kowa super 66 or 66 repair manuals?

paul ron · May 23, 2016

anyone have any of the kowa 66 repar manuals?

i repaired the dreded jam which turns out to be a striped pawl tooth that wears a small gear. amazing how kowa has only one pawl pushing a small gear that has way too much pressure to advance film n cock a shutter. the gear is very poor cast metal.

now that the camera n lens are working, the back refuses to advance. this is the part of the repair manual i need for the super 66.

the theory of losing tension isnt true. what jams the camera is if the shutter is in need of service causing a hard to latch shutter makes the cocking pins jump out of the rotating lens mount on the body. then when the user exerts more force, it strips the tiny pawl tooth which in turn rounds the tips of the gear.

ill put up some pics... i have to reduce the files.

shutterfinger · May 23, 2016

http://craigcamera.com/
#90103. CraigCamera Reprint: KOWA SUPER 66 CAMERA 67pp, fully illustrated. Reprint of the original factory repair manual; includes exploded views, parts list, full service information. $20.00

paul ron · May 23, 2016

thanks i was looking for a free download or help from someone with experiance. i probably wont be doing anymore kowa repairs after this one.

moto-uno · Mar 29, 2018

^Turns out they're only available in PDF format now . "Paul" , did you find any info concerning the removable backs on
the Super 66 ? I've finally repaired the damaged winding pawl ( That was a challenge of biblical proportions ), And any help
concerning the backs would be much appreciated. Peter

paul ron · Mar 29, 2018

i never fixed the film back. i sold the camera and threw in the back as broken for parts.

i did eventually get the repair manual for the camera, pdf free download, but a little too late.

ill look on my other computer for the manual n post it... if its not too large ,otherwise ill pm you.

that pawl thing is so sad. such a beautiful camera with a severe Achilles problem. a few cents more and kowa could have been one of the greats today.... still a nice camera though... just treat her like a lady.

EDIT... I cant find the repair PDF file on my computers.

btaylor · Mar 29, 2018

I have always heard that this flaw was common, but I had 3, two Super66 and a KowaSIX, and never had a problem. I did take the precaution of never using the winding crank (knob only) and tried to be gentle. I wasn't using them to shoot weddings either. My favorite was the KowaSIX with a WL finder and the ergonomic side grip-- perhaps the best handling MF camera I have ever used.

paul ron · Mar 31, 2018

ive also had other kowas that never had any troubles, im sure they were well taken care of cameras before i got them. the key is not to be rough on them. those gears are really soft metal castings, not machined gears.

i wonder if those that were repaired had better gears and pawl installed?

moto-uno · Mar 31, 2018

^ Well if my experience s of late are any indication, the small gear (on the end of the film winder) is very hard , I know 'cuz I had to grind
a chipped tooth from it and the grinding left no burr on the edge . I can't speak of the single toothed pawl that engages that gear as it had
been modified previously ( as Mr Yerkes had told me after viewing an email pic of it ) . I believe I've solved that by brazing on a carbide
tip from an 8" circular wood saw blade. That was kinda touchy . I've been trying to chronicle what I've done , should anyone else wish
to try this (not for the faint of heart ) . Peter
ps: these remarks are in reference to the Super 66 model only

Lotus_Boy · Jun 25, 2023

moto-uno said:
^ Well if my experience s of late are any indication, the small gear (on the end of the film winder) is very hard , I know 'cuz I had to grind
a chipped tooth from it and the grinding left no burr on the edge . I can't speak of the single toothed pawl that engages that gear as it had
been modified previously ( as Mr Yerkes had told me after viewing an email pic of it ) . I believe I've solved that by brazing on a carbide
tip from an 8" circular wood saw blade. That was kinda touchy . I've been trying to chronicle what I've done , should anyone else wish
to try this (not for the faint of heart ) . Peter
ps: these remarks are in reference to the Super 66 model only

hello moto-uno,

I've recently picked up a Super 66 which is suffering intermittent gear slippage when cocking the shutter. I've taken the side off and i can see there is wear on the single tooth pawl which as i understand you have previously mentioned you solved with a circular saw tooth. It looks like someone has been in before me and filed it down a bit. I can sort of visualise how you could fix this with a saw blade but it would be great if you could share how you did this or some photos of the repair.

Alex Varas · Jun 25, 2023

Lotus_Boy said:
hello moto-uno,

I've recently picked up a Super 66 which is suffering intermittent gear slippage when cocking the shutter. I've taken the side off and i can see there is wear on the single tooth pawl which as i understand you have previously mentioned you solved with a circular saw tooth. It looks like someone has been in before me and filed it down a bit. I can sort of visualise how you could fix this with a saw blade but it would be great if you could share how you did this or some photos of the repair.

Check how I solved this problem.

Kowa Six - fixed piece.

Hi all, I would lie if I say I’m not happy… here is the piece (fixed) that normally brakes in Kowa Six cameras. Some photos showing the evolution.

www.photrio.com

Lotus_Boy · Jun 25, 2023

Alex Varas said:
Check how I solved this problem.

Kowa Six - fixed piece.

Hi all, I would lie if I say I’m not happy… here is the piece (fixed) that normally brakes in Kowa Six cameras. Some photos showing the evolution.

www.photrio.com

Thanks Alex. This was actually my first idea but wondered if the weld would eventually strip too. Noting yours is only recently completed, i assume its still going?

Alex Varas · Jun 26, 2023

This was done in Feb 2023 and the piece is still doing good.

kowa super 66 or 66 repair manuals?

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