Minolta Autocord misplaced screws

ergosyn · Aug 10, 2015

I recently acquired a Minolta Autocord tlr from a yard sale, it's the first film camera I have ever used. Unfortunately after shooting a couple rolls of film through it I realized that the shutter was stuck at 400 and an aperture blade was mis-aligned, so I completely disassembled the camera and cleaned it. It took about three days to do the whole thing. Now it is all reassembled and seems to be working perfectly.
The only problem is I ended up with two tiny screws that I cannot figure out where they came from. I have re taken it apart again and cannot figure out where they came from so Im hoping maybe somebody familiar with this camera may know. Ive attached a photo, the two screws are on the right and a screw from the body on the left for size comparison.

AgX · Aug 10, 2015

Just a guess, as I do not know the Autocord: the smaller ones look like being intended for thin sheet metal like a cover, scale etc.

Gerald C Koch · Aug 10, 2015

Not of any use now but this points out the importance of keeping detailed notes when disassembling things. Diagrams are especially useful. Use a muffin tin to hold small parts as they are removed. Note what cup contains each part. Don't rely on memory.

Xmas · Aug 10, 2015

Double sided pressure sensitive tape and notes on paper stuck to bottom of print tray in addition to notes and photos.

AgX · Aug 11, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
Use a muffin tin to hold small parts as they are removed. Note what cup contains each part.

I have several small-parts magazines made from Polystyrol and Polypropylene, with swing cover and partially even with adjustable spacers. I put parts or groups of parts in sepersate sections of the magazine in chronological order and stick notes at the appropriate parts of the cover.

Another issue is avoiding parts to roll off the desk. (I'm still working on a most-practicle solution.)

I once lost a srew from a Minox (of a size one only finds inside watches...) in a loop-pile carpet under my desk.

I guess the final solution would be to build a kind of white, smoth bassin to put desk and chair in...

ergosyn · Aug 11, 2015

Thanks for the advice everybody. Looks like its time to dive in again. A nice big white basin would be nice to work in, maybe with a magnetic bottom!

DWThomas · Aug 11, 2015

I would tend to avoid magnets, as magnetizing small parts (like shutter blades!) more strongly might cause additional problems. When working on tiny assemblies I like to do it over a layer of light colored soft cloth. It does mean being careful not to pick up fuzz on reassembly, but microscopic parts dropping onto cloth tend to just plonk and settle where they are, versus bouncing and rolling on hard (plastic, laminate, etc.) surfaces.

MattKing · Aug 11, 2015

ergosyn said:
Thanks for the advice everybody. Looks like its time to dive in again. A nice big white basin would be nice to work in, maybe with a magnetic bottom!

Darkroom printing trays work well.

hsandler · Aug 11, 2015

I own an autocord and had it repaired by Karl Bryen, in Beaverton OR. He's considered the expert on Autocords and I found him very friendly and helpful. If you email him, perhaps he may be able to tell you where those screws go.

hsandler · Aug 12, 2015

hsandler said:
I own an autocord and had it repaired by Karl Bryen, in Beaverton OR. He's considered the expert on Autocords and I found him very friendly and helpful. If you email him, perhaps he may be able to tell you where those screws go.

oops, that's Karl Bryan, not Bryen

John Koehrer · Aug 13, 2015

"big screws"? They look to be about 1mm long by2-3mm across the head. Something to hold sheet metal together but not mechanical.

Minolta Autocord misplaced screws

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Minolta Autocord misplaced screws

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