Thursday, August 14, 2003
TMP Company in Seattle sells watchmaker supplies, including oils and screw drivers.
http://www.tmpco.com/tmpco.html
Their tools catalog is on the web.
http://www.tmpco.com/catalog/catalog.htm
http://www.tmpco.com/tmpco.html
Their tools catalog is on the web.
http://www.tmpco.com/catalog/catalog.htm
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Firm reputed to be hot shots with Ilex shutters
Frank Marshman runs Camera Wiz and he takes work from all over the world.
See the service and repair section of Shutterbug magazine. I gave him the
FX-3 and a Bronica for refurbishing and it took about 2-3 weeks. I think he
has email: camerawiz@msn.com or his address and phone:
Camera Wiz
169B Pleasant Hill Rd.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
USA
540.434.8133
He takes all camera brands from all over the world and is probably the top
expert on Bronicas. I've been very pleased with his work on my Yashicas and
Zeiss lenses.
Frank Marshman runs Camera Wiz and he takes work from all over the world.
See the service and repair section of Shutterbug magazine. I gave him the
FX-3 and a Bronica for refurbishing and it took about 2-3 weeks. I think he
has email: camerawiz@msn.com or his address and phone:
Camera Wiz
169B Pleasant Hill Rd.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
USA
540.434.8133
He takes all camera brands from all over the world and is probably the top
expert on Bronicas. I've been very pleased with his work on my Yashicas and
Zeiss lenses.
http://easyweb.abtnet.com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/ecproductlist@public?tn=1059_grease.tem
TAI lubricants offers a kit of lubricants for things like watch and shutter repair.
TAI lubricants offers a kit of lubricants for things like watch and shutter repair.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
From Richard Knoppow
Even though this is now an old thread I might add a little
having cleaned many shutters.
The best cleaner is no longer easily available. This is
1,1,1,trichloroethane. It is selective for the greases and
oils found in shutters but doesn't dissolve paint or most
plastics. Unfortunately, its considered an environmental
hazard and is hard to get.
Probably the best combination of solvents are naptha,
lighter fluid will do, followed by very pure isopropyl
alcohol. In the USA Ronsonol lighter fluid is quite pure and
works without leaving a residue. 99+% Isopropyl can be found
in drugstores. Don't get the 91% or rubbing alcohol, the
water will remain after the alcohol evaporates.
Ideally, the speed regulator gear train should be removed
and cleaned separately but that is a delicaet job and not
really necessary.
Remove the lens cells from the shutter. Most shutters have
a removable front panel, this should also be removed. Pour
ligher fluid into the shutter and blow out using canned air.
If you have a small metal container the shutter can be
soaked for a couple of minutes and then blown out. Flush
with fresh fluid and blow out again. Two or three
repititions will insure against residue on the shutter and
iris blades. After using the naptha use the alcohol in the
same way. Really pure Isopropyl will not leave a residue.
The shutter should be allowed to dry out thoroughly.
Compur, most Wollensak shutters, Kodak shutters can be dried
with gentle heat but don't apply heat to Ilex Universal
shutters and many really old shutters, the iris and
diaphragm blades are made of hard rubber (Ebonite) which
will melt.
Ilex shutters are supposed to run dry although I've found
a very sparing amount of light lubricant helps keep the
retarder mechinism reliable.
Compur and other regulated shutters should have a very
small amount of watch oil or other non-gumming,
non-migrating, light oil applied to the trunions of the
regulator gears and to the palet. Suitable synthetic oil is
sold under the name Nyoil, a Google search will find it.
I've also found suitable light synthetic oil in model
railroad stores.
Apply the oil with the end of a match stick or with the
tip of a very fine brush. You can place a drop of oil on a
dish and brush it out with the brush, them pick some up with
the tip. Watchmakers have special tools for applying
measured amounts of oil but I don't think they are necessary
for shutter work unless you are doing a lot of them.
Some sliding parts of shutters can be greased with light
silicon grease of the sort sold as Lubriplate in the USA.
Light Molykote is also good and is what Deckel used to
recommend for Compur shutters. For late type Synchro Compur
shuters, as used in Rolleiflex E's and F's a small amount of
light Molykote should be applied to the drive spring.
NEVER oil diaphragm or shutter blades.
Dial set Compur shutters have a position adjustment for
the retarder mechanism. It is set to make 1/10th second
exactly on. The other speeds should then fall in as marked.
Note that most shutters do not have any real means of
adjustment. Ilex Acme and Universal shutters can be brought
in by a tedious juggling of the strength of the main spring
and the return spring on the retarder.
Kodak shutters can sometimes be cleaned without
disassembly since most of the mechanism is exposed when the
lens cells are revoved. I still recommend taking the front
panel and speed cam off.
Generally Compur shutters can be brought into pretty good
agreement with marked speeds. Sometimes the old dial set
type need to have cam adjustment or they will have 1/5th or
1/10th second repeat in two places. This doesn't happen with
the later (1930) rim-set type or later Compurs.
Compound shutters have a tension adjustment screw for
speeds. If clean and in good condition they are surprizingly
accurate and reliable. Some Compound shutters have fiber or
Ebonite blades, so be careful and gentle with them.
Wollensak shutters are generally well designed and built
and can be brought to life by cleaning.
Kodak shutters, which seem to have a bad reputation among
some, are actually very rugged and reliable. Sometimes the
main spring is tired lowering the upper speeds. I don't know
of a source for these.
The Compur factory manuals specify about five types of
lubricants but they are identified by Compur part numbers or
occasionally by their German trade names. You sort of have
to figure out what they are.
Old lubricants tend to become gummy with age. Modern
synthetic oils are much longer lived and also have viscosity
which is less temperature dependant.
Prochnow's Rollei Technical Report has a good section on
Compur Rapid shutters which is applicable in general
technique to other Compur shutters. A reprint Compur factory
manual covering mostly later series lenses is available from
Petra Keller http://www.camerabooks.com and from John S.
Craig at http://www.craigcamera.com
I've done business with both and they are very reliable.
BTW, John Craig has a short piece about Peter Palmquist on
his site. Palmquist was killed by a hit and run driver.
John's dauter was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago
so I think he has an especial feeling about this.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
Even though this is now an old thread I might add a little
having cleaned many shutters.
The best cleaner is no longer easily available. This is
1,1,1,trichloroethane. It is selective for the greases and
oils found in shutters but doesn't dissolve paint or most
plastics. Unfortunately, its considered an environmental
hazard and is hard to get.
Probably the best combination of solvents are naptha,
lighter fluid will do, followed by very pure isopropyl
alcohol. In the USA Ronsonol lighter fluid is quite pure and
works without leaving a residue. 99+% Isopropyl can be found
in drugstores. Don't get the 91% or rubbing alcohol, the
water will remain after the alcohol evaporates.
Ideally, the speed regulator gear train should be removed
and cleaned separately but that is a delicaet job and not
really necessary.
Remove the lens cells from the shutter. Most shutters have
a removable front panel, this should also be removed. Pour
ligher fluid into the shutter and blow out using canned air.
If you have a small metal container the shutter can be
soaked for a couple of minutes and then blown out. Flush
with fresh fluid and blow out again. Two or three
repititions will insure against residue on the shutter and
iris blades. After using the naptha use the alcohol in the
same way. Really pure Isopropyl will not leave a residue.
The shutter should be allowed to dry out thoroughly.
Compur, most Wollensak shutters, Kodak shutters can be dried
with gentle heat but don't apply heat to Ilex Universal
shutters and many really old shutters, the iris and
diaphragm blades are made of hard rubber (Ebonite) which
will melt.
Ilex shutters are supposed to run dry although I've found
a very sparing amount of light lubricant helps keep the
retarder mechinism reliable.
Compur and other regulated shutters should have a very
small amount of watch oil or other non-gumming,
non-migrating, light oil applied to the trunions of the
regulator gears and to the palet. Suitable synthetic oil is
sold under the name Nyoil, a Google search will find it.
I've also found suitable light synthetic oil in model
railroad stores.
Apply the oil with the end of a match stick or with the
tip of a very fine brush. You can place a drop of oil on a
dish and brush it out with the brush, them pick some up with
the tip. Watchmakers have special tools for applying
measured amounts of oil but I don't think they are necessary
for shutter work unless you are doing a lot of them.
Some sliding parts of shutters can be greased with light
silicon grease of the sort sold as Lubriplate in the USA.
Light Molykote is also good and is what Deckel used to
recommend for Compur shutters. For late type Synchro Compur
shuters, as used in Rolleiflex E's and F's a small amount of
light Molykote should be applied to the drive spring.
NEVER oil diaphragm or shutter blades.
Dial set Compur shutters have a position adjustment for
the retarder mechanism. It is set to make 1/10th second
exactly on. The other speeds should then fall in as marked.
Note that most shutters do not have any real means of
adjustment. Ilex Acme and Universal shutters can be brought
in by a tedious juggling of the strength of the main spring
and the return spring on the retarder.
Kodak shutters can sometimes be cleaned without
disassembly since most of the mechanism is exposed when the
lens cells are revoved. I still recommend taking the front
panel and speed cam off.
Generally Compur shutters can be brought into pretty good
agreement with marked speeds. Sometimes the old dial set
type need to have cam adjustment or they will have 1/5th or
1/10th second repeat in two places. This doesn't happen with
the later (1930) rim-set type or later Compurs.
Compound shutters have a tension adjustment screw for
speeds. If clean and in good condition they are surprizingly
accurate and reliable. Some Compound shutters have fiber or
Ebonite blades, so be careful and gentle with them.
Wollensak shutters are generally well designed and built
and can be brought to life by cleaning.
Kodak shutters, which seem to have a bad reputation among
some, are actually very rugged and reliable. Sometimes the
main spring is tired lowering the upper speeds. I don't know
of a source for these.
The Compur factory manuals specify about five types of
lubricants but they are identified by Compur part numbers or
occasionally by their German trade names. You sort of have
to figure out what they are.
Old lubricants tend to become gummy with age. Modern
synthetic oils are much longer lived and also have viscosity
which is less temperature dependant.
Prochnow's Rollei Technical Report has a good section on
Compur Rapid shutters which is applicable in general
technique to other Compur shutters. A reprint Compur factory
manual covering mostly later series lenses is available from
Petra Keller http://www.camerabooks.com and from John S.
Craig at http://www.craigcamera.com
I've done business with both and they are very reliable.
BTW, John Craig has a short piece about Peter Palmquist on
his site. Palmquist was killed by a hit and run driver.
John's dauter was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago
so I think he has an especial feeling about this.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/largeformat/2003q1/005423.html
There are two schools of thought about home brew CLA'ing
One is, remove the cells, drop the shutter in a zip lock bag pour in some
lighter fluid, let marinate over night. then dry with canned air, let it
'vapor off' for a day or two, put the cells back in and your ready for a
day on the grassy knoll in Dallas.
I see two faults with this system: 1. It doesn't put any lubricant back
in. Now I've heard people say they've run their shutters for years without
a problem. Good for them.
2. While it might have softened the old lube it probably didn't wash it
away. Capillary attraction is powerfull and anybody that's gone to a coin
op car wash knows a little rubbing does wonders. Once the lighter fluid
is gone, the old lube/varnish is back, maybe not in the same place, but it
didn't go away.
The second is the dissassembly of the entire shutter, clean it and then
reassembling and adjusting the escarpment to accuracy. An ex Graflex
salesman said during training, Graflex brought the sales people up to
Rochester for 'boot camp' During one day they had everybody sit down
infront of a Graphex shutter and a bunch of tools. "Dissassemble and
reassemble in 1 hour There will be a test on the accuracy of the shutter
after that." After 1 hour most men (they were all men then) didn't have
half the parts back in, which is what the brass expected. After berating
them, they gave the moral of the lesson. "NEVER DO THIS TO A CUSTOMERS
SHUTTER! Send it to us."
I fall in between. I open the face, drop new clock oil or "nyoil" with a
tooth pick on all the posts and bushings I can find, and put it back
together.
There are two schools of thought about home brew CLA'ing
One is, remove the cells, drop the shutter in a zip lock bag pour in some
lighter fluid, let marinate over night. then dry with canned air, let it
'vapor off' for a day or two, put the cells back in and your ready for a
day on the grassy knoll in Dallas.
I see two faults with this system: 1. It doesn't put any lubricant back
in. Now I've heard people say they've run their shutters for years without
a problem. Good for them.
2. While it might have softened the old lube it probably didn't wash it
away. Capillary attraction is powerfull and anybody that's gone to a coin
op car wash knows a little rubbing does wonders. Once the lighter fluid
is gone, the old lube/varnish is back, maybe not in the same place, but it
didn't go away.
The second is the dissassembly of the entire shutter, clean it and then
reassembling and adjusting the escarpment to accuracy. An ex Graflex
salesman said during training, Graflex brought the sales people up to
Rochester for 'boot camp' During one day they had everybody sit down
infront of a Graphex shutter and a bunch of tools. "Dissassemble and
reassemble in 1 hour There will be a test on the accuracy of the shutter
after that." After 1 hour most men (they were all men then) didn't have
half the parts back in, which is what the brass expected. After berating
them, they gave the moral of the lesson. "NEVER DO THIS TO A CUSTOMERS
SHUTTER! Send it to us."
I fall in between. I open the face, drop new clock oil or "nyoil" with a
tooth pick on all the posts and bushings I can find, and put it back
together.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Interesting Net Article at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/leaf_shutter_cla.htm
Leaf Shutter CLA
Rick Oleson
11-2-2000
INTRODUCTION:
Leaf shutters all share a basic design principle and layout, but there are a number of detail differences from one brand to another (and sometimes even within a single brand – Compur in particular, having been in production for so many years, appears in a number of variations).
In the interest of providing a useful amount of detail, this article will deal with a specific example, a small Synchro Compur which happens to be mounted with a Schneider Super Angulon for large format use. In details where other variations in design are common, I will try to point those out as we go along.
There are, however, a few more major variations in design which are worth mentioning up front as they can complicate things considerable and may be better left alone until you have gained more experience: The first of these is the concealed shutter mounting used in Rolleiflex and the numerous other TLR models which are copies of the Rollei to a greater or lesser extent. The need to remove leatherette, disconnect and realign shutter and aperture control dials, desolder flash synch wiring, etc in some of these examples can increase the magnitude of the job. Once gotten used to, however, these are not usually too unpleasant a task, and the following study is fully applicable once you have the front fascia out of the way. The second category of variation is the shutter module found on any of a large number of 35mm rangefinder cameras from the late 1960s and early 1970s. These tend to be complicated primarily by the incorporation of the light meter cell into the front of the shutter and the cosmetic housings which can lead to considerable complication – in some cases, the shutter must be removed from the camera and the disassembly and reassembly process can be quite tedious in relation to the value of the camera. Along similar lines, I would caution against overconfidence in attacking a unit-focusing Zeiss Contaflex; not only are these devilishly difficult to get apart and properly back together, but more often that not the problem is as much in the winding system as in the shutter itself and a perfectly CLA'd shutter may cease to function after reinstallation in the body (this does not apply to the front-cell-focusing models, at least in my experience).
TOOLS, SUPPLIES & WORK AREA:
Note: Many of the tools and supplies needed are available from Fargo Tools at www.micro-tools.com. You may also find them or good substitutes closer to home. If you need something that you can't find elsewhere, it's a good bet that Fargo has a good one.
The tools involved in servicing a leaf shutter are pretty basic:
A set of flat jewelers' screwdrivers
A pair of sharp pointed tweezers
A sheet (maybe 6" square) of rubber, perhaps 1mm or 1/16" thick (this is used as a grip to remove the front and rear lens cells without scratching)
A roll of black photo masking tape (this can also be used as a grip as above; often it provides a stronger grasp)
A lens spanner, or a small pin-nosed plier; a needle-nose type may serve in a pinch (if you've read Tomosy's book on grinding pliers for use as spanners, this is great advice if they are carefully made and used)
Two spring tools, one for 'pushing' and the other for 'pulling'. For the first, I took a small jeweler's screwdriver and filed a notch in the tip; for the second, I usually use a very nice miniature crochet hook that I bought at a quilt show that I went to with my wife. For still smaller spaces, I use a straight pin with the tip bent into a hook, gripped in a pin vise – actually I have three of these with different sizes of bend in the tips. Spaces get quite small inside some of these shutters.
Ideally, a draftsman's ruling pen should be used to apply solvents and (where needed) lubricants. For non-draftsmen, this is an instrument that looks like a short pair of tweezers on a stick, with a small knob on one arm of the tweezers. Some people use other tools for this, but a syringe usually dispenses too much at a time and a pair of tweezers dipped in solvent is harder to control (the little knob holds the spacing of the tips for a very consistent measured drop). If you can't find the pen though, tweezers will serve.
A supply of cotton swabs (Q-Tips around my part of the world)
Most important of all: a can of cigarette lighter fluid. This is also known as petroleum naphtha, under which name it can be bought by the quart in paint supply stores; in Europe I understand it is referred to as benzine – there is some danger here, as it must not be mistaken for benzene, which is not what you want. IMPORTANT: DO NOT use any other kind of liquid solvent! There are a wide variety of solvents on the market and an equally broad array of plastics that you may encounter in or in the vicinity of a camera shutter. In some cases these are able to coexist, but you will seldom have any good way to know what plastic material you have until it has already either dissolved in or been cracked into fragments by your cleaning fluid. It's not worth the risk – Naphtha is safe with plastics, and is still a pretty good solvent.
You should have some very light oil on hand, but the most important thing here is to be disciplined in your use of it: more shutters are thrown off by an excess of lubricant than by a lack of it. A small supply of white grease is also useful in some cases.
For a workspace, a smooth table in a well lighted area is sufficient (I once repaired a shutter on the tray table of an airliner in flight, but I don't recommend it – it's embarrassing when a spring flies over the seat back into another passenger's hair). Spread a length of paper towel across the table as a work surface, and tape it down before you start.
Also, keep a pad of paper and a pencil handy, and ideally also an SLR camera with a close-focusing lens to help you document what you're doing as you go. Keep good notes and use the camera when a sketch would be too difficult or tedious. In particular, a good photo of the front of the shutter just after all the covers come off can be invaluable should a spring or other small part go flying before you took clear notice of exactly where it was.
GETTING STARTED:
The shutter we're going to deal with has a unit-focusing lens in it. If you have a front-cell-focusing lens, there's an extra step or two which I will mention here. You're going to have to remove the focusing unit, and this will require you to refocus the lens on reassembly. We'll deal with refocusing at the end, but before you start you should know that you'll need a piece of glass big enough to span the film gate, and a good SLR camera to reset the focus (some people have more sophisticated tools, but these will do the job).
The focusing ring usually carries the distance markings and the infinity stop, and is attached to the front lens cell with set screws. Remove these set screws and pull off the ring. Mark the top center of the front cell with a scribe or marking pen, and unscrew the cell. Count the turns as you go, and note the location of the mark as the cell comes free of the thread: these are important because the thread has more than one starting point, and you will want to reassemble it on the same thread that it was on before so it comes out right side up. From this point on, the shutter is like the one we're discussing. The second element is still in the shutter.
Now to the work at hand: Remove the front cell of the shutter by gripping it with either the rubber pad or a strip of masking tape and turning counterclockwise. If the shutter is not in a camera, remove the rear cell in the same way. If it is mounted in a camera, you will probably have to use a spanner wrench. It is not impossible to clean the shutter with the rear cell in place, but it's best to keep the lens surfaces clean if you can (which basically requires removal). Most lens surfaces, coated or uncoated, can be cleaned with conventional lens cleaner and tissue; however, a number of early coated lenses had inner coatings so soft that any contact with a lens tissue would visibly damage the coating. In these cases, the first spot of fluid or dirt on an inner lens surface means the end of the coating on that element. It's better to get them away from the action early.
Having placed the lens cells safely aside, you will find a threaded collar around the hole where the front cell had been. This generally has a series of notches around its edge, in one of which is either a screw head or a small disk with two spanner holes and with one side flattened. Remove the screw, or rotate the disk with your tweezer points so that the notched collar can turn. Now unscrew the collar counterclockwise, and place it next to the front cell with the screw in its center so it can't roll away.
Under the collar is the front fascia plate. This is usually attached by two screws, one on either side of the lens; in our case, however, it was secured only by the collar so it's now free to lift off. Under this plate is the shutter speed ring, which is the knurled chrome ring that you turn to set the speeds, and the shutter speed cam, an irregularly perforated disk which actually moves the levers to control the speeds (in some cases these are a single part; in our Compur, they are separate and engage each other by means of a tab and notch). Often (as in our case), the click stops for the speeds are provided by a bump on the cam engaging grooves in the back of the fascia plate. Some designs use other devices, some of which may involve small loose parts which you must watch out for. The speed cam and the back surface of the fascia plate are usually dirty and sticky – clean them well with lighter fluid on a paper towel and set them next to the retaining collar and front lens cell.
With these parts removed, we are now looking into the shutter, directly at the gears and levers. On top, though, there is still the cocking rack. This is a ring around the lens mounting thread, usually having a set of gear teeth cut into its outer edge along one side, and also having an extension coming out from it which goes out past the outer housing of the shutter and usually ends with the little knob that is gripped for cocking the shutter (in some designs, there is no handle on it as it is mechanically operated). Note that the gear rack engages a small gear which has teeth most, but not all of the way around, and also note that the number of teeth on the gear corresponds to that on the cocking rack. You will want to make sure that these are properly matched up on reassembly. The small gear is attached to the main driving spring of the shutter, which it winds by rotation of the cocking rack. Some shutters, particularly older ones and those with a slower top speed, do not have these gears: in these, there is a simple extension spring attached to the underside of the rack which serves as the main driving spring.
In either case, there is a spring running from a post on the underside of the rack to another in the shutter chassis. Leave the one end attached to the rack, but use your spring tools to remove the other end from the chassis – note the location of the anchor pin. remove the rack and spring, clean them and place them next to the speed cam. In this particular shutter, it is necessary to lift out the shutter release lever in order to reach the spring anchor. The shutter release has a small hair spring around its axis – carefully note its orientation before removing it, and place it aside next to the rack (this is not necessary in every design).
You now have access to the shutter timing gears, but there's still a bit of a trick: there are actually two gear sets which look quite similar. One is the shutter timing gears, the other controls the self-timer and the flash synch delay. The quickest way to determine which is which is to either see which gears are affected by movement of the speed cam (easily placed back on the shutter for the purpose), or to move the self timer lever and see which gears move. Having figured that out, let's go for the shutter gears first.
We have an advantage with this Compur, and I advise taking advantage of it in this case: the gearset is a module, held in by 2 screws: one through the axis of a post at one end, the other through the bottom flange of the assembly. By removing these two screws, we can lift out the whole module and dunk it in solvent. I find that a plastic 35mm film canister makes a good bathtub for this purpose. Drop the module in, fill the can about halfway up, put the lid on tight and shake it for a little while. Then take it out and set it aside with its screws to dry. Not every shutter is so accommodating, however: some are not modular and will spill individual gears if these same screws are removed, so use caution as you go. If it looks like the top plate wants to come off the timing assembly, put the screws back in before the gear shafts get dislodged or you'll have a busy evening getting it all back together. We can clean it without removing it from the shutter.
To clean the gears in place, you will want the draftsman's pen. First determine the location of the pallet – this is the little sort of pendulum that oscillates back and forth and causes the buzzing sound at slow shutter speeds. Starting with this shaft, dip the pen in lighter fluid and touch its tip to the bearing at the top of the shaft where it comes through the plate, and again at the bottom end where it goes into the bottom plate. You should see a noticeable improvement in the shutter's operation just form this – if it has been stuck midway it should immediately complete its cycle. Now go to the next shaft, the star wheel that the pallet engages, and do the same. Follow in this order, from one gear to the next. Once you're one or two shafts past the star wheel, there is probably enough spring power that a little dirt in the bearings has no effect. Repeat this process with the self-timer gearset, which works in basically the same way.
Before going on, inspect the shutter blades for signs of oil or dirt on the surface. Because there is so much surface area contact, it doesn't take much to make two blades stick together and stop the whole show. If they're not clean and dry, clean them with lighter fluid on a damp Q-Tip. Try not to let fluid wick between the blades, as it can take a long time to dry and may get into places it doesn't want to be. If the blades have anything more than a very slight residue, you really ought to remove them and clean them individually… but I think that might be better saved for another episode, as it can get complex. If you have blades wanting to stick, and you're not up to that degree of disassembly, you may fix it with a puff of fine graphite powder applied directly to the blades and worked in through operation of the shutter. This MUST be done with both lens cells out, however, and many cycles will be needed to get all the stray powder out before reassembly. The specks on the inside lens surfaces don't really do any harm, but they are VERY visible through the lens, due to the magnification of the lens elements. There may be cases in which this is the only practical solution to sticking blades, due to complexity of the shutter's construction.
Now that the shutter is clean and dry, it's time to begin reassembly. First, reinstall the timer gear module. In most cases, one of its mounting holes is oversize to allow for some adjustment of the timing by sliding the gear assembly closer to or farther from the cocking rack. Just get it in place for now, adjustment will come later.
Next reinstall the cocking rack, attaching its little return spring and making sure the mainspring gear is properly meshed. For the moment, leave the speed control ring and cam off. Holding the rack in place to keep the gears in mesh , cock and release the shutter several times. The speed you will get with the cam off is sort of a combination of one second and B: the timer will run out for a second, but the shutter won't close until you take your finger off the release lever. The one second should run smooth and clean, without hesitation. If it does, I wouldn't recommend lubrication unless this shutter expects to see heavy use. If it's going to spend most of its time on the shelf and be expected to work well when picked up later, it will suffer more from old lubricant than it will from wear.
If it does not run perfectly crisp, and you're sure everything is clean, then you will want to apply exactly two drops of oil: one to the pallet shaft, and the second to the star wheel shaft. For oil, the light shutter oil sold at Fargo is good, but I use something closer at hand: slightly modified WD-40. Before casting me into the Pit, please hear me out: if you squirt a small amount of WD-40 into a small jar (I use a 1/4 ounce model paint jar) and leave it, you will see that it settles out, becoming clear at the top and cloudy at the bottom. You don't want the sediment, but the clear stuff at the top is a very fine oil with excellent lubricating properties. By keeping this jar handy and not shaking it up, you can dip your oiler (née drafting pen) into it at the top and get just what the doctor ordered. If this makes you uncomfortable, just get some good shutter oil. The main thing is that it be very thin, as most oils will stop these little parts cold.
Everything should now be zipping along nicely. Check the self timer for smoothness, and follow the same procedure with it.
From here, it's just a matter of getting it back the way you found it. When you set the speed cam in place, rotate it back and forth through its range of travel to give the levers a chance to drop into their proper slots. If the shutter is stuck after reassembly, the most likely reason is one of these levers missing its slot and jamming under the plate. You'll also see that the speed-setting ring engages the edge of the cam via a couple of tabs and notches – it can only go one way. Once those are in, it's time for the fascia plate. If this has a set of grooves in the back for the speed detents (as it does in our case), lubricate this grooved area lightly with white grease before reinstalling the plate. Now set the fascia plate in place – it too can only go one way, as one or two pins from the shutter chassis will protrude to engage holes in the back of the plate. Don't put the retaining ring back on yet, just hold it all together with your fingers.
Check the shutter at one second, and adjust the position of the gear assembly to give a good one second time (a stopwatch should be adequate at this speed). Now check through the rest of the speeds - up to about 1/30 you can pretty much tell by ear how it's doing. If one speed sounds out of sequence, lift off the fascia plate and observe how the levers are lying in the cam slots; one of the levers is probably sticking, which either means it needs cleaning or something is dragging (possibly due to old impact damage). A shutter tester can be used to check speed accuracy at the slower speeds, but the top two will read slow because of the blade travel time. In any case, adjustment options are usually pretty limited and tend to favor the low speed end of the scale. And, unless the shutter has been tampered with, cleaning and lubrication should come pretty close to restoring its original factory adjustment.
Once everything is in adjustment and running well, replace the notched retaining ring. Note that it has a flange extending in one direction at the center hole: this flange goes to the rear. Don't overtighten the ring, it's not intended to exert force on the shutter. Once it's home and nothing is loose, go on to the next available notch and reinstall the small screw (or rotate the flattened disk so that the flat side faces outward). Check the front and rear lens cells to make sure they're clean and reinstall them in the shutter – turn them hand-tight, with just a little less force than it took to remove them.
If you expect the shutter to be used in a cold environment, you may want to chill it to check its cold weather performance: seal the assembly in a zip-lock plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on the expected use, for about 15 or 20 minutes, then recheck it (if possible, operate the shutter levers through the bag without opening it). Keep the shutter in a dry place for some time after removing it from refrigeration to make sure any condensation evaporates out of it.
If this was a unit focusing shutter, you're done! If it has a front-cell focusing lens, you still have to reinstall the front cell and refocus the camera.
First, clean the focusing threads well with lighter fluid, both on the lens cell and in the front thread in the shutter assembly (in the second element cell). Apply a thin layer of white grease to the threads. Orient the lens cell just as it was when it released from the threads on disassembly, then turn it counterclockwise a few degrees. Place it against the mating thread and turn it clockwise; if it goes too far without engaging, back up and try again until the thread engages at the proper location (remember that the female part has been unscrewed and replaced, so it could be a few degrees off). Once it's started, turn it in until it won't turn any farther.
The next step is adjusting the focus. For the most part, this method is found in Ed Romney's guide (available at www.edromney.com). It works very well. First, get a piece of glass about the size of a frame of film (probably the ideal is a glass from a slide mount; it needs to be able to rest on the film rails and between the film edge guides). Stick a strip of frosted Scotch tape to one side, and draw a vertical line in the tape with the tip of a sharp knife. Now tape this into the camera's film plane, with the frosted tape toward the lens. Set the shutter on T (or B with a locking cable release), and look in the front of the lens through the viewfinder of a good SLR camera which has a split-image screen; the SLR lens should be the normal lens, focused at infinity. With a bright light behind the repair camera, turn the front cell until the vertical line you cut in the Scotch tape appears straight and unbroken in the SLR viewfinder. Focus is now set at infinity.
Carefully to avoid rotating the front cell, set the lens bezel in place so that it is resting against its infinity stop. Secure it to the front cell with its set screws.
You're now finished and ready to go take some pictures.
Leaf Shutter CLA
Rick Oleson
11-2-2000
INTRODUCTION:
Leaf shutters all share a basic design principle and layout, but there are a number of detail differences from one brand to another (and sometimes even within a single brand – Compur in particular, having been in production for so many years, appears in a number of variations).
In the interest of providing a useful amount of detail, this article will deal with a specific example, a small Synchro Compur which happens to be mounted with a Schneider Super Angulon for large format use. In details where other variations in design are common, I will try to point those out as we go along.
There are, however, a few more major variations in design which are worth mentioning up front as they can complicate things considerable and may be better left alone until you have gained more experience: The first of these is the concealed shutter mounting used in Rolleiflex and the numerous other TLR models which are copies of the Rollei to a greater or lesser extent. The need to remove leatherette, disconnect and realign shutter and aperture control dials, desolder flash synch wiring, etc in some of these examples can increase the magnitude of the job. Once gotten used to, however, these are not usually too unpleasant a task, and the following study is fully applicable once you have the front fascia out of the way. The second category of variation is the shutter module found on any of a large number of 35mm rangefinder cameras from the late 1960s and early 1970s. These tend to be complicated primarily by the incorporation of the light meter cell into the front of the shutter and the cosmetic housings which can lead to considerable complication – in some cases, the shutter must be removed from the camera and the disassembly and reassembly process can be quite tedious in relation to the value of the camera. Along similar lines, I would caution against overconfidence in attacking a unit-focusing Zeiss Contaflex; not only are these devilishly difficult to get apart and properly back together, but more often that not the problem is as much in the winding system as in the shutter itself and a perfectly CLA'd shutter may cease to function after reinstallation in the body (this does not apply to the front-cell-focusing models, at least in my experience).
TOOLS, SUPPLIES & WORK AREA:
Note: Many of the tools and supplies needed are available from Fargo Tools at www.micro-tools.com. You may also find them or good substitutes closer to home. If you need something that you can't find elsewhere, it's a good bet that Fargo has a good one.
The tools involved in servicing a leaf shutter are pretty basic:
A set of flat jewelers' screwdrivers
A pair of sharp pointed tweezers
A sheet (maybe 6" square) of rubber, perhaps 1mm or 1/16" thick (this is used as a grip to remove the front and rear lens cells without scratching)
A roll of black photo masking tape (this can also be used as a grip as above; often it provides a stronger grasp)
A lens spanner, or a small pin-nosed plier; a needle-nose type may serve in a pinch (if you've read Tomosy's book on grinding pliers for use as spanners, this is great advice if they are carefully made and used)
Two spring tools, one for 'pushing' and the other for 'pulling'. For the first, I took a small jeweler's screwdriver and filed a notch in the tip; for the second, I usually use a very nice miniature crochet hook that I bought at a quilt show that I went to with my wife. For still smaller spaces, I use a straight pin with the tip bent into a hook, gripped in a pin vise – actually I have three of these with different sizes of bend in the tips. Spaces get quite small inside some of these shutters.
Ideally, a draftsman's ruling pen should be used to apply solvents and (where needed) lubricants. For non-draftsmen, this is an instrument that looks like a short pair of tweezers on a stick, with a small knob on one arm of the tweezers. Some people use other tools for this, but a syringe usually dispenses too much at a time and a pair of tweezers dipped in solvent is harder to control (the little knob holds the spacing of the tips for a very consistent measured drop). If you can't find the pen though, tweezers will serve.
A supply of cotton swabs (Q-Tips around my part of the world)
Most important of all: a can of cigarette lighter fluid. This is also known as petroleum naphtha, under which name it can be bought by the quart in paint supply stores; in Europe I understand it is referred to as benzine – there is some danger here, as it must not be mistaken for benzene, which is not what you want. IMPORTANT: DO NOT use any other kind of liquid solvent! There are a wide variety of solvents on the market and an equally broad array of plastics that you may encounter in or in the vicinity of a camera shutter. In some cases these are able to coexist, but you will seldom have any good way to know what plastic material you have until it has already either dissolved in or been cracked into fragments by your cleaning fluid. It's not worth the risk – Naphtha is safe with plastics, and is still a pretty good solvent.
You should have some very light oil on hand, but the most important thing here is to be disciplined in your use of it: more shutters are thrown off by an excess of lubricant than by a lack of it. A small supply of white grease is also useful in some cases.
For a workspace, a smooth table in a well lighted area is sufficient (I once repaired a shutter on the tray table of an airliner in flight, but I don't recommend it – it's embarrassing when a spring flies over the seat back into another passenger's hair). Spread a length of paper towel across the table as a work surface, and tape it down before you start.
Also, keep a pad of paper and a pencil handy, and ideally also an SLR camera with a close-focusing lens to help you document what you're doing as you go. Keep good notes and use the camera when a sketch would be too difficult or tedious. In particular, a good photo of the front of the shutter just after all the covers come off can be invaluable should a spring or other small part go flying before you took clear notice of exactly where it was.
GETTING STARTED:
The shutter we're going to deal with has a unit-focusing lens in it. If you have a front-cell-focusing lens, there's an extra step or two which I will mention here. You're going to have to remove the focusing unit, and this will require you to refocus the lens on reassembly. We'll deal with refocusing at the end, but before you start you should know that you'll need a piece of glass big enough to span the film gate, and a good SLR camera to reset the focus (some people have more sophisticated tools, but these will do the job).
The focusing ring usually carries the distance markings and the infinity stop, and is attached to the front lens cell with set screws. Remove these set screws and pull off the ring. Mark the top center of the front cell with a scribe or marking pen, and unscrew the cell. Count the turns as you go, and note the location of the mark as the cell comes free of the thread: these are important because the thread has more than one starting point, and you will want to reassemble it on the same thread that it was on before so it comes out right side up. From this point on, the shutter is like the one we're discussing. The second element is still in the shutter.
Now to the work at hand: Remove the front cell of the shutter by gripping it with either the rubber pad or a strip of masking tape and turning counterclockwise. If the shutter is not in a camera, remove the rear cell in the same way. If it is mounted in a camera, you will probably have to use a spanner wrench. It is not impossible to clean the shutter with the rear cell in place, but it's best to keep the lens surfaces clean if you can (which basically requires removal). Most lens surfaces, coated or uncoated, can be cleaned with conventional lens cleaner and tissue; however, a number of early coated lenses had inner coatings so soft that any contact with a lens tissue would visibly damage the coating. In these cases, the first spot of fluid or dirt on an inner lens surface means the end of the coating on that element. It's better to get them away from the action early.
Having placed the lens cells safely aside, you will find a threaded collar around the hole where the front cell had been. This generally has a series of notches around its edge, in one of which is either a screw head or a small disk with two spanner holes and with one side flattened. Remove the screw, or rotate the disk with your tweezer points so that the notched collar can turn. Now unscrew the collar counterclockwise, and place it next to the front cell with the screw in its center so it can't roll away.
Under the collar is the front fascia plate. This is usually attached by two screws, one on either side of the lens; in our case, however, it was secured only by the collar so it's now free to lift off. Under this plate is the shutter speed ring, which is the knurled chrome ring that you turn to set the speeds, and the shutter speed cam, an irregularly perforated disk which actually moves the levers to control the speeds (in some cases these are a single part; in our Compur, they are separate and engage each other by means of a tab and notch). Often (as in our case), the click stops for the speeds are provided by a bump on the cam engaging grooves in the back of the fascia plate. Some designs use other devices, some of which may involve small loose parts which you must watch out for. The speed cam and the back surface of the fascia plate are usually dirty and sticky – clean them well with lighter fluid on a paper towel and set them next to the retaining collar and front lens cell.
With these parts removed, we are now looking into the shutter, directly at the gears and levers. On top, though, there is still the cocking rack. This is a ring around the lens mounting thread, usually having a set of gear teeth cut into its outer edge along one side, and also having an extension coming out from it which goes out past the outer housing of the shutter and usually ends with the little knob that is gripped for cocking the shutter (in some designs, there is no handle on it as it is mechanically operated). Note that the gear rack engages a small gear which has teeth most, but not all of the way around, and also note that the number of teeth on the gear corresponds to that on the cocking rack. You will want to make sure that these are properly matched up on reassembly. The small gear is attached to the main driving spring of the shutter, which it winds by rotation of the cocking rack. Some shutters, particularly older ones and those with a slower top speed, do not have these gears: in these, there is a simple extension spring attached to the underside of the rack which serves as the main driving spring.
In either case, there is a spring running from a post on the underside of the rack to another in the shutter chassis. Leave the one end attached to the rack, but use your spring tools to remove the other end from the chassis – note the location of the anchor pin. remove the rack and spring, clean them and place them next to the speed cam. In this particular shutter, it is necessary to lift out the shutter release lever in order to reach the spring anchor. The shutter release has a small hair spring around its axis – carefully note its orientation before removing it, and place it aside next to the rack (this is not necessary in every design).
You now have access to the shutter timing gears, but there's still a bit of a trick: there are actually two gear sets which look quite similar. One is the shutter timing gears, the other controls the self-timer and the flash synch delay. The quickest way to determine which is which is to either see which gears are affected by movement of the speed cam (easily placed back on the shutter for the purpose), or to move the self timer lever and see which gears move. Having figured that out, let's go for the shutter gears first.
We have an advantage with this Compur, and I advise taking advantage of it in this case: the gearset is a module, held in by 2 screws: one through the axis of a post at one end, the other through the bottom flange of the assembly. By removing these two screws, we can lift out the whole module and dunk it in solvent. I find that a plastic 35mm film canister makes a good bathtub for this purpose. Drop the module in, fill the can about halfway up, put the lid on tight and shake it for a little while. Then take it out and set it aside with its screws to dry. Not every shutter is so accommodating, however: some are not modular and will spill individual gears if these same screws are removed, so use caution as you go. If it looks like the top plate wants to come off the timing assembly, put the screws back in before the gear shafts get dislodged or you'll have a busy evening getting it all back together. We can clean it without removing it from the shutter.
To clean the gears in place, you will want the draftsman's pen. First determine the location of the pallet – this is the little sort of pendulum that oscillates back and forth and causes the buzzing sound at slow shutter speeds. Starting with this shaft, dip the pen in lighter fluid and touch its tip to the bearing at the top of the shaft where it comes through the plate, and again at the bottom end where it goes into the bottom plate. You should see a noticeable improvement in the shutter's operation just form this – if it has been stuck midway it should immediately complete its cycle. Now go to the next shaft, the star wheel that the pallet engages, and do the same. Follow in this order, from one gear to the next. Once you're one or two shafts past the star wheel, there is probably enough spring power that a little dirt in the bearings has no effect. Repeat this process with the self-timer gearset, which works in basically the same way.
Before going on, inspect the shutter blades for signs of oil or dirt on the surface. Because there is so much surface area contact, it doesn't take much to make two blades stick together and stop the whole show. If they're not clean and dry, clean them with lighter fluid on a damp Q-Tip. Try not to let fluid wick between the blades, as it can take a long time to dry and may get into places it doesn't want to be. If the blades have anything more than a very slight residue, you really ought to remove them and clean them individually… but I think that might be better saved for another episode, as it can get complex. If you have blades wanting to stick, and you're not up to that degree of disassembly, you may fix it with a puff of fine graphite powder applied directly to the blades and worked in through operation of the shutter. This MUST be done with both lens cells out, however, and many cycles will be needed to get all the stray powder out before reassembly. The specks on the inside lens surfaces don't really do any harm, but they are VERY visible through the lens, due to the magnification of the lens elements. There may be cases in which this is the only practical solution to sticking blades, due to complexity of the shutter's construction.
Now that the shutter is clean and dry, it's time to begin reassembly. First, reinstall the timer gear module. In most cases, one of its mounting holes is oversize to allow for some adjustment of the timing by sliding the gear assembly closer to or farther from the cocking rack. Just get it in place for now, adjustment will come later.
Next reinstall the cocking rack, attaching its little return spring and making sure the mainspring gear is properly meshed. For the moment, leave the speed control ring and cam off. Holding the rack in place to keep the gears in mesh , cock and release the shutter several times. The speed you will get with the cam off is sort of a combination of one second and B: the timer will run out for a second, but the shutter won't close until you take your finger off the release lever. The one second should run smooth and clean, without hesitation. If it does, I wouldn't recommend lubrication unless this shutter expects to see heavy use. If it's going to spend most of its time on the shelf and be expected to work well when picked up later, it will suffer more from old lubricant than it will from wear.
If it does not run perfectly crisp, and you're sure everything is clean, then you will want to apply exactly two drops of oil: one to the pallet shaft, and the second to the star wheel shaft. For oil, the light shutter oil sold at Fargo is good, but I use something closer at hand: slightly modified WD-40. Before casting me into the Pit, please hear me out: if you squirt a small amount of WD-40 into a small jar (I use a 1/4 ounce model paint jar) and leave it, you will see that it settles out, becoming clear at the top and cloudy at the bottom. You don't want the sediment, but the clear stuff at the top is a very fine oil with excellent lubricating properties. By keeping this jar handy and not shaking it up, you can dip your oiler (née drafting pen) into it at the top and get just what the doctor ordered. If this makes you uncomfortable, just get some good shutter oil. The main thing is that it be very thin, as most oils will stop these little parts cold.
Everything should now be zipping along nicely. Check the self timer for smoothness, and follow the same procedure with it.
From here, it's just a matter of getting it back the way you found it. When you set the speed cam in place, rotate it back and forth through its range of travel to give the levers a chance to drop into their proper slots. If the shutter is stuck after reassembly, the most likely reason is one of these levers missing its slot and jamming under the plate. You'll also see that the speed-setting ring engages the edge of the cam via a couple of tabs and notches – it can only go one way. Once those are in, it's time for the fascia plate. If this has a set of grooves in the back for the speed detents (as it does in our case), lubricate this grooved area lightly with white grease before reinstalling the plate. Now set the fascia plate in place – it too can only go one way, as one or two pins from the shutter chassis will protrude to engage holes in the back of the plate. Don't put the retaining ring back on yet, just hold it all together with your fingers.
Check the shutter at one second, and adjust the position of the gear assembly to give a good one second time (a stopwatch should be adequate at this speed). Now check through the rest of the speeds - up to about 1/30 you can pretty much tell by ear how it's doing. If one speed sounds out of sequence, lift off the fascia plate and observe how the levers are lying in the cam slots; one of the levers is probably sticking, which either means it needs cleaning or something is dragging (possibly due to old impact damage). A shutter tester can be used to check speed accuracy at the slower speeds, but the top two will read slow because of the blade travel time. In any case, adjustment options are usually pretty limited and tend to favor the low speed end of the scale. And, unless the shutter has been tampered with, cleaning and lubrication should come pretty close to restoring its original factory adjustment.
Once everything is in adjustment and running well, replace the notched retaining ring. Note that it has a flange extending in one direction at the center hole: this flange goes to the rear. Don't overtighten the ring, it's not intended to exert force on the shutter. Once it's home and nothing is loose, go on to the next available notch and reinstall the small screw (or rotate the flattened disk so that the flat side faces outward). Check the front and rear lens cells to make sure they're clean and reinstall them in the shutter – turn them hand-tight, with just a little less force than it took to remove them.
If you expect the shutter to be used in a cold environment, you may want to chill it to check its cold weather performance: seal the assembly in a zip-lock plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on the expected use, for about 15 or 20 minutes, then recheck it (if possible, operate the shutter levers through the bag without opening it). Keep the shutter in a dry place for some time after removing it from refrigeration to make sure any condensation evaporates out of it.
If this was a unit focusing shutter, you're done! If it has a front-cell focusing lens, you still have to reinstall the front cell and refocus the camera.
First, clean the focusing threads well with lighter fluid, both on the lens cell and in the front thread in the shutter assembly (in the second element cell). Apply a thin layer of white grease to the threads. Orient the lens cell just as it was when it released from the threads on disassembly, then turn it counterclockwise a few degrees. Place it against the mating thread and turn it clockwise; if it goes too far without engaging, back up and try again until the thread engages at the proper location (remember that the female part has been unscrewed and replaced, so it could be a few degrees off). Once it's started, turn it in until it won't turn any farther.
The next step is adjusting the focus. For the most part, this method is found in Ed Romney's guide (available at www.edromney.com). It works very well. First, get a piece of glass about the size of a frame of film (probably the ideal is a glass from a slide mount; it needs to be able to rest on the film rails and between the film edge guides). Stick a strip of frosted Scotch tape to one side, and draw a vertical line in the tape with the tip of a sharp knife. Now tape this into the camera's film plane, with the frosted tape toward the lens. Set the shutter on T (or B with a locking cable release), and look in the front of the lens through the viewfinder of a good SLR camera which has a split-image screen; the SLR lens should be the normal lens, focused at infinity. With a bright light behind the repair camera, turn the front cell until the vertical line you cut in the Scotch tape appears straight and unbroken in the SLR viewfinder. Focus is now set at infinity.
Carefully to avoid rotating the front cell, set the lens bezel in place so that it is resting against its infinity stop. Secure it to the front cell with its set screws.
You're now finished and ready to go take some pictures.
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Determining Lens Transmission (also from Knoppow)
The method of measuring the transmission through the lens may work
depending on a lot of variables. If done correctly, its a very
accurate method. I wouldn't trust it under the circumstances.
Since the lens magnifies the diaphragm you can't measure it
directly, the physical size does not correspond exactly to its optical
size. An acceptably accurate way of measuring is to place a piece of
paper over the front (or rear) of the lens, in contact with the apex
of the glass if possible. Then illuminate the lens with a distant
small light source. The further away the better but for a 150mm lens
probably 20 feet is enough. Adjust the diaphragm to find the point
where it no longer reduces the size of the circle of light on the
paper. This is the maximum stop. Measure it accurately. Since you
know the speed of the lens (f/4.5) you know that this opening is equal
to that f/stop. To find other stops, devide 4.5 by the stop and
multiply the size of the opening for f/4.5 by the result. Set the
iris to this size and mark it on the stop plate.
Say the size of the hole for f/4.5 is 30mm and you want to mark
f/16. Devide 4.5 by 16 = about 0.28. Multiply 30 by 0.28 = about
8.4mm. Set the iris so the the illuminated circle on the paper is
this size and mark the stop plate "16". This will at least give you a
cross check with the existing calibrations.
Restated in another post...
The effective stop depends partly on the magnification of the stop
so is not exactly the physical size of the stop devided into the focal
length. For many lenses its not a big difference.
To measure the _effective_ size of the stop put a piece of diffusing
material over the front of the lens, a scrap of paper will do, and
illuminate the lens from behind with a small source at a distance,
ideally at infinity but a distance of several times the FL will do.
Open the diaphragm to the point where it just stops obscuring the
circle of light. That will be the maximum stop. Mark it on the f/stop
plate. The ratio between this size and the physical size calculated
from the focal length of the lens can then be applied to all other
stops to determine the physical size which corresponds to the
effective stop size. You can then calculate the rest of the stops and
adjust the stop image to that size and mark the aperture plate to
correspond. You can probably use the Symmar plate turned around with
some paint or even tape over it to mark on.
While the direct interchange of cells is a good sign you should
re-mount the cells in their original barrel and measure the spacing
carefully. This can be simply the distance from the cell rims. The
distance should be _exactly_ the same when put into the shutter. The
distance is important since it affects the corrections of the lens.
The method of measuring the transmission through the lens may work
depending on a lot of variables. If done correctly, its a very
accurate method. I wouldn't trust it under the circumstances.
Since the lens magnifies the diaphragm you can't measure it
directly, the physical size does not correspond exactly to its optical
size. An acceptably accurate way of measuring is to place a piece of
paper over the front (or rear) of the lens, in contact with the apex
of the glass if possible. Then illuminate the lens with a distant
small light source. The further away the better but for a 150mm lens
probably 20 feet is enough. Adjust the diaphragm to find the point
where it no longer reduces the size of the circle of light on the
paper. This is the maximum stop. Measure it accurately. Since you
know the speed of the lens (f/4.5) you know that this opening is equal
to that f/stop. To find other stops, devide 4.5 by the stop and
multiply the size of the opening for f/4.5 by the result. Set the
iris to this size and mark it on the stop plate.
Say the size of the hole for f/4.5 is 30mm and you want to mark
f/16. Devide 4.5 by 16 = about 0.28. Multiply 30 by 0.28 = about
8.4mm. Set the iris so the the illuminated circle on the paper is
this size and mark the stop plate "16". This will at least give you a
cross check with the existing calibrations.
Restated in another post...
The effective stop depends partly on the magnification of the stop
so is not exactly the physical size of the stop devided into the focal
length. For many lenses its not a big difference.
To measure the _effective_ size of the stop put a piece of diffusing
material over the front of the lens, a scrap of paper will do, and
illuminate the lens from behind with a small source at a distance,
ideally at infinity but a distance of several times the FL will do.
Open the diaphragm to the point where it just stops obscuring the
circle of light. That will be the maximum stop. Mark it on the f/stop
plate. The ratio between this size and the physical size calculated
from the focal length of the lens can then be applied to all other
stops to determine the physical size which corresponds to the
effective stop size. You can then calculate the rest of the stops and
adjust the stop image to that size and mark the aperture plate to
correspond. You can probably use the Symmar plate turned around with
some paint or even tape over it to mark on.
While the direct interchange of cells is a good sign you should
re-mount the cells in their original barrel and measure the spacing
carefully. This can be simply the distance from the cell rims. The
distance should be _exactly_ the same when put into the shutter. The
distance is important since it affects the corrections of the lens.
Notes on how to set the F stop scale on a shutter for a particular lens. From Richard Knoppow.
While the ratio of the focal length vs the marked stops
will be close the _effective_ aperture size is affected by
the magnification of the lens in front of it. In many cases
this is negligible but since its easy to measure the
effective stop why not do it.
This is done by placing an illuminated pin hole exactly
at the infinity focus point of the lens. A translucent
screen is placed over the front of the lens. This can be a
piece of paper. Measure the diameter of the projected circle
of light on the paper. That is the effective size of the
stop. Since you know the focal length of the lens just
devide the circle into the focal length to get the f stop.
You will have to rig some sort of scale to mark the stops.
The easiest way is to put some masking tape over the
existing scale.
To find the exact infinty focus without a very distant
object place a mirror over the front of the lens. Put a
small light source, a pen light is satisfactory, on the
ground glass, near but quite at the center. The mirror will
reflect the light back to the ground glass. Focus the image
of the light. The lens is now _exactly_ at infinty focus.
This is called autocollimating. The pen light could be used
at the exact center of the ground glass to measure the stop
diameter but the edges of the projected image will probably
be fuzzy. Better to make a pin hole in a sheet of thin
cardboard and put the pen light, or some other small light
source behind it.
The variation in actual focal length from advertized focal
length will not be significant in determining the stops.
While the ratio of the focal length vs the marked stops
will be close the _effective_ aperture size is affected by
the magnification of the lens in front of it. In many cases
this is negligible but since its easy to measure the
effective stop why not do it.
This is done by placing an illuminated pin hole exactly
at the infinity focus point of the lens. A translucent
screen is placed over the front of the lens. This can be a
piece of paper. Measure the diameter of the projected circle
of light on the paper. That is the effective size of the
stop. Since you know the focal length of the lens just
devide the circle into the focal length to get the f stop.
You will have to rig some sort of scale to mark the stops.
The easiest way is to put some masking tape over the
existing scale.
To find the exact infinty focus without a very distant
object place a mirror over the front of the lens. Put a
small light source, a pen light is satisfactory, on the
ground glass, near but quite at the center. The mirror will
reflect the light back to the ground glass. Focus the image
of the light. The lens is now _exactly_ at infinty focus.
This is called autocollimating. The pen light could be used
at the exact center of the ground glass to measure the stop
diameter but the edges of the projected image will probably
be fuzzy. Better to make a pin hole in a sheet of thin
cardboard and put the pen light, or some other small light
source behind it.
The variation in actual focal length from advertized focal
length will not be significant in determining the stops.
Notes from Richard Knoppow..
NO! NOT ACETONE! Acetone is a rather non-selective solvent which attacks all sorts of plastics and paint. It will take the anti- reflection paint off the inside surfaces of the shutter and may do other damage.
Lighter fluid is Naptha, which is safe for most stuff used in shutters. Trichlor was the best but is not available. Very pure Isopropyl alcohol can also be used but will leave a residue if not so pure.
Another solvent to absolutely avoid is MEK which will dissolve rubber. Clean an old large size Ilex shutter in MEK and you will have no shutter or diaphragm blades left.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000
From: Marv Soloff msoloff@worldnet.att.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Shutter Cleaning
LoveThePenguin wrote:
> Is there an on-line source for information about
> Cleaning a LF shutter (specifically Rapax)?
> Thanks
> Collin
Just for the halibut, and before this thread gets out of hand, both Thomas Tomosy and Joe Lippincott recommend removing both lenses (using a rubber stopper of adequate width - no wrenches of any kind) and injecting a quantity of common lighter fluid (I happen to use Zippo brand) into the shutter. Work the shutter at all speeds, re-inject the lighter fluid as needed. Air dry and reassemble the lenses. That should clean it out thoroughly. It is necessary to remove the lenses because lighter fluid MAY attack the coatings. I have used this method to clean many sticky or dirty Graflex shutters.
This is not for the novice and your results may vary. A competant camera repair shop generally charges $100 for a shutter CLA - you may want to go that route.
Regards,
Marv
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Shutter Cleaning
LoveThePenguin dpcwilbur@my-deja.com wrote:
>Is there an on-line source for information about
>Cleaning a LF shutter (specifically Rapax)?
>Thanks
>Collin
>
>--
>***
>
I am unaware of any on-line material on Rapax or other shutters. The Rapax is a very good shutter made by Wollensak. Generally shutters can be cleaned with minimal disassembly by using naptha (Ronsonol or similar) and canned air. I used to recommend 1,1,1, Trichloroethane but its no longer available. Ronsonol lighter fluid seems to be pure enough not to leave a residue and won't attack most plastics or paints.
It should be blown out of the shutter with canned or other compressed air.
Where some lubrication is necessary a very light oil can be used in tiny amounts. Watch oil is ideal but Nyoil or the very light LeBell oil available from model railroad shops works well. Often, if shutters are really clean they will run dry.
Sometimes, if a shutter is simply sticking at low speeds a touch of solvent on the retarder gear train will unstick it.
A proper CLA is better but often such makeshifts work very well.
The Rapax shutter, also sold as the Graphex shutter by Graflex, is rather complex inside, if you get into it be careful of stuff popping out.
I thought I had seen a reprinted factory repair manual for Rapax but couldn't find one in a web search and don't myself have one.
A Calumet shutter tester is a necessity IMHO for anyone using older shutters (most LF folks). They are about $80 US and a bargain. Very easy to use and will measure anything from 35mm focal plane shutters to #5 Ilex Universals. They will also measure effective strobe time over a rather wide range. They are about the size of an exposure meter and run on a 9V battery.
Since many older shutters have weak springs they run slow at the higher speeds. Provided the speed is consistent it doesn't matter too much as long as you know what it is, hense my recommendation.
NO! NOT ACETONE! Acetone is a rather non-selective solvent which attacks all sorts of plastics and paint. It will take the anti- reflection paint off the inside surfaces of the shutter and may do other damage.
Lighter fluid is Naptha, which is safe for most stuff used in shutters. Trichlor was the best but is not available. Very pure Isopropyl alcohol can also be used but will leave a residue if not so pure.
Another solvent to absolutely avoid is MEK which will dissolve rubber. Clean an old large size Ilex shutter in MEK and you will have no shutter or diaphragm blades left.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000
From: Marv Soloff msoloff@worldnet.att.net
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Shutter Cleaning
LoveThePenguin wrote:
> Is there an on-line source for information about
> Cleaning a LF shutter (specifically Rapax)?
> Thanks
> Collin
Just for the halibut, and before this thread gets out of hand, both Thomas Tomosy and Joe Lippincott recommend removing both lenses (using a rubber stopper of adequate width - no wrenches of any kind) and injecting a quantity of common lighter fluid (I happen to use Zippo brand) into the shutter. Work the shutter at all speeds, re-inject the lighter fluid as needed. Air dry and reassemble the lenses. That should clean it out thoroughly. It is necessary to remove the lenses because lighter fluid MAY attack the coatings. I have used this method to clean many sticky or dirty Graflex shutters.
This is not for the novice and your results may vary. A competant camera repair shop generally charges $100 for a shutter CLA - you may want to go that route.
Regards,
Marv
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000
From: dickburk@ix.netcom.com (Richard Knoppow)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Subject: Re: Shutter Cleaning
LoveThePenguin dpcwilbur@my-deja.com wrote:
>Is there an on-line source for information about
>Cleaning a LF shutter (specifically Rapax)?
>Thanks
>Collin
>
>--
>***
>
I am unaware of any on-line material on Rapax or other shutters. The Rapax is a very good shutter made by Wollensak. Generally shutters can be cleaned with minimal disassembly by using naptha (Ronsonol or similar) and canned air. I used to recommend 1,1,1, Trichloroethane but its no longer available. Ronsonol lighter fluid seems to be pure enough not to leave a residue and won't attack most plastics or paints.
It should be blown out of the shutter with canned or other compressed air.
Where some lubrication is necessary a very light oil can be used in tiny amounts. Watch oil is ideal but Nyoil or the very light LeBell oil available from model railroad shops works well. Often, if shutters are really clean they will run dry.
Sometimes, if a shutter is simply sticking at low speeds a touch of solvent on the retarder gear train will unstick it.
A proper CLA is better but often such makeshifts work very well.
The Rapax shutter, also sold as the Graphex shutter by Graflex, is rather complex inside, if you get into it be careful of stuff popping out.
I thought I had seen a reprinted factory repair manual for Rapax but couldn't find one in a web search and don't myself have one.
A Calumet shutter tester is a necessity IMHO for anyone using older shutters (most LF folks). They are about $80 US and a bargain. Very easy to use and will measure anything from 35mm focal plane shutters to #5 Ilex Universals. They will also measure effective strobe time over a rather wide range. They are about the size of an exposure meter and run on a 9V battery.
Since many older shutters have weak springs they run slow at the higher speeds. Provided the speed is consistent it doesn't matter too much as long as you know what it is, hense my recommendation.
Friday, June 20, 2003
Lubricants -- Oils and Grease
Local watchmaker supply shop stocks Moebius and others...
TMP Company
12549 Lake City Way NE • SEATTLE, WA 98101
PO BOX 25779 SEATTLE, WA 98125
SyntaViscoLube- Designed for slower moving units and larger watch movements. Ideal for lubricating the pivots of staffs, oscillating weights and other parts of automatic watches. Excellent to minus 68 F 2 ml OL420219 $18.05
KT-22 Lubricant Applicator Preloaded with KT-22 Microlubricant OL420325 $4.25
http://www.theclockman.com/lube.html
The clock man
Recommends using a heavier oil, such as Moebius 8141.
Local watchmaker supply shop stocks Moebius and others...
TMP Company
12549 Lake City Way NE • SEATTLE, WA 98101
PO BOX 25779 SEATTLE, WA 98125
SyntaViscoLube- Designed for slower moving units and larger watch movements. Ideal for lubricating the pivots of staffs, oscillating weights and other parts of automatic watches. Excellent to minus 68 F 2 ml OL420219 $18.05
KT-22 Lubricant Applicator Preloaded with KT-22 Microlubricant OL420325 $4.25
http://www.theclockman.com/lube.html
The clock man
Recommends using a heavier oil, such as Moebius 8141.
Notes on Cleaning Fishing Reels
http://www.antiquefishingreels.info/cleaning.htm
Useful because he sets out a soaking method for really dirty units.
1. Disassemble reel completely and soak parts in mineral spirits for 30 min. to remove grease.
2. Soak or sonicate parts (as needed) in vinegar to remove verdigris, found mostly on the foot and spool.
3. Rinse with water, then sonicate parts for 30 min. in non-ammoniated watch-cleaning solution, followed by a brief sonication in the appropriate non-ammoniated rinse.
4. Rinse with water and dry parts.
5. Using a fine polish, such as Wenol, lightly polish the metal parts by hand.
6. Apply a few drops of silicone reel oil to the hard rubber parts, spread by hand, and allow to soak into the rubber for an hour or two. The oil tends to darken the rubber. Polishing the hard rubber may obliterate any light stampings or will make deeper stampings less "crisp." Wipe off the excess oil with a soft cloth.
7. Apply silicone grease or oil to the moving parts as needed and reassemble the reel.
http://www.antiquefishingreels.info/cleaning.htm
Useful because he sets out a soaking method for really dirty units.
1. Disassemble reel completely and soak parts in mineral spirits for 30 min. to remove grease.
2. Soak or sonicate parts (as needed) in vinegar to remove verdigris, found mostly on the foot and spool.
3. Rinse with water, then sonicate parts for 30 min. in non-ammoniated watch-cleaning solution, followed by a brief sonication in the appropriate non-ammoniated rinse.
4. Rinse with water and dry parts.
5. Using a fine polish, such as Wenol, lightly polish the metal parts by hand.
6. Apply a few drops of silicone reel oil to the hard rubber parts, spread by hand, and allow to soak into the rubber for an hour or two. The oil tends to darken the rubber. Polishing the hard rubber may obliterate any light stampings or will make deeper stampings less "crisp." Wipe off the excess oil with a soft cloth.
7. Apply silicone grease or oil to the moving parts as needed and reassemble the reel.
Disassembly, Cleaning, Assembly, and Oiling
Notes on how to clean a pocket watch.
http://collomconsulting.home.att.net/assembly.htm
If you have a ultrasonic watch cleaner, that is the way to go. Since I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner (yet) we will discuss cleaning by hand.
To hand clean the watch parts you will need seven canning jars with a wide mouth. These can be obtained at the larger grocery stores and hardware stores. I use half pint jars. Note that a canning jar has a lid and separate thread ring. I take off all the threaded rings and leave the lids on so that my cleaning solutions don't evaporate. Following is the set up for the jars and their cleaning solutions.
First Jar: Commercial watch cleaning solution
Second Jar: Denatured Alcohol
Third Jar: Ammonia, distilled water and tincture of green soap.
A one gallon mixture is 28 ounces ammonia, 3 ounces tincture of green soap, and the remainder distilled water.
Fourth Jar: Tap water.
Fifth Jar: Distilled water.
Sixth Jar: Denatured alcohol.
Seventh Jar: Denatured alcohol.
Do not hold the watch parts in jars one or three longer than about 20 seconds to avoid having the shellac that hold the jewels in dissolve.
The larger parts such as the bridges and pillar plate can be strung on a wire and dunked into the solutions. The parts should be scrubbed gently with an acid brush after leaving jars one and three. The watch train may also be strung on a small wire and dunked. The smaller parts should be placed in a kitchen strainer and dunked into the solutions. Note that the ammonia mixture will brighten the parts. The alcohol is used to dry the parts and remove any remaining water.
The balance wheel, escapement wheel, and pallet should be dunked in a solution called "One Step" for just a few seconds. One Step can be purchased at supply houses.
After the parts are cleaned you will need to "peg" the hole jewels in their setting with peg wood. You should get 2mm peg wood and sharpen it to a point. Peg wood is also good for holding the click open and holding bridges down while you set the screws. Peg wood can be obtained from a supply house. You can also use a toothpick to clean the hole jewels. Which ever you use, simply twist the wood in the hole jewels to removing any remaining caked-on oil. The older oils used on antique watches would often turn hard and can be difficult to remove. You may also want to buff the jewels on a lint free towel.
Oiling Bearing Points
Now oil each hole jewel with Moebius 9010 oil. Make certain that the oil contacts the cap jewel. Not enough oil is better than too much. One or two small drops is good enough. The oil should be placed with an automatic oiler or a black spade tip oiler.
Grease for gears and worms
Now you can place some KT-22 grease on the square shaft of the stem, then assemble the clutch wheel and winding pinion on the stem. Put some KT-22 on the gears. Put a little KT-22 on the clutch lever wear it contacts the clutch.
Notes on how to clean a pocket watch.
http://collomconsulting.home.att.net/assembly.htm
If you have a ultrasonic watch cleaner, that is the way to go. Since I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner (yet) we will discuss cleaning by hand.
To hand clean the watch parts you will need seven canning jars with a wide mouth. These can be obtained at the larger grocery stores and hardware stores. I use half pint jars. Note that a canning jar has a lid and separate thread ring. I take off all the threaded rings and leave the lids on so that my cleaning solutions don't evaporate. Following is the set up for the jars and their cleaning solutions.
First Jar: Commercial watch cleaning solution
Second Jar: Denatured Alcohol
Third Jar: Ammonia, distilled water and tincture of green soap.
A one gallon mixture is 28 ounces ammonia, 3 ounces tincture of green soap, and the remainder distilled water.
Fourth Jar: Tap water.
Fifth Jar: Distilled water.
Sixth Jar: Denatured alcohol.
Seventh Jar: Denatured alcohol.
Do not hold the watch parts in jars one or three longer than about 20 seconds to avoid having the shellac that hold the jewels in dissolve.
The larger parts such as the bridges and pillar plate can be strung on a wire and dunked into the solutions. The parts should be scrubbed gently with an acid brush after leaving jars one and three. The watch train may also be strung on a small wire and dunked. The smaller parts should be placed in a kitchen strainer and dunked into the solutions. Note that the ammonia mixture will brighten the parts. The alcohol is used to dry the parts and remove any remaining water.
The balance wheel, escapement wheel, and pallet should be dunked in a solution called "One Step" for just a few seconds. One Step can be purchased at supply houses.
After the parts are cleaned you will need to "peg" the hole jewels in their setting with peg wood. You should get 2mm peg wood and sharpen it to a point. Peg wood is also good for holding the click open and holding bridges down while you set the screws. Peg wood can be obtained from a supply house. You can also use a toothpick to clean the hole jewels. Which ever you use, simply twist the wood in the hole jewels to removing any remaining caked-on oil. The older oils used on antique watches would often turn hard and can be difficult to remove. You may also want to buff the jewels on a lint free towel.
Oiling Bearing Points
Now oil each hole jewel with Moebius 9010 oil. Make certain that the oil contacts the cap jewel. Not enough oil is better than too much. One or two small drops is good enough. The oil should be placed with an automatic oiler or a black spade tip oiler.
Grease for gears and worms
Now you can place some KT-22 grease on the square shaft of the stem, then assemble the clutch wheel and winding pinion on the stem. Put some KT-22 on the gears. Put a little KT-22 on the clutch lever wear it contacts the clutch.
