Fixing The Wobbly Lens
(2) the helicoid holder is ok, not wobbly.
(1) the wobbly is the shutter assembly with the front
lens goup, which sits inside the helicoid holder.
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© refinder 04/09/2006 |
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don't really know what the problem was. had to investigate.
guess it's either where the helicoid holder is attached to the
lens board, or where the shutter assembly is attached to the helicoid.
didn't really suspect the 4 screws holding the lens board to
the camera body. winding film and thereby cocking the shutter,
releasing the shutter by pressing the shutter release button,
turning the hard to turn shutter speed ring and the aperture
ring all exert some force on the lens, or on the shutter
assembly part of the lens to be exact, so the shutter nut was most
suspected.
so i decided to take the lens board off to gain access from the
back. this will allow me to clean the aperture blades, and also
the shutter blades from the back, as a bonus. |
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after the top and bottom plates were removed, i peeled back the
leatherette to reveal the 4 lens board screws.
it was rather easy to peel. the leatherette was not britle at all,
and the glue did allow easy peeling. i first wetted the edges and
the surface of the leatherette with rubbing alcohol, then lifted
the sharp corners at
the lens barrel with an exacto knife, and peeled only enough to
gain access to the screws and the window in the lens board. |
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before removing the 4 screws. i unhooked this spring first. there
is a metal plate cover for the window in the lens board, which got
stuck on the leatherette, i just left it there. |
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after the 4 screws were removed, i tried to lift the board from its
bottom side,
knowing that there would be wires connecting from the top.
the old glue had turned into rubber bands, i had to cut them off with
an exacto knife along the gaps on both sides.
with the board off, the light shield, (1), was removed from the helicoid
by loosening 3 screws on the helicoid, then screw (2) was loosened to
free this little hook a bit, (3), so to gain enough loose wires for
convenience. |
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from the back side of the board, the light Shield sponge can be seen.
as a plastic piece, it just sits in place with a tight fit, with
nothing holding it down, and was easily removed. the foam on it had
disintegrated and turned sticky. |
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with the light shield sponge removed, the rear lens group was exposed.
it was pretty tight, as the front lens group was, and it is even easier
to cratch the lens here than with the front lens group. the threads are
normal RH'ed, turn CCW to
screw it off. |
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now the the rear lens group was removed, the shutter nut was in view.
i pushed it with a toothpick, and it was free turning. so
that's why the lens was wobbly.
i tightened it, and checked to see whether that actually corrected
the problem. sure enough, the lens barrel felt solid now. |
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although there was still a rather small wobble, but it was not a wobble
of the shutter assembly, (1), relative to the lens board, but rather the
helicoid holder, (2), relative to the lens board.
my conclusion was, this must be due to the fit of the helicoid itself,
and there was nothing i could do, except perhaps taking the helicoid
apart, cleaning out all the old grease, and re-grease it.
but as a newbie's first try on camera repair, this was quite enough.
i'd like to get the camera back in good working condition and enjoy
shooting for awhile, and try re-greasing the helicoid later. |