PENTAX SL—Broken rewind knob/non-funcitioning rewind button.

Disappointed_Horse · Feb 21, 2021

This afternoon I took my new-to-me Pentax SL out for a trial run. The camera was fine when I took it out this morning, but when I finished my roll of film and pressed the rewind button on the bottom of the camera, it would not catch. Then I looked at the top of the camera and found that my rewind knob was gone.

I had been planning on sending this camera out for service anyway, but I think I got some really nice shots of my daughter on the test roll and would really like to get the roll out of the camera before I send it off to Eric or DAG. Anyone have any suggestions?

Bill Burk · Feb 21, 2021

Retrace your steps, you might find it.

Nicholas Lindan · Feb 22, 2021

You should be able to open the back and pull the film free of the take-up spool. Then wind it back into the cassette - or directly on the developing reel.

You may need to take a pair of pliers with you into the darkroom to raise the rewind shaft so you can get the back open and remove the cassette from the camera.

Disappointed_Horse · Feb 22, 2021

Thanks for the replies. Nicholas, once I get the camera open, how would I free the film from the takeup spool?

Nicholas Lindan · Feb 22, 2021

AAlfano said:
Thanks for the replies. Nicholas, once I get the camera open, how would I free the film from the takeup spool?

Er, pull on the film...

The take up spool is on a slip clutch; it's the sprocket wheels that meter out the film and don't let it go backwards. Pushing the rewind button lets the sprocket wheels spin freely. But, as the film is free of the sprocket wheels when you have the back open, the film will just unwind from the take-up spool as you pull on the film.

Disappointed_Horse · Feb 22, 2021

Awesome! Thanks. That should make it a lot easier.

Disappointed_Horse · Feb 22, 2021

A suggestion from a member on pentaxforums worked! I found a nut that fit on the threaded shaft that the rewind crank should have been screwed into. Between jiggering the nut with a pair of pliers and gently winding with advance lever, I was able to advance the film far enough to cock the shutter and release it. Then, using the tip of a machine screw I was able to push the rewind button on the bottom of the camera up enough to catch. A few minutes with a ratchet on the nut and I was able to wind the film back into the cassette. Then I took the camera into the darkest place I could find in the house just to be safe and used a pair of pliers to pull the nut up and open the camera. The film was fully wound back into the cassette! Success!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Much appreciated!

Nicholas Lindan · Feb 22, 2021

AAlfano said:
A suggestion from a member on pentaxforums worked! I found a nut that fit on the threaded shaft that the rewind crank should have been screwed into.

Excellent advice. Glad it all worked out.

Bill Burk · Feb 22, 2021

That's great! I would have suggested but I couldn't remember if it's a reverse thread ... I have had the same thing happen to me, at the time I just took the rewind knob off another Pentax.

Then I bought the cheapest dirtiest Spotmatic F that I could find. The damn thing came to me with a little patina but mint condition inside.

In the end, I found that the rewind knob of a Canonet QL17 GIII fits and I had a junker. I gave that camera to a young darkroom tech along with a 35mm SMCT f/2 that I hated. (I love the 67mm filter thread 35mm f/2 Super Takumar and I didn't know there was one with a 49mm filter thread so I bought a lens I hated).
I gave the young man a spotmeter, the Soligor Spot Senor-II that never really worked for me.

reddesert · Feb 23, 2021

Rewind knobs have a normal, right-hand thread, so that they tighten as you are rewinding the film.

A lot of rewind knobs have the same or close enough thread that you can borrow one for repair or temporary rewinding/opening the back - for example, rewind knobs on many different Nikons have the same thread, so you can swap them, although the undersides won't fit on all bodies equally well.

Not sure if it's clear but the missing rewind knob shouldn't have had anything to do with the rewind button not fully depressing. Occasionally you may find a situation where the rewind button doesn't fully press and catch when you hit the end of the roll, I think because the wind lever is under tension. Jiggling the lever and/or pressing the button deeply usually solves this, as far as I can tell.

mtjade2007 · Feb 26, 2021

Wow, Pentax SL. It is the predecessor of the widely loved Pentax SP. It is a pure mechanical camera with no metering and no electronics. I have one, which was my first camera back when I was a teen. It still works and will never want to part with it.

Bill Burk · Feb 26, 2021

It’s like an M2. But an SLR. Every design feature that makes a camera feel like an extension of your eye is in the SL.

Disappointed_Horse · Feb 26, 2021

Yes, the SL is a perfect "everything you need and nothing you don't" camera. Heck, I figured out I didn't even need a rewind crank!

All kidding aside, I do like this camera a lot. I would describe it as elegant simplicity. As a rewind crank is certainly in the "nice to have" category, I will probably send it off for repair soon. It's 50 years old so it's earned a good servicing.

mtjade2007 · Feb 26, 2021

The SP uses a same rewind crank I believe. If you can find a broken cheap SP then you have the parts you need.

PENTAX SL—Broken rewind knob/non-funcitioning rewind button.

Disappointed_Horse

Bill Burk

Nicholas Lindan

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Nicholas Lindan

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mtjade2007

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PENTAX SL—Broken rewind knob/non-funcitioning rewind button.

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