What did you mess up today?

MFstooges · Dec 23, 2024

I feel there should be an opposite thread for the positive one.

Let me start, I bought a broken Nikon FM with damaged top cover as part donor for my other Nikon FM with broken meter, broken shutter speed assembly and intermittent issue with the frame counter. I decided to retain the donor instead because of the less work. I was so excited that I have one perfectly functioning Nikon FM and tossed the broken one into a dumpster.
Until I realized the donor FM came with different focusing screen! It doesn't have the microprism collar. Oh well.... there's always something.

DaveNJ · Dec 23, 2024

Happened a few weeks ago. Opened up and was cleaning a Konica lens. I was on the reassembly stage and my arm must have pulled on the cloth the lens was on top. It dropped onto the floor, bending the aperture lever among other metal parts of the mount. I can't even get the mount off anymore. No damage to the glass but it's kind of done for with the mount damage and not to mention the damage it did to my wood floor.

mshchem · Dec 23, 2024

Nothing, but the day isn't over!

Not by a long shot!!

cmacd123 · Dec 23, 2024

since the factories are no longer making these things, it is proably worth while to make a note of what you know is wrog with a parts camera and stash it away in case you need to recover another part (like a prism or focus screen) if you down's have the room, sell it off as a "Camera Cadaver" for someone else to disassemble.

MFstooges · Dec 23, 2024

cmacd123 said:
since the factories are no longer making these things, it is proably worth while to make a note of what you know is wrog with a parts camera and stash it away in case you need to recover another part (like a prism or focus screen) if you down's have the room, sell it off as a "Camera Cadaver" for someone else to disassemble.

Unfortunately I don't have neither space or time, otherwise I will save the parts and fix what I messed. I also checked on MIR Nikon site and it only lists 3 type of screen. The closest one is type B but it doesn't seem to have split center like mine, so I may created sort of a unicorn here

dxqcanada · Dec 23, 2024

Taking apart a Gauthier shutter ... and released one end of the spring for the delay mechanism ... I did not hold the other end ... I have been searching for the spring for the past three weeks.

MFstooges · Dec 23, 2024

dxqcanada said:
Taking apart a Gauthier shutter ... and released one end of the spring for the delay mechanism ... I did not hold the other end ... I have been searching for the spring for the past three weeks.

try to use strong magnets maybe it will reappear

Kino · Dec 23, 2024

dxqcanada said:
Taking apart a Gauthier shutter ... and released one end of the spring for the delay mechanism ... I did not hold the other end ... I have been searching for the spring for the past three weeks.

Giant Harbor Freight magnet on a short piece of rope and swing it all of the floor. You will find things you lost years ago...

gordrob · Dec 23, 2024

Kino said:
Giant Harbor Freight magnet on a short piece of rope and swing it all of the floor. You will find things you lost years ago...

Been there - done that. It is amazing the lost small pieces you can find that were lost in the past.

Bruce Butterfield · Dec 23, 2024

Last week I managed to mess up a Rolleiflex Old Standard’s reset button. In the mistaken impression I had that it would be simple to get the reset to be less sluggish I now have a completely sluggish reset. Fortunately I know someone who will let me pay him to fix something that wasn’t really broken before I touched it. Live and learn.

ic-racer · Dec 23, 2024

25 years ago I set up my darkroom with a light switch by my negative preparing area. I also used the area to load my tanks, without issue for 25 years, until just now...

Putting a loaded reel into the tank I hit this switch and the lights came on

Andrew O'Neill · Dec 23, 2024

After sussing out an image, setting up the 8x10, and composing the image... my light metre wouldn't turn on. I forgot the new battery on the kitchen table... So, I had to use that sketchy light metre app on my phone... Not sure what I'll get

Andreas Thaler · Dec 24, 2024

Everything was prepared for color negative development in the Filmomat processor, but I forgot to close the drain valve before pouring the developer into the tank.

The developer therefore flowed directly onto the parquet floor.

But thank God that didn't happen today

Here the valves with blue knobs are closed

Chuck_P · Dec 24, 2024

Not today but yesterday.....................When working on a negative I usually pause a couple of times during the session to check focus on the enlarger by flipping the lever on my LPL enlarger from "printing" light to "focus" light, then opening the lens all the way up. I wasted one sheet by forgetting to flip the lever back to printing light and later wasted a second sheet by forgetting to close the lens back down to my working aperture. Brain fart mistakes like that can become critical when the paper supply is very low to begin with and my supply was indeed very low to begin with, but I was able to finish the session with satisfaction.

Tel · Dec 24, 2024

So I’m currently engaged on a restoration project—a Tougodo 4x4 TLR (branded Tower 44 ala Sears Roebuck). I was trying to open up a junk one that I’m using as the parts donor and was trying to remove a big screw that holds the winding knob securely to its shaft. The slot was already a bit mangled so I got a driver bit exactly the right size and put it in my mini ratchet wrench and really really cranked it hard. The thing moved very slightly and then seized up totally and I sat there looking at it for a while before I reversed the ratchet setting and tried truning it clockwise. Of course it loosened right up and came out easily. Why do we keep learning the same lessons over and over again?

Edit: But that’s one of the benefits of having a junk “for parts” camera at hand. I just opened up the side panel of the “good” camera and it went like clockwork. No surprises and no mistakes; I was going inside the right side of the camera to clean and lube the frame counter mechanism, which was sticking on the numbers above 7. A little blast of contact cleaner and some judicious drops of oil on the bearings and it’s like new again. Just needs a new skin. (Thankfully, Hugo Studio makes one for the Tower 44 and it’s on its way to me…)

ic-racer · Dec 24, 2024

Followup on post #11 above. Of the seven rolls, I was processing, the first 3 were 'test' rolls from cameras that I had rebuilt. So two loaded reels were in the tank and the third was in my hand that bumped the light switch. The light was only on for a brief moment, but all 3 films were totally black. At least the other 4 rolls were still in the cassettes when the light came on.

Chuck_P · Dec 24, 2024

Thank goodness I have to make a very deliberate effort to turn a light switch on in my darkroom.......

MFstooges · Dec 24, 2024

ic-racer said:
Followup on post #11 above. Of the seven rolls, I was processing, the first 3 were 'test' rolls from cameras that I had rebuilt. So two loaded reels were in the tank and the third was in my hand that bumped the light switch. The light was only on for a brief moment, but all 3 films were totally black. At least the other 4 rolls were still in the cassettes when the light came on.

so the switch cover is purchased after the accident?

Sirius Glass · Dec 24, 2024

Chuck_P said:
Not today but yesterday.....................When working on a negative I usually pause a couple of times during the session to check focus on the enlarger by flipping the lever on my LPL enlarger from "printing" light to "focus" light, then opening the lens all the way up. I wasted one sheet by forgetting to flip the lever back to printing light and later wasted a second sheet by forgetting to close the lens back down to my working aperture. Brain fart mistakes like that can become critical when the paper supply is very low to begin with and my supply was indeed very low to begin with, but I was able to finish the session with satisfaction.

I have been know to having done that and then getting to develop some over cooked paper.

steve reilly · Dec 24, 2024

Just carefully ( haha) dismantled and cleaned a Mamiya super 16 reassembled it and one of the cover screws disappeared. It still functions but annoys me to no end that I lost it and have no idea where to find a replacement. A while back I was reassembling real clean little Zenobia, I was giving the lense a last tighten and sliped and tore a perfect bellows. Thats all lately.

Andreas Thaler · Dec 24, 2024

It's also a nice moment when, after a difficult assembly of a device, you realize that you have forgotten a part ...

gorbas · Dec 24, 2024

Recently I bought this 1946 Kodak Retina II with interesting Kodak Ektar 2/47mm lens.

Unfortunately RF is off, no problem, I can use scale focusing.
Well, that is off too.
Now I need to figure out how to set up homemade collimator to figure out infinity setting.
Not sure is it spacing between shutter and front and rear lens group or it's just total general mess?
Flipped lens elements? Mismatched focus helicoid threads?
Any ideas?

loccdor · Dec 24, 2024

@gorbas I had a 1946 folder "Minolta Auto Semi" that the corners focused around 1 or 2 meters while the center focused at infinity. I never figured out if the field flatness was originally that bad or the lens had been messed up - while there are many old folders with good lenses, there are also many with extremely dodgy ones.

gorbas · Dec 24, 2024

loccdor said:
@gorbas I had a 1946 folder "Minolta Auto Semi" that the corners focused around 1 or 2 meters while the center focused at infinity. I never figured out if the field flatness was originally that bad or the lens had been messed up - while there are many old folders with good lenses, there are also many with extremely dodgy ones.

Thank you loccdor!
Well, in 1946 Kodak definitely know how to make good lenses and Nagel factory in Germany had enough experience with making good cameras before the war.
I think somebody who handled this camera before me created this mess? At least he did good cleaning of exterior of the camera.

What did you mess up today?

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