Voigtlander Bessa Compur shutter repair

[Chadinko]

Yeah this is one that was given to me already disassembled so the trick is putting it back together. I have the repair manual so it shouldn't be a problem; i'll have time to futz with it over the holidays. Right now, everyone wants their planes back repaired so i'm kinda buried under that. I appreciate the advice -- you clearly have some experience with this stuff. .

 

[AgX]

Some shutters were designed to run dry but work better with a trace amount of oil. Instructions say to touch the pivot end to a felt pad moistened with oil then wipe off the excess leaving a sheen.

With oils evaporating or migrating that sheen will soon be lost.
"Soon" of course is a relative term with with the longevity of these shutters in mind.

 

[shutterfinger]

With oils evaporating or migrating that sheen will soon be lost.
"Soon" of course is a relative term with with the longevity of these shutters in mind

Some of mine have gone 15+ years without migration. Brass is frequently used for bushings. Brass is a porous metal that absorbs oil.

I have a thin penetrating oil I use for very small stuff called Mouse Milk, which should work, and maybe some Molykote very thin lithium grease for the ring.

I don't know about the mouse milk but the molykote will be fine, its specified by some shutter makes.

 

[AgX]

Brass is frequently used for bushings. Brass is a porous metal that absorbs oil.

Brass is not porous at all. What are porous are bushings made from sintered Bronze.

 

[shutterfinger]

All metals are porous as are most if not all physical objects, its a question of how porous.

 

[Chadinko]

I don't know about the mouse milk but the molykote will be fine, its specified by some shutter makes.

Looking again at the Mouse Milk it might be a little thick. I'll go to some decanted LPS teflon lubricant and see how that works. I have so many lubricants and degreasers and other sorts of substances it's almost impossible not to have something that will work.

So... I downloaded the Compur shutter repair guide; some of the ones I have don't look exactly like the ones in the book. Are they really mostly the same, just different faces and installations (e.g., the Agfa on the Isolette and the Synchro-Compurs in the Contaflex Super and Contaflex Rapid)? The one off the Agfa seems to not be shown in the book at all, and neither was the Voigtlander's Deckel.

 

[shutterfinger]

Forget about the outward appearances. For the main plate top look at the cocking, delay timing, and self timer mechanisms for the same style part and position; for the bottom look at the blade controller and shutter blades. Don't be surprised if the aperture matches one shutter, the main plate bottom another, and the main plate top a third. One vintage Compur Rapid aperture matched one shutter and the main plate matched another, don't remember the shutter diagram numbers.
Its not unusual to use a 00 diagram for a 0 shutter, all that maters is the parts/plate are the same design and position.

I cut my teeth on a CS-1210-660, CN-1210-051 with the main shutter matching a CN-1110-000 even though the 051 is a #0.

The delay gearing uses a coil tension spring like a watch/clock mainspring. Pressing the lever inward releases the pallet gear to run and it will disengage from the gear train allowing the coil tension spring to fully release. Its pretty much trial and error to get the tension correct again.

 

[Chadinko]

Forget about the outward appearances. For the main plate top look at the cocking, delay timing, and self timer mechanisms for the same style part and position; for the bottom look at the blade controller and shutter blades. Don't be surprised if the aperture matches one shutter, the main plate bottom another, and the main plate top a third. One vintage Compur Rapid aperture matched one shutter and the main plate matched another, don't remember the shutter diagram numbers.
Its not unusual to use a 00 diagram for a 0 shutter, all that maters is the parts/plate are the same design and position.

I cut my teeth on a CS-1210-660, CN-1210-051 with the main shutter matching a CN-1110-000 even though the 051 is a #0.

The delay gearing uses a coil tension spring like a watch/clock mainspring. Pressing the lever inward releases the pallet gear to run and it will disengage from the gear train allowing the coil tension spring to fully release. Its pretty much trial and error to get the tension correct again.

Geez that sounds like the complexities of finding parts for old Pipers and Cessnas. Not insurmountable but certainly something to get used to.

 

[shutterfinger]

Be sure to hold the shutter part in the same orientation as the engineers diagrams in the manual for easier verification.
I have a print copy I purchased 10+ years before the online version became available.

This is the coil tension spring, aka mainspring, from a CN-1307-000 with the delay pallet fully retracted.

 

[AgX]

So... I downloaded the Compur shutter repair guide; some of the ones I have don't look exactly like the ones in the book. Are they really mostly the same, just different faces and installations (e.g., the Agfa on the Isolette and the Synchro-Compurs in the Contaflex Super and Contaflex Rapid)? The one off the Agfa seems to not be shown in the book at all, and neither was the Voigtlander's Deckel.

There where two main west-german manufacturers of leaf shutters: Gauthier and Deckel
The Compur range e.g. was made by Deckel, the Pronto and Prontor ranges e.g. by Gauthier.


CORRECTED

 

[Michael Guzzi]

There where two main west-german manufacturers of leaf shutters: Gauthier and Deckel
The Compur range e.g. was made by Gauthier, the Pronto and Prontor ranges e.g. by Deckel.

Isn't that the other way around, ie. Compur by Deckel, and Pronto and Prontor by Gauthier?