Zorki vs FED take-up spool

[Whateverist]

I've decided to replace the take-up spool on my Zorki-1 as it no longer kept the film on properly. I got a FED spool off eBay, since I remember reading that the Zorki takes that type and it was the cheapest metal one, but I'm now seeing it's *far* tighter than the original Zorki spool. The original just drops into the camera and drops back out - there's a good few millimetres clearance - but the threaded top of the new spool is barely wider than the spindle it's sitting on so I'd need to put quite some pressure on it to make it fit. Could it be that I just have an incompatible spool? Or is it supposed to be a tight fit?

 

[fanshaw]

The take-up spindles on the Feds are of a completely different design to those on the Zorkis. The spindle on the Fed is short and the spool is a push fit, whereas the Zorki spindle is longer and narrower and the spool has an internal projection that fits onto the spindle.

 

[Whateverist]

Darnit. The spool looked identical on the photos, and in person the only difference I can see is that the FED one has a narrower top - everything else is identical, it even has the two little bolt-things on the inside. It would have worked perfectly if it'd been a millimetre wider.

 

[payasam]

If the problem with the old spool is looseness, you might try to make its fit tighter.

 

[Whateverist]

If the problem with the old spool is looseness, you might try to make its fit tighter.

The problem with the old spool is that it doesn't have the little hook that holds the film's sprocket, it's just a metal plate that keeps the film in place through pressure. But that has gotten loose, so it's pretty much useless now. I wouldn't know how to make the fit tighter; I thought about gluing some thin paper underneath the plate but the idea of glue and loose parts in the gear mechanism is not a happy one.

 

[MartinP]

The temporary answer could be sticky tape. The more permanent one could be some tiny self-tap screws and bending the metal spring, or some solder and bending the spring - depending on if you have a plastic or brass spool respectively

 

[payasam]

Sticky tape is one solution, as Martin P says. Another is to shove under the spring, together with the leader, a small piece of film (or thin card). You'll need to be careful while rewinding.

 

[Frontman]

I remember when I got my first Zorki that it didn't come with a spool. I had been looking forward to using it, and was too impatient to buy one online and have it shipped from Russia. I ended up buying a spool for a Barnack Leica, which fit and worked perfectly. It's interesting to have a $40 camera with a $100 film spool in it, but at least I now have a backup spool for my IIIA if I ever lose it.

A trick you might try to make your film stick into the spool is simply folding over a few millimeters of film at the end. This will double the thickness, and should work. If it's still too lose, fold it once more.