Leitz Focomat v35 Glass Negative Carrier Question

logan2z · Feb 2, 2019

I stumbled onto a v35 today and decided to pick it up. It's in decent shape - a few issues but nothing major as far as I can tell. One thing, however: The glass for the negative carrier is loose and not permanently attached to the carrier. I assume that isn't the way it's intended to be However, I don't see any sign of adhesive on the edge of the glass or the carrier window. Is the glass supposed to be press-fit into the carrier or was there some adhesive that was originally used to affix it to the carrier?

CropDusterMan · Feb 2, 2019

Let me check mine tomorrow.

logan2z · Feb 3, 2019

CropDusterMan said:
Let me check mine tomorrow.

Thanks!

logan2z · Feb 3, 2019

The baseboard is also showing it's age - not real bad but I'm going to keep my eye out for a replacement. If anyone has one they'd like to get rid of then please reach out.

logan2z · Feb 4, 2019

Found the answer to my negative carrier question, thanks.

CropDusterMan · Feb 5, 2019

What was the answer? I'm curious. I sent you a reply this morning. Sorry to get back to you late. I've been traveling
and just recently moved.

Jason

logan2z · Feb 5, 2019

CropDusterMan said:
What was the answer? I'm curious. I sent you a reply this morning. Sorry to get back to you late. I've been traveling
and just recently moved.

Jason

View attachment 216486 View attachment 216487

Thanks for the reply Jason. Well, I emailed Leica USA and got a quick reply but it sounded a bit odd to me. They told me that the glass was inserted at the factory by heating up the metal carrier frame so that it would expand, then sitting the glass in place and letting the frame cool so that it would seal to the glass. I guess it could be true but it seems like a strange way to do it. I did take a loupe and look very closely at my carrier and I do see a tiny bit of adhesive residue around the small flange in the frame. Either the factory did, in fact, glue the glass in or someone used glue to re-attach the glass at some point. Anyway, I think the easiest thing to do is just put a tiny bit of glue back on the flange and re-attach the glass that way.

Alan9940 · Feb 5, 2019

FWIW, I just looked at mine and I don't see anything that looks like adhesive around the glass.

logan2z · Feb 5, 2019

Alan9940 said:
FWIW, I just looked at mine and I don't see anything that looks like adhesive around the glass.

I didn't see it initially either, even with the glass removed from the carrier. Only under a loupe did I notice it. It's very possible that the glue wasn't used at the factory, though, and this was a later repair.

Ron789 · Feb 5, 2019

The problem with the Focomat V35 is that it was designed to be repaired / serviced by Leitz only. No DIY repairs or servicing. Mounting the glass in the carrier the way Leitz indicated fits that philosophy: no way you can repair it by yourself; well... let's say, very difficult, I did some some service and repairs on a V35 myself, but frankly, it's a nightmare. Now that Leitz no longer provides service for the V35 this means that a V35 is a great piece of equipment if / as long as it works properly. Once you get problems with it.... you're in trouble.

logan2z · Feb 5, 2019

Ron789 said:
The problem with the Focomat V35 is that it was designed to be repaired / serviced by Leitz only. No DIY repairs or servicing. Mounting the glass in the carrier the way Leitz indicated fits that philosophy: no way you can repair it by yourself; well... let's say, very difficult, I did some some service and repairs on a V35 myself, but frankly, it's a nightmare. Now that Leitz no longer provides service for the V35 this means that a V35 is a great piece of equipment if / as long as it works properly. Once you get problems with it.... you're in trouble.

I think re-mounting the glass in the carrier is well within the DIY realm A dab or two of glue should be all it takes. But in terms of more complex issues/repairs, you may be right.

Malcolm Stewart · Feb 10, 2019

Ron789 said:
The problem with the Focomat V35 is that it was designed to be repaired / serviced by Leitz only. No DIY repairs or servicing. ...I did some some service and repairs on a V35 myself, but frankly, it's a nightmare. ....

From my personal experience, if you take the lens focus helicoid apart you will find it more or less impossible to screw it back together. The simple answer is to cool the inner aluminium helicoid in the freezer, and it then screws back in with no problem. I've also noticed on mine that the sheet metal chassis of the filter units seems to have relaxed over the 40+ years since manufacture, have become slightly distorted, and some gentle bending can get everything moving really smoothly again. (I've also modified an original lamp holder so that it now takes the modern lamp.)

One day I might try making a print...

logan2z · Feb 10, 2019

Malcolm Stewart said:
One day I might try making a print...

Leitz Focomat v35 Glass Negative Carrier Question

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