea what to do next. I've tried removing the 2 screws inside the film intake spool side but that just made the whole assembly spin freely.

 

[film4Me]

You'd be well advised to drop some oil in around the mechanism and reassemble it. The oil might just un-jam it,

 

[campy51]

I would spray it first with electronic spray and then oil.

 

[OAPOli]

Squirting solvents or oil won't help if a spring or lever is bent.

OP, check this page to see if it helps:

ライトサイクル ブログ : ツーリング自転車には蛇腹　小西六 Pearl掘ヾ止め修理

 

[brysys]

Squirting solvents or oil won't help if a spring or lever is bent.

OP, check this page to see if it helps:

ライトサイクル ブログ : ツーリング自転車には蛇腹　小西六 Pearl掘ヾ止め修理

thank you! The piece that grabs the spool is a screw

 

[OAPOli]

Good job. I think the mechanism is similar to a Mamiya 6 or Mamiya Press. It shouldn't be too complex. Let us know if you can fix it.

 

[brysys]

Good job. I think the mechanism is similar to a Mamiya 6 or Mamiya Press. It shouldn't be too complex. Let us know if you can fix it.

Happy to say I did! There were 2 prongs that locks the gear. One is coupled to the advance lever, and another one that I am not sure why exists. There was also a missing gasket based on the photos from the link you shared, which makes me believe the camera has had prior work before I received it.

Now on to the fix. As mentioned, the second prong was preventing the gear from moving. How I understood the mechanism is that when the silver lever is pressed, both prongs should release the gear. Since the second one was not coupled to the lever, it's effectively in a permanently locked state. To solve this, I could find a way to couple it or just remove the second prong and the tension spring holding it altogether. I went with the latter, and now it's working perfectly as intended.

Gonna post pictures later for documentation as I also unfortunately stripped the screw hole somehow and couldnt put in the final screw on that holds everything. I'll probably 3D print a pin to replace it.

 

[OAPOli]

Happy to say I did! There were 2 prongs that locks the gear. One is coupled to the advance lever, and another one that I am not sure why exists. There was also a missing gasket based on the photos from the link you shared, which makes me believe the camera has had prior work before I received it.

Now on to the fix. As mentioned, the second prong was preventing the gear from moving. How I understood the mechanism is that when the silver lever is pressed, both prongs should release the gear. Since the second one was not coupled to the lever, it's effectively in a permanently locked state. To solve this, I could find a way to couple it or just remove the second prong and the tension spring holding it altogether. I went with the latter, and now it's working perfectly as intended.

Gonna post pictures later for documentation as I also unfortunately stripped the screw hole somehow and couldnt put in the final screw on that holds everything. I'll probably 3D print a pin to replace it.

I would assume that the second pawl is there for a reason. But if it works without...

Which part was stripped? The one you showed in post #5, or the one on post #1?

 

[brysys]

I would assume that the second pawl is there for a reason. But if it works without...

Which part was stripped? The one you showed in post #5, or the one on post #1?

there's probably something missing in the assembly that connects it but yea. if it wokrs, it works.
So earlier attempts of operating the advance knob, I stupidly forced it to turn. While it did advance a few more times, giving me hope. It also deformed the hole (first pic), which also deformed the piece where the screw goes (pic 2).

I was able to 3d print a peg to help fix it in place but it doesnt hold well enough to be a permanent fix

 

[film4Me]

I half filled my mechanism with oil. It felt rough and gritty, yet the camera looks like it's never been used. I assumed the film advance and indexing would be smooth to operate, but that wasn't the case, it felt like I was stirring a bucket of dry rusty bolts. Hence all the oil I poured in similar to filling a car sump. Didn't reduce the grittiness though, but at least everything is getting well lubricated. Strangely, no oil has leaked out yet.

 

[brysys]

I half filled my mechanism with oil. It felt rough and gritty, yet the camera looks like it's never been used. I assumed the film advance and indexing would be smooth to operate, but that wasn't the case, it felt like I was stirring a bucket of dry rusty bolts. Hence all the oil I poured in similar to filling a car sump. Didn't reduce the grittiness though, but at least everything is getting well lubricated. Strangely, no oil has leaked out yet.

I dont think that approach would have worked for me. The advance mechanism on this one is quite simple. And as I understand, there's only one gear that spins