What did you fix today?

Roger Thoms · Jan 5, 2011

Jim Fitzgerald said:
Last night I mounted my 24" Artar to its nine inch lens board for the 14x17. Before this I mounted the 24" Nikon to its nine inch lens board along with the Packard shutter. Now I just have to finish building the camera. Oh, I almost forgot mounted the aluminum barreled 19" Artar the other day to its six inch board. Going to use it on the 8x10, 11x14 and 14x17. Need to finish my reducing board tonight.

Jim

Jim, I have been watching your progress on the 14x17 and really admire your work. On a side note I just printed on 16x20 paper for the first time and the actually image area of my print just happened to be 14x17. I couldn't help but think of you and your 14x17 camera project. I found it a very nice size.

Would love to see your carbon prints in person some day. Keep use posted as to any shows or exhibits.

Roger

Jim Fitzgerald · Jan 5, 2011

rtbadman said:
Jim, I have been watching your progress on the 14x17 and really admire your work. On a side note I just printed on 16x20 paper for the first time and the actually image area of my print just happened to be 14x17. I couldn't help but think of you and your 14x17 camera project. I found it a very nice size.

Would love to see your carbon prints in person some day. Keep use posted as to any shows or exhibits.

Roger

Roger, thank you. I loved the 11x14 image size when I first say it. I thought it was just right. Then I saw a 14x17 image and it just had so much more "presence' so I said what the hell might as well build one more camera! I'm hoping to get it done by the end of this month. I'd love to show it off at the exhibition Tri Tran and I are having on the 30th in Little Saigon. I have learned to never put a deadline on myself when it comes to camera building. Yes, I can't wait to see my first carbon transfer in 14x17. i'll keep everyone posted.

jim

Roger Thoms · Jan 14, 2011

Well this evening I got out the old jewelers fret saw and cut a hole in the blank lens board I just got for my Speed Graphic and mounted the flange for the APO Nikkor 240mm f9 lens. Should be fun, it's a new focal length for me.

Roger

j-dogg · Jan 14, 2011

I have had this issue with my Minolta Maxxum 4 forever about draining batteries, and I found the culprit tonight. Dropped the whole bottom of the camera and found the lead for the battery compartment was not screwed in all the way and there were fingerprints all over the bottom of it, so somebody has been inside this camera before. Seems to be just fine now, and I have a ton of lithium batteries now lol.

holmburgers · Jan 14, 2011

Last night I fixed 4 rolls of film....

Please tell me I was the first person to do this joke!!

wblynch · Jan 14, 2011

holmburgers said:
Last night I fixed 4 rolls of film....

Please tell me I was the first person to do this joke!!

Shoulda read the whole thread...

holmburgers · Jan 14, 2011

Yeah, I figured the odds were against me. ;-)

removed account4 · Jan 14, 2011

i fixed the locking / releasing mirror assembly
and rear bellows standard in a graflex 3A.
i am also attempting to fix its slow shutter...

removed account4 · Jan 16, 2011

now the shutter works great !
bert over on the graflex forum is
an encyclopedia of knowledge

the tension spring lock nut was disguised as something else
so he had to help me figure out where it was and what it was disguised as -

it works like a charm now

john

mablo · Jan 16, 2011

I have a FM on my table waiting to be fixed. Its back door leaks light.

I have a Box Tengor 56/2 that I received as non working. I found out that the shutter mechanism was just out of place and needed some tweaking. Cleaned all lenses too and now it seems to work again. I shot a test roll and it looks promising. It's a nice thing. It looks more like a lunch box with eyes than a camera.

j-dogg · Jan 16, 2011

I was havving issues with my Focal DA-2000 flash unit for my EOS system, the batteries weren't staying seated and shutting off the flash so I opened it up and the contacts were bent, so I bent them back slapped it all back together now I have a working flash again.

totalmotard · Jan 17, 2011

I bought a lot of 7 cameras off ebay and one of the cameras is a Pentax K1000 in very nice cosmetic shape. The film winder was jammed and the shutter wouldn't release and there was a huge piece of smutz in the viewfinder.

Took off the Kalimar zoom and the winder and shutter cleared up. The lens won't open all the way to 3.5, so the zoom goes in the learning pile. Ordered a 50 f2 from KEH to solve the first problem.

I found instructions online for cleaning the view finder. I couldn't see anything on the focusing screen so I took off the cover and pulled the prism. It wasn't on the face of the prism or the focusing screen. The smutz is actually a flaw in the prism. It looks like the foam between the prism and the cover melted and ruined the silvering of the prism. I took the prism from a Mamiya 1000DTL that I had laying around and stuck that in there, buttoned the whole thing back up and now I've got a working Pentax K1000. Focus at infinity looks good, so I'm hopeful there won't be any focus issues.

Ian Grant · Jan 17, 2011

My Yashicamat 124, the front part of the hood with the CDS meter had just about come off completely, i think the trip around the coast road of Anatolia with it, (southern Turkey), last week and the treacherous hair-pin bends shook it loose

Had to take off the hood & screen, very easy just 4 screws, and luckily the two loose screws were easily accessible, gave the mirror a very careful wet clean, the focus screens now about half a stop brighter, also cleaned the fresnel while I was at it .

Ian

Ian Grant · Jan 19, 2011

Made two new shutter curtains for a couple of nice Thornton Pickard shutters.

This curtain is for the shutter on the left which now just needs a new lens plate. Both have the speed indicator - as per my avatar

Ian

hidesert · Jan 19, 2011

I replaced the light meter on my Rollei 35S. I was lucky enough to find a new replacement on auction. The hardest part was getting it calibrated. I wanted to calibrate it to use silver oxide 1.5 volt batteries instead of the original and illegal 1.35 volt mercury one. You need to set the pointer base position and then adjust the needle to be correct at three different EV's. There are two pots to adjust in concert and it's enough to drive you crazy! After each adjustment you need to replace the top plate because the meter window is much smaller than the cds cell itself then check the reading at three different light intensities. I finally got it though and it's very nice having a working meter again.

Roger Thoms · Jan 20, 2011

Ok, Ok, I know it's not a camera, but still a very important repair. I replaced the p-trap assembly on my friends darkroom which is where I print since I don't have a darkroom of my own. I'm amazed at how badly corroded the old p-trap assemble was, seems that the thin gauge brass didn't like the darkroom chemicals. I replaced everything with PVC hoping it will be more chemical resistant.

Roger

John_Nikon_F · Jan 22, 2011

On Thursday, I AI modified a Nikkor-NC 24/2.8. Did that prior to purchasing said lens, since it was in better shape than the 24/2.8 Nikkor-N that I owned. Took all of five minutes from start to finish, including reverting the N to non-AI spec.

-J

John_Nikon_F · Jan 22, 2011

This evening, added a prong to my AF Nikkor 75-300 zoom, so it can be used on the F for full-aperture metering. Used a pin vise to drill the holes in the aperture ring.

-J

dehk · Jan 23, 2011

Un stuck a Citizen PE shutter on a gaf Ansco Autoset CdS (same with Minolta Hi-Matic). Details are here.
http://dehk.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/gaf-ansco-autoset-cds-shutter/

Brian Legge · Jan 24, 2011

Light seals on a Ricoh 500G.

Started work on a Minolta Auto Semi. Started with this list:

- Fix a bent piece arm which the shutter button drives; it looks like someone forced it closed while it was stuck.
- Replace a spring that positions the hinged bit of metal which makes contact with the bent arm.
- Fix the automatic frame counting. It looks like there are a stacked pair of gears which drive winding and a frame counter. Unfortunately the one which drives the frame counter turns freely. I haven't figured out how it is suppose to be coupled to the main gear yet.

Shot a roll to see what the image quality looks like. I'm now on the fence as it whether I'll fix this camera or not. The results aren't bad per say - the lens is in decent shape with only a little haze - but the shots were quite soft. Not sure what else I expected from 1938 optics to be fair.

Additionally, I found out shooting the roll that one of the shutter blades is doesn't lay flush; a small amount of light can leak around it. So yes, this camera need a fair amount of work.

Its a shame as I like the camera itself. Its a reasonably small 120 folder with an rangefinder and an automatic frame counter. I'm tempted to make this a long term project camera, particularly if I can find more modern lenses I can swap in.

Steve Roberts · Jan 24, 2011

Finally finished cleaning my Pentax SMC f1.2, which had become riddled with fungus. Had a devil of a job working out how to remove the front group, as it's not as straightforward as unscrewing the name ring as with most Pentax lenses. Fortunately with the help of a couple of people on the Classic Camera Repair Forum, I found out how to do it, made up three custom tools and away I went. Still have (inevitably) a few specks of dust in the lens thanks to my less-than-clean-room conditions, but it's a thousand times better than it was before!
Steve

bliorg · Jan 24, 2011

Nice, Ian. Lovely work.

I brought in the various bits of the Seneca View 8x10 project camera today. Lots to do, but mainly a refinishing job (except for the new extension rail and bellows). It's purty, even in pieces.

*Another* project... by Scott --, on Flickr

Toffle · Jan 27, 2011

I fixed the mirror return on my "new" Pentax Spotmatic F. There is still something loose inside the prism housing, though. (not the prism)

mablo · Jan 27, 2011

I disassembled a couple of my Canon LTM lenses and gave the optics a good cleaning.

Toffle · Feb 6, 2011

Fished a sliver of broken plastic (lens flange?) out of the mirror housing of my N80. (the result of a failed encounter with the laws of gravity ) This appears to have been the cause of sporadic error messages and missed frames.

What did you fix today?

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