Leica LTM Take-up spool question

[Mr_Flibble]

Just received my "inoperative" Leica I from KEH. I bought this camera with a CLA by a reputable repairer in mind, but the shutter appears to be working fine at all speeds.

The only thing I can find that could possibly be the "inoperative" bit is the take-up spool. There is some friction between the spindle and the spool, but not so much as with my other Leica cameras. I can turn it by hand in both directions with little force.

I've tried applying a bit of tape to the inside of the spool, this made it difficult to insert and extract, but there still was the low amount of friction as before. This leads me to assume the thick part of the spindle that engages spool is not doing what it should be. Could it not be tight enough on the core of the spindle?

I've inserted a roll of film now, made sure the teeth of the sprockets engage the film. I take it the sprockets actually pull the film from the canister instead of the take-up spool. Will it be fine or will I have a potential frame-spacing or film unwinding problem?

 

[B.J.Scharp]

Have you tried swapping out the spool for one from a functional camera? (Assuming of course you have another LTM or a spare spool lying around).

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I have tried a take-up spool from a Leica IIIc and a Zorki I, but both of those gave the same result; low resistance to turning.

 

[lacavol]

Try this it may help ... http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/screw_mount_leicas.pdf

If I knew the book, I would recommend it.

 

[Vickko]

The teeth of the sprocket wheel advances the film and the spool takes up the film. But, the spool has to have a small amount of slippage, because as you wind more film on the spool, it rotates less.

So - there has to be "enough" friction between the spool center and the spool takeup shaft.



...Vick

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Looking at the link, I'm starting to think the slip spring is the problem. So as long as the spool does not unwind the film I guess It'll be fine.

Thanks for the help. I'll show some results when I finish the roll of film.

 

[john neal]

Rick,

What Vick said - don't worry too much, unless the slip spring is completely shot you will be OK. If it has gone, you may be in for a new shaft from DAG

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I think I've finally discovered what is wrong with this particular Leica I.
After finishing the roll today, I inserted a white card and checked the curtain gap on all speeds. Turns out at 1/500th the shutter is capping. All others still appear to be fine.
Luckily for me I shot most of the frames of the roll of Kodacolor 200 at 1/200th or slower.

Unless I can fix this easily myself, which I sincerely doubt, Will van Manen will be getting a phone call soon 😉

 

[john neal]

Rick,

It should be easy on a model 1 - you really only have the curtain tension to play with, providing the 2nd curtain cam release is working OK - no tricky 1/1000th cam to set like the IIIc.

 

[Dez]

Leica A shutter

Leica A shutter

Before you adjust the shutter tension, remove the shutter speed dial, and then just unscrew the dome over the shutter mechanism. Access to these parts is dead easy in a Leica A. This kind of problem can often be cured by cleaning the shutter control mechanism with something like mineral spirits, and then putting a small amount of oil between the parts that rotate with the first and second curtain (that's a terrible explanation, but I don't know the correct names).

Hold the camera upside down and thoroughly clean the exposed mechanism with a small paintbrush and the solvent. It is usually unbelieveably cruddy in there, and you may wonder how the shutter managed to work at all. I actually use rinsing solution intended for an ultrasonic watch cleaner, as it is the gentlest solvent I can find. Whatever solvent you use, test it on the paint first to make sure you don't do something horrible. Hold it upside down over a bowl of the stuff so it does not drip into the inner workings, and make sure the solvent is completely dried up before you decide the problem is fixed. This treatment will generally fix inconsistencies in shutter operation, and I would suggest you always do this before adjusting the tension.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Mr_Flibble]

This type of Leica is still new to me, I've been inside IIs and IIIs before (and a few FSUs).
Actually sounds pretty easy to clean. I've already seen that there's plenty of dirt under the winding knob.

Thanks I'll give it a go.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

It wasn't too dirty in there,
I cleaned the dirt away, then gave it a drop of naphtha,
When it is evaporated I'll give it a drop of watchmaker's oil.

I've stuck a piece of white card in the film plane. At all speeds below 1/500th I can see it...but top speed might be too fast for my eyes...I need to take it out of the shell and hold it up against a light source to test it properly

 

[john neal]

Rick,

Put some bold black lines diagonally across your card - it makes seeing the shutter action much easier (aim for alternate 3mm black / white diagonals, or something similar) and use a strong light to help viewing.

I was amazed at how well you can see and judge the evenness of the shutter with this method. Not quite as good as looking at a CRT through the curtains, but you don't have to take the body off.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Thanks for the tip John. Should be easily done with a marker.

I also took the opportunity to level out the horizon in my SBOOI bright-line finder while I had all the tools at hand.

 

[johannielscom]

pix please! 😉

pix please! 😉

Hi Rick,

I was waiting for some pics of that 'new-to-you' camera, can we have some?🙄

Did you pick that up in Doesburg at the Photographica Fair?

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Hey Johan, there's 2 shots of the camera in the "Show your Leica I/II/III" topic
I bought it off KEH a week before the Photographica Fair. I did buy the SBOOI and an 1950s Agfa Box camera at the Fair though. Shame you couldn't make it.

John, I owe you another 'thank you'. That trick with the white paper with diagonal lines (in my case red marker) works really well. It told me that there was indeed a gap between the curtains at 1/500th of a second. So I guess I still haven't found the "Inoperative" part of the camera.

Heh, maybe I got a bum deal: "You sold this one as inoperative and it works, you complete Bar Stewards!" 😀

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Said I'd post some images taken with this camera, here's a couple taken with the Summitar attached:

Kodacolor 200, mainly scanned with the Ilford XP2 settings in Vuescan..

 

[john neal]

Rick,

It looks like a keeper 😉

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Looking at the negatives, they're a little under-exposed, but that's probably down to my questionable skills with Sunny f/16.