Anyone CLA or repair a FED 4?

[paul beard]

My quest for a reliable FSU rangefinder continues. I seem to attract junk like a magnet. The latest one is a Fed 4 and was slated to be a parts donor but might end up as a daily driver, if I can get into it and see how bad things are. It is missing a couple of things but nothing unsurmountable -- yet.

I have the top almost off but that funky rewind disc/wheel remains. Not sure how to get around it.

I also have a Fed 2 that seemed OK but the shutter speeds were all off (all the same and I never worked out what they were) and it seemed not to actually open and close the shutter reliably, once I loaded it (I thought I checked it?). :bang:

Once I got into it, the shutter and winder conspired against me and the shutter curtains came apart as I tried to figure out what else was wrong. Anyone want a basket case?

Before that, I got a Fed 5C and the RF glass was clouded. I salvaged the RF block from the 2, once it fell to bits, but I'm not sure how reliable it is. I think I %&*ed up the winder when I re-assembled it (I lost the gear that drives the frame counter and that makes the winder very loose and sloppy).

A reliable 2 or 3 would suit me fine, but maybe Feds are not for me.

 

[gb hill]

You shouldn't of taken it apart. especially the Fed 2. If you take off the back & look at the bottom of the camera you would of seen two screws. You could of adjusted the tension, which in turn affects the shutter speeds & you would of had a good camera. There is a sticky at top of page that showed you how to do this. It's very easy to do.

 

[januaryman]

Try Fedka.com - the repairs are done in NY and I've used them before.

 

[paul beard]

well, I have a 5 that I finally put back together properly. The 2's problems were deeper than I alluded to above. The shutter was waiting to fall apart, as best I can tell. The 4 is better in some ways than I hoped but the slow speeds don't work at all. I just left a query in the repair area looking for one or offering the 2 and 4 as donors if anyone needs anything.

 

[gb hill]

Glad you got one going Paul now you need to join the international Commie Camera day 2009 flickr group if you haven't already done so.
http://www.flickr.com/groups_members.gne?id=1060189@N22

 

[paul beard]

Glad you got one going Paul now you need to join the international Commie Camera day 2009 flickr group if you haven't already done so.
http://www.flickr.com/groups_members.gne?id=1060189@N22

I'll be there.