Turret stuck on a 16mm bolex

Hello!! First time posting here. Hope it's alright.

I have a question. The front part of the turret, the one that rotates, is stuck on my old bolex, what should I do? I thought about spraying wd-40 into it but am afraid of damaging the lenses. It's not the lock (which appears to be missing) nor one of the lens covers stopping it from moving. I think it just oxidized in place. It's been in storage for quite some time now.

The pictures I have here appear to be too large for uploading on the forum, but it's a paillard h16 bolex camera.

edit: managed to upload the picture
edit 2: pic of the inside of the camera

It's probably not stuck, but "fixed" in place by the lower turret lens cap which extends into the body and locks the turret for large, heavy lenses.

Take off the one with the red ring and try again...

Blow out the turret carefully before rotating it to avoid scratching the prism in the taking port.

Already tried it and didn't work
Can it be something else?

As you face the front of the lens turret, there are two silver metal "shoes" that are the detent positions for the lens turret at about the 2 and 5 o'clock position. Each one has a slot in which a sliver, spring loaded roller falls into to position the lenses over the taking port. These may be frozen with corrosion and might need a "SMALL" amount of penetrating oil to free-up the spring loaded rollers.

If that fails, simply take the front screw out of the turret and take pictures as you take off each piece to reveal the shaft upon which the turret rotates. Give it a drop or two of penetrating oil to see if it will release. DO NOT pour a ton of oil on the camera! If you get it moving, it would be best to remove the turret and clean up all corrosion you see before using the camera.

If you don't feel comfortable doing any of this, find a camera repair shop. Take these procedures at your own risk.

Is this a functioning camera? It looks rusty on the outside, maybe rusty on the inside too.

It (thankfully) looks OK inside. Didn't test it with film yet, though. I'll edit the post with one picture of it open!!

Anyway, thanks Kino! I'll try to do as much as I'm comfortable with, but might ask for my film preservation teacher to take a look at it, or seek specialized help. Seems the best, although pricey, way.

allohse said:

It (thankfully) looks OK inside. Didn't test it with film yet, though. I'll edit the post with one picture of it open!!

Anyway, thanks Kino! I'll try to do as much as I'm comfortable with, but might ask for my film preservation teacher to take a look at it, or seek specialized help. Seems the best, although pricey, way.

Click to expand...

Have a similar issue. Were you able to solve this? Thanks

drfoxmd said:

Have a similar issue. Were you able to solve this? Thanks

Click to expand...

Haven't gotten around to it yet, but I found this video explaining how to unstuck it.