Yashica MAT LM Shutter cokcing and film advance problem

[ocamrzr]

Hi
I managed to get a yashica mat lm almost for free,well for about $5.
It had one issue with it its shutter would not fire,and it is extremely worn out in terms of looks (which I happened to like,gives it some context in terms of its age and era of prominence).So it was not worth sending for repairs as I got it for such a less price,I decide to open it up myself and see IF I could figure out what was wrong.After opening it up I found that the shutter mechanism is in perfect condition and if isolated I can use manually cock the shutter spring and fire it using the shutter button,it works smoothly at speeds.

Which makes me speculate that it is somehow the film crank-shutter cocking mechanism that is at fault here (When the crank is turned forward it is supposed to advance the film and move the lever connected to the shutter downward which in turn moves the shutter mechanism spring into cocked position).

Here are a few photos I took,(Photos are marked with terms I use here onwards to refer to them,since I don't know exactly what they are called).The shutter-cocking lever that the crank is supposed to move seems a little bruised and bent out of shape.I think that is the major problem here.Also when I cock the shutter manually by moving this lever down it cocks the shutter and retreats back to its original position at the top,does not stay at the bottom of the groove.

An help would be appreciated .

Photo 1: Side view of the entire assembly Photo 2:Side view of the assemble on top of the body 3:Top view of the crank mechanism Photo 4:Side view of the shutter cocking lever and shutter release lever for scale/position.

The images are high-res,please click through twice to find the original image.I though they would automatically upload to native resolution. Thanks

 

[snapguy]

Mickey M.

I have two Yashicamats and love them. I have been told that the Yashicamat is not a copy of the Rolleiflex, but a copy of the Rolliecord, which utilizes a knob you turn to advance the film and the shutter must be cocked every time by the user. Yashica, they say, added the cocking and lever advance mechanism to the basic 'Cord layout so it may appear to be a little on the Mickey Mouse side when you get inside there. Good luck.

 

[Rick A]

I used to have a Yashica Mat that wouldn't cock the shutter unless there was film loaded in it. Try loading just a spooled backing paper to see if the film advance and cocking mechanism function.

 

[ocamrzr]

@snapguy
Hi,
Yeah, actually the clockwise motion of the crank advances the film and anti clockwise motion cocks the shutter.Does not work though on this one.

@Rick A
I just thought of that and tried removing the empty spool and putting it back,and the film advance works now .The shutter still doesn't cock though ,I'm pretty sure its a mechanical fault.