Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
I just bought a Fed C, one from 1941 with the 1000th shutter speed, on everybody's favourite auction site. 
It comes with the f 2.0 Summar clone, which seems to be in great shape. The seller tells me that one of the curtains is dried out, which usually means pinholes. I would like to fix this camera up and use it.
Assuming my occasionally-tried-and-sometimes-true pinhole filling method using black acrylic pigment does not work for this shutter, I will need to replace the curtain, or easier the whole set of shutter drum and rollers. I'm sure I can dig up an old Fed 1 parts camera for very little money, but does anybody know if the shutter parts are interchangeable into this older camera? I would prefer to cannibalize a dirt cheap post war camera rather than an older one that would be worth the effort of restoration itself.
Was there anything actually different about the shutter in this camera other than another slot in the cam and a bit more effort put into the adjustment of the tensions to make the 1000th speed work properly?
Cheers,
Dez
It comes with the f 2.0 Summar clone, which seems to be in great shape. The seller tells me that one of the curtains is dried out, which usually means pinholes. I would like to fix this camera up and use it.Assuming my occasionally-tried-and-sometimes-true pinhole filling method using black acrylic pigment does not work for this shutter, I will need to replace the curtain, or easier the whole set of shutter drum and rollers. I'm sure I can dig up an old Fed 1 parts camera for very little money, but does anybody know if the shutter parts are interchangeable into this older camera? I would prefer to cannibalize a dirt cheap post war camera rather than an older one that would be worth the effort of restoration itself.
Was there anything actually different about the shutter in this camera other than another slot in the cam and a bit more effort put into the adjustment of the tensions to make the 1000th speed work properly?
Cheers,
Dez
Frontman
Well-known
I've done the curtain replacement job myself on a Zorki 1 and Leica III, and it's not really that difficult of a job if you are careful. You can re-use the old drums/rollers, and simply replace the curtains themselves with a light-tight ribbon or cloth. I bought a set of pre-made curtains, with the laths and ribbons attached on the auctions site for cheap, and they've worked perfectly. You just need to make sure that your new curtains (and ribbons) are cut to the exact same length as your old curtains, and glue the ends of the curtains to the same location on the drums/rollers. I paid about $11 for the curtain assemblies on the auction site, which included shipping. Surprisingly enough, shipping was very fast, and they arrived within 5 days.
wolves3012
Veteran
The shutter is actually not really different. I've re-curtained an NKVD recently and noticed that the slot for 1/1000 is actually there, just the selector arm shape that prevents it being used (it could be modified easily with a file!).
It would be easier to make or buy ready-made curtains than try to butcher another model for them. Personally I'd go for making them yourself since the ready-made ones have crimped laths and the originals are sewn. It's a bit tedious but not too hard to do.
The absolutley crucial part is to mark the curtain drum and the two large drums that the tapes are attached to and to measure the old curtains/tapes VERY carefully. Provided you make the new curtains identical and fit them to the marks carefully it'll all work out. The curtain/tapes that go onto the smaller rollers are not as critical and their positions do not need to be marked. The other fun part is to get the restrictor gear set correctly but hey...
Jay Javier's site has excellent instructions (look up one of his posts for a link, I can't remember it, he's on here as ZorkiKat)
It would be easier to make or buy ready-made curtains than try to butcher another model for them. Personally I'd go for making them yourself since the ready-made ones have crimped laths and the originals are sewn. It's a bit tedious but not too hard to do.
The absolutley crucial part is to mark the curtain drum and the two large drums that the tapes are attached to and to measure the old curtains/tapes VERY carefully. Provided you make the new curtains identical and fit them to the marks carefully it'll all work out. The curtain/tapes that go onto the smaller rollers are not as critical and their positions do not need to be marked. The other fun part is to get the restrictor gear set correctly but hey...
Jay Javier's site has excellent instructions (look up one of his posts for a link, I can't remember it, he's on here as ZorkiKat)
fanshaw
Well-known
Wolves, do you know of a curtain material supplier? What do you use for tapes?
wolves3012
Veteran
I went halves with a supply that John Neal (on here) got. I think it came from Aki Asahi (spelling??) and it was the double-silk material. A "pack" included a very thin, strong shutter tape so I didn't have to cut it from curtain material. I was very impressed by the cloth and the tape. I was a bit wary of using the tape since it really doesn't look up to the job but it's deceiving. There's probably enough cloth for about 5, maybe 6, shutters but the tape won't do as many.
fanshaw
Well-known
Thanks, Wolves. It is Aki-Asahi. He used to sell on Ebay, I remember, but not at the moment. He sells direct from his Web site http://www.aki-asahi.com/, in case anyone else is interested.
Frontman
Well-known
I used these curtains from this supplier. They are of good quality, and were easy to install. I've used the camera quite a bit since installing these curtains, and have had no problems with them. Shipping took less than one week.
http://cgi.ebay.com/The-set-of-curt...ViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item2ea9379743
http://cgi.ebay.com/The-set-of-curt...ViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item2ea9379743
fanshaw
Well-known
Thanks for this. I tried to buy the material from Aki-Asahi, but paying for it seems to be a problem. I have bought a couple of sets from this Ebay seller instead. The price is very reasonable