So how do I straighten paper shutter blades?

[athanasius80]

I've got 3 donor shutters apart to make two good ones, and I'm wondering if anyone has a good method for straigtening tweeked iris blades. These blades appear to be paper, I'm thinking of clamping them between two pieces of masonite and waiting a couple days. Any other ideas?

 

[glennfromwy]

They seem to be more of a composite material than paper. I can tell you one thing, though, the stuff is usually very brittle. I've never had any luck at repairing these blades. Maybe it can be done but I've yet to find the answer.

 

[Curt]

Can you say what they are out of?
Curt

 

[df cardwell]

Be really careful with the pins.

( like that isn't an insanely obvious thing to say ! )

How big is the lens / blades ?

 

[Carol Flutot]

You can try Ironing them, but don't put the iron directly on the blade and
don't have it too hot. Than while they are still warm put them in between the Masonite til cool.

 

[Lachlan Young]

You can try Ironing them, but don't put the iron directly on the blade and
don't have it too hot. Than while they are still warm put them in between the Masonite til cool.

I know have a surreal image in my head of someone standing at an ironing board carefully flattening iris blades!

You could try SK Grimes for advice as they seem to deal with a lot of lenses that have precisely the type of iris blades you are dealing with.

Hope this helps,

Lachlan

 

[Donald Qualls]

Good luck with S. K. Grimes -- they seems to respond with "that shutter is not repairable" for almost anything they can't get new parts for, unless there's a few hundred dollars in it. I'd trust Carol's advice -- she actually works on old shutters at prices lower than the cost of buying a new one...