Fed 3 take apart question.

[davelrods]

I have a whole bunch of Russian cameras on the way. I have six of them in hand right now and I can't tell you how pleased I am with them. The condition is spectacular and the over all beauty of these old pieces is nothing short of a thrill, given the range of prices I'm paying. I have a Fed 1 in my hand here with the lens collapsed and it is almost like a modern point and shoot camera in size but the precision and just plain mechanical loveliness is astounding.

First mistake, though. I got one with a fairly badly bent accessory shoe and I decided to remove it to straighten it only to have the plate inside the top cover that the screws thread into drop into the abyss. I've been reading about removing the top cover and have a proper set of screw drivers and am ready to get started in a nice big plastic cake pan with a piece of masking tape sticky side up to put screws on so I don't lose track of them.

First try is a failure. I got the screw out of the winder knob but the knob won't budge. How do you get that knob off. Close as I can tell, all I need to do is get all the knobs off then take out the screws holding the top cover in place and I can lift if off and get the plate for the accessory screw back in place and put it all back together.

There doesn't seem to be anything here on a Fed 3 and even with a model designation you are still into different versions. Here are two pictures of the top cover and the knob:

You can see the screw, which I completely removed but the knob still won't budge. What do I need to do next.

 

[xayraa33]

did you try turning the knob ccw while holding the take up spool shaft?

 

[davelrods]

Got it

Got it

Yes'm it was tight but it came loose. I got the top cover off after a lot of careful prying and pushing and pulling and found the triangle threaded plate which I returned to its position and reattached the accessory shoe, then reassembled the whole works and everything seems fine. The rangefinder seems pretty close. I'll have to shoot a roll of film to check for shutter speed and exposure. Gosh these are wonderful little cameras.

dave

 

[xayraa33]

that is good to know you got that knob off.

 

[paul beard]

I just got one of these myself and was able, with some perseverance and bad language, to get the top off. Someone had salvaged the shoe and dropped the triangular bit in mine as well.

I got this one in trade for some film, and it's heartbreaking how clean but non-functional it is. Looks like the shutter fabric is coming off the various spools and the shutter itself doesn't actually cock and trip. I was kinda hoping to merge it with some of the FED 2 and FED 4 innards and end up with a daily driver. I did get an Industar 26M with a non-removable yellow-filter, so it wasn't a dead loss. It does look like it's been used as a donor: the bar that serves as a spring for the shutter was gone, as were the screws and the little plate they screw into. One of the retaining plates that hold the lens mount was gone.

I think I have to find a way to get it working, rather than make it a donor, as it has the brightest finder I have seen in any of the other FSU cameras I have, the body is super clean, and it has strap lugs(!). Hoping to fix this without a complete teardown as I fear I'll never get it together again. Tempted to send the whole box of stuff, from the 2 and 3, off to one of the craftsmen who still works on these, but I'd like to see if I can get somewhere with it on my own.