Nikon FM Film Fork

ChristopherCoy · Nov 18, 2013

So I picked up another Nikon FM in the bay for a mere $16 (shown right.) The meter works, advance lever is smooth, speeds sound accurate etc. They are now known affectionately as "the sisters". There's only 3400 between their serial numbers (both 2xxxxx series.)

The only thing to note was the winding knob. I noticed it didn't lay flat like my original one. Then I figured out it was the screw in the middle, it was sticking up a little. So I grabbed the fork and screwed it out a little until it was flat. This allowed the crank to lay flat. (Old on left, new on right)

But when I did that, it caused a small gap right above the film fork. My guess is that this has been repaired previously and replaced with a slightly larger one.

Do any of you think this will cause a problem? I'm going to run some film through it this weekend to check light seals etc.

dehk · Nov 18, 2013

It will be fine.

elekm · Nov 18, 2013

Better replace those seals. If they don't fail now, they will fail soon. And you don't want any of that stuff getting into the shutter. That could become a major problem.

Newt_on_Swings · Nov 18, 2013

Why dont you try grabbing a flat head screw driver, wrap the tip so it doesnt scratch the inside paint, put it between the prongs and unscrew the whole rewind. Then replace it in reverse and try to screw it all completely in tightly holding the screw driver in place. You dont want it to be loose or when you try to rewind film it may just unscrew over time. Hopefully that will work.

Edit: sorry dont know how i skipped passed what you typed about the screw difference. The end of what i wrote applies still. A tight rewind assembly is important. You can try to find a similar size screw from another parts camera to replace it, or maybe from an eyeglass repair kit.

gone · Nov 19, 2013

I've had some issues w/ light seals on the Nikons myself. Usually, it's the flat seal where the door closes at the hinge. Or, just put a piece of tape over it once you've closed the camera. My FT2 has a bad (missing) seal there, and several years ago I simply cut a piece of electrical tape the right length and stuck it on there, meaning to do the seals later. I still haven't gotten around to doing that, and the door opens fine w/ the tape, so it's on the back-burner list. Because the camera and the tape are both black, I always forget it's even there.

A trip to Malwart got me a $2 roll of black knitting twine for the horizontal body seals, and judging from the size of the roll, it should last me about 50 years. Not that I'll be here then, but still, it's a cheap way to go, and has worked well on every camera I've used it on so far.

Truzi · Nov 19, 2013

I don't think the gap in the film fork will cause you issues, though I had an opposite problem once with my Sears KS-2 (re-branded Ricoh XR-7).

The plastic top of the rewind had broken, and a local camera chain "fixed" it along with "fixing" a sticking shutter and "fixing" a light leak. (None were fixed, I had to do it all myself.)

Anyway, the replacement plastic, and shaft, were wrong. The plastic top was close, but a bit thicker, holding everything higher than it should have been. Basically, this caused the shaft of the fork to be slightly too short. When rewinding, it would slip quietly, making me think the film was all the way in the canister. Ruined some photos that way. Oddly, this only happened with Kodak canisters, not Fuji - go figure.

I finally found the correct part and replaced it (I have acquired about 20 compatible cameras for parts). I did as suggested, using cloth to prevent marring of the shaft while I held it and unscrewed the top part. It was very easy, and I now have absolutely no problems.

Again, I don't think this will be an issue for you, as the fork is longer, not shorter, when you adjust it. So long as it's not too long for the cartridges, you should be fine. If the gap bothers you, you can find some small washers, or cut/file the shaft (be careful to not mess up the threads), or find a spare fork/rewind assembly of the right dimensions.

BrianShaw · Nov 19, 2013

My memory is hazy, but I seem to recall that there is a washer and a flat spring that should take up that gap.

fotch · Nov 19, 2013

In comparing the two cameras, does anything appear to be missing?

ROL · Nov 19, 2013

I dug my FM out of the closet to see if I could be of any help. I found it still has film in it, so that is that, for now. ASA is set to 200, but seeing as how I haven't used it at least 15 years, and rarely shot anything that slow with it, I suspect it might be loaded with Ilford SFX. It might also be cheap color film. Obviously (?!?), it wasn't important enough to remove and develop. I probably have notes somewhere. Anyhow, I would advise against relying on the SN's on the pentaprism housing for anything important. Mine was replaced when the camera took a nosedive on tripod in 70 mph winds. Frankly, I'm surprised at how low this fully manual camera goes for. I wouldn't dream of selling mine, especially for virtually nothing, but then again, that does tell one how much 35mm is worth these days.

ChristopherCoy · Nov 19, 2013

fotch said:
In comparing the two cameras, does anything appear to be missing?

Nothing appears to be missing, but the only thing I did notice is that the winding knob doesn't lock like the other one.

On my other FM you have to slice the unlock mechanism before you can lift the winding knob to open the door.

John Koehrer · Nov 20, 2013

If it's not locking it's probably missing the locking locking spring.

The locking spring is right under the black plate beneath the RW knob. The plate is held in place
with a "C" clip. When that's removed, the plate can be lifted off and you should see two springs, one coil spring and a spring that does the actual locking looks a lot like a hairpin and is at about 12-1 o'clock.

ChristopherCoy · Nov 20, 2013

John Koehrer said:
If it's not locking it's probably missing the locking lever or the(probably) the spring for it.
The lever is right under the black plate beneath the RW knob.

Is that something I can replace, or is it better to send it off?

Ricardo Miranda · Nov 20, 2013

the winding knob doesn't lock like the other one.

So, the 2 cameras are different, right? Someone changed the rewind fork for a similar model, but different. It shouldn't be a problem, but you might want to talk with an expert repairer and see what he says.

BrianShaw · Nov 20, 2013

When the rewind knob came apart on my FE, I managed to find all of hte pieces and it took a repairman about 3.5 minutes to put it back toegther again. I, for some odd reason, could not get it back together properly despite several attempts.

John Koehrer · Nov 20, 2013

Hee, hee.
I was just editing the post with a bit more detail when you asked that one.. It's not hard to do. Unscrew the knob, remove the "C" clip & the plate lifts off. Shouldn't be more than 5 minutes.
Two things to be aware of though. The "C" clip and locking spring can both join all the lost socks in the 4th dimension when they launch.
If you would like I can replace the spring and fix up the lever for you. I'm thinking $10.00 & you pick up shipping both ways.

PM me if you would like.
John

ChristopherCoy · Nov 21, 2013

Thanks John!

I'll run a roll through it this weekend and see how it functions. If its an issue I'll take you up on your offer!

Nikon FM Film Fork

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