Would you but any faulty cameras and try to repair it?

[kl122002]

Actually I do and some of my collection are actually were once- fault camera, from dried lubricant to shutter jam to But still whenever I try to look into one I need all parts complete with minor cosmetics damage. Hygiene is the first since I don't want any bugs carries to my workhouse.

Anyone would do the same?

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I have accumulated a stock of broken cameras, lenses and motor drives/winders that I use for my personal repair training. It's not that easy to get such devices here in Europe, and if you do, they're quite expensive.

Everything is stored in lockable plastic bags and cardboard boxes.

I'm not worried about hygiene or insects, it's always cleaned anyway as soon as on the workbench.

 

[bernard_L]

I sure did. And did repair some to serviceable status. But now the backlog is enough to keep me busy for years. And I have enough working cameras for my actual picture-taking needs.

 

[bernard_L]

It's not that easy to get such devices here in Europe, and if you do, they're quite expensive.

Looks like you have never been at the Bièvres photo fair (near Paris, 1st weekend of June). Besides "regular" old cameras pictured below, there are, at ground level, "junk boxes", cameras usually 5€ apiece, that I did not document. One must be there early; there are other gatherers-hunters.
Then there are garage sales or estate sales. Sellers often know neither the working state nor the market value of the cameras they sell. Either (a) camera works: done; (b) needs repair: occupation for bad weather.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Looks like you have never been at the Bièvres photo fair (near Paris, 1st weekend of June).

That's right. I buy most things online.

 

[neilt3]

I've bought a few faulty cameras which just needed a cleaning, especially box cameras who's shutters were just gunked up and quite a few who just needed a fresh battery to get them working.

 

[Ian Grant]

The simple answer is yes, as long as I thing repair and restoration is feasible. Patience is important, sometimes it takes a while to get hold of missing parts.

I started around 17 years ago, I'd moved abroad but still had my house in the U. On a trip home I was having a clear-out and decided to put this sorry looking camera in the trash. I'd been given it some years earlier by an ex-girlfriend.

Then I thought what a waste, and decided to restore it. 3 days later and it was nearly finished, just needed some brass parts, and a new carrying strap..

Next, I had a Crown Graphic but decided I needed a Speed Graphic for use with my brass lenses, so bought 2 from the US, listed on eBay as parts cameras with enough parts to rebuild one. However one was a ore-Anniversary, the other a Pacemaker missing it's shutter.

The Pacemaker had damaged inner rails, the ore-Anniversary looked terrible, falling to bits, so I stripped it down.

It was apparent it had been modified when new to be a WA camera, the rangefinder is set for a lens of approx90mm, and the top cut away to allow front rise. It was another quick restoration, just a few days, I serviced the shutter, patched the bellows. Later I found I had better bellows so replaced them.

That was the start, I've restore many cameras since then.

Ian

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Impressing!

 

[Donald Qualls]

I have a number of cameras that came to me with sticky or slow leaf shutters; most of these shutters are fairly easy to open up, clean, and reassemble into a working state. It has often been the case I could get a camera with "shutter looks the same at all speeds" or "shutter opens but doesn't close" for $5 to $10 plus shipping, clean up the shutter, double check the focus scale setting, and get a $50+ camera after an hour's work or so (those are cameras that would now be $100-$200 in "film tested, shutter speeds appear accurate" condition).

I've also gotten a number of cameras (like my Contax II) that were sold as "everything works" and came with sticky or very slow shutters and that (like my Contax II) are beyond my confidence level to attempt to repair.

It's a gamble. When I could get non-working cameras from eBay sellers who would admit they didn't work (and were willing to sell under $20 because they got them at yard sales for a buck or less), it was a gamble worth taking; a couple of my favorite cameras (my Voigtlander Rollfilmkamera and my Kodak Reflex II) were in this category. Bargains like these are pretty much gone, though.

All that said, I don't try to do full restorations as above -- I don't generally care if the camera has loose leather or trim, scuffs or dents, as long as it's light tight and the shutter and focusing are accurate, I'm fine.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have a number of cameras that came to me with sticky or slow leaf shutters; most of these shutters are fairly easy to open up, clean, and reassemble into a working state. It has often been the case I could get a camera with "shutter looks the same at all speeds" or "shutter opens but doesn't close" for $5 to $10 plus shipping, clean up the shutter, double check the focus scale setting, and get a $50+ camera after an hour's work or so (those are cameras that would now be $100-$200 in "film tested, shutter speeds appear accurate" condition).

I've also gotten a number of cameras (like my Contax II) that were sold as "everything works" and came with sticky or very slow shutters and that (like my Contax II) are beyond my confidence level to attempt to repair.

It's a gamble. When I could get non-working cameras from eBay sellers who would admit they didn't work (and were willing to sell under $20 because they got them at yard sales for a buck or less), it was a gamble worth taking; a couple of my favorite cameras (my Voigtlander Rollfilmkamera and my Kodak Reflex II) were in this category. Bargains like these are pretty much gone, though.

All that said, I don't try to do full restorations as above -- I don't generally care if the camera has loose leather or trim, scuffs or dents, as long as it's light tight and the shutter and focusing are accurate, I'm fine.

On www.graflex.org Bert Saunders who was a retired Graflex and Graphics repairman told me to remove the shutter from the lens and lightly sprinkle dry graphite powder on the each side of the shutter, cock and fire the shutter a number of times, blow the excess graphite off the shutter and then reassemble the lens. That stopped the shutters from sticking of the lenses he had sold to me.

 

[4season]

Then I thought what a waste, and decided to restore it. 3 days later and it was nearly finished, just needed some brass parts, and a new carrying strap..

View attachment 358381

What a lovely "piece of junk"; the patina'd brass and the polished wood really glow in your photo.

 

[4season]

I buy broken cameras, but I'm trying to slow down . Even cracked plastic became fair game once I decided that much could be mended with epoxy, sometimes mixed with powdered gold, kintsugi-style, so that the visible repair might be thing of beauty in it's own right.

 

[Chuck1]

On www.graflex.org Bert Saunders who was a retired Graflex and Graphics repairman told me to remove the shutter from the lens and lightly sprinkle dry graphite powder on the each side of the shutter, cock and fire the shutter a number of times, blow the excess graphite off the shutter and then reassemble the lens. That stopped the shutters from sticking of the lenses he had sold to me.

I'll have to try that
The graphite for locks?
And just a little bit, tiny bit?
And any specific shutters you wouldn't want to do this to?

 

[Mr Flibble]

Uhm....yeah, I buy broken cameras to restore sometimes...

"The Midg" No.3

 

[Sirius Glass]

I'll have to try that
The graphite for locks?
And just a little bit, tiny bit?
And any specific shutters you wouldn't want to do this to?

Yes, graphite for locks.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Uhm....yeah, I buy broken cameras to restore sometimes...

"The Midg" No.3

That looks like a lot of work ahead of you

 

[Mr Flibble]

That looks like a lot of work ahead of you

It was. But I do like the challenge sometimes.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

It was. But I do like the challenge sometimes.

Admirable, it requires different skills because there are different materials to work with.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I buy my cameras and lenses from KEH so if they turn out to have problems, KEH will fix them or replace them or I buy the from sellers who will take back returns. I learned in the early 1960's that machine code for computers is best written by someone else and similar logic applies to camera repairs. However I will make small adjustments and replace light seals et al.

 

[qqphot]

I'm not very good at it but still improving. I have done some basic repairs such as replacing barnack leica rangefinder mirrors, shutter calibration, and replacing the shutters of Minox IIIs as well as basic cleaning and relubricating. I don't like to attempt anything too invasive because I have nightmares of tiny springs flying loose and not being able to find them.

 

[88E30M50]

I'm a sucker for rooting around the broken camera bin at the local photo shop. Anything in there is $10 and I've pulled a few decent cameras out of there that just needed simple stuff like a stuck roll of film removed. I picked up a box of 6 parts cameras online for $29 and found that two of them worked perfectly out of the box (T-70 and a Canon FX). I have a bunch waiting on some attention right now, so I've been avoiding that box or eBay. Not completely avoiding them though, as there's another F-1 due to arrive on Friday this week. That is mostly functional but has a sticky mirror at 1/2 sec or slower.

 

[campy51]

I have been working on a Rolleiflex 2.8E that I thought was going to need just a light cla, but turns out it had been dropped or banged pretty hard on one side of the faceplate. Too bad since it is nice condition otherwise, the Xenotar lens is in pretty good condition compared to others I have seen. This has been quite the learning curve and had to take out the focusing side components due to being bent. The shutter also needed cleaning and I have taken out depth of field system so I can concentrate on just getting the camera to work properly. I want to get it to a point where I can take some test photos. It wasn't worth what I paid for it but I am enjoying the learning process tremendously.

 

[jk0592]

After a successful restauration, do you sell the repaired camera ?

 

[Andreas Thaler]

But dont come up with the idea to use graphite from a pencil!

I don't know how much experience you have with DIY repairs.

In any case, I can assure you that there are no limits how to tackle tasks. Literally everything is allowed.

Graphite on a brush is a good thing, for example you can use it to supply moving parts safely and in a well-dosed manner.

If the pencil does it too, why not.

I'll make a note of this for my next session. Keyword: point-by-point application

 

[kl122002]

Or may be graphite from Arts supplies stores. There are range of pure graphite leads in different hardness and my favorite is 4B .