Planning on open surgery on a rangefinder

Compaq

Compaq

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In my attempt to better understand how a rangefinder works, I'm planning on getting some inexpensive camera and just open it. I don't want to be going in completely blind, so is there something I could to in order to better prepare myself for the "dark side of the rangefinder"?

Also, maybe some rangefinders are easier to understand than others, or somehow "better" for a beginner to tear apart.

Oh, and one more thing. How should I structure this whole project? My goal is to better understand how it works, so I won't be tearing it apart and just throwing stuff in the thrash. I'd like to turn some switches, focus and stuff just to see what moves and how.

And, maybe the most important question of them all: what tools do I need? 🙂

Thanks for looking and commenting! 😀
 
Why don't you just look at your profile picture? LOL

From my experience, the Polaroid Pathfinder cameras (like the 150, 160, 800, and 900, etc) are pretty cheap (except for the 110A and 110B) and the single-window ones like the 900 should give you what you're looking for. They are big, protected by an easily removed plastic cover, and are easy to modify and mess with. Not sure how many you'll find in Norway though.
 
Screws strip easily. Don't for anything. Use chemical solvents to help loosen screws before going with force. Get quality screwdrivers that match the screw sizes you're dealing with.

Screws bounce when dropped and then disappear to the place lost socks go; work in a space where you won't drop and lose screws. Same thing with small springs.

If the disassembly is non-trivial, reassembly may be worse. Photograph your process as you do and have a workspace where you can take your time, lay out parts in an organized way, etc.

Be careful with mirrors. They can be damaged easily.

Know what solvents you should and shouldn't be using. Know where you should and shouldn't be putting solvents.

Expect to break the first few cameras you work on in some way.
 
Brian Legge said:
Screws strip easily. Don't for anything. Use chemical solvents to help loosen screws before going with force. Get quality screwdrivers that match the screw sizes you're dealing with.

Screws bounce when dropped and then disappear to the place lost socks go; work in a space where you won't drop and lose screws. Same thing with small springs.

If the disassembly is non-trivial, reassembly may be worse. Photograph your process as you do and have a workspace where you can take your time, lay out parts in an organized way, etc.

Be careful with mirrors. They can be damaged easily.

Know what solvents you should and shouldn't be using. Know where you should and shouldn't be putting solvents.

Expect to break the first few cameras you work on in some way.
Click to expand...

I agree with the above and would add DON'T touch the mirrored side of the half mirror. The coating will come off very easily..
 
Some cameras have a retaining ring around the viewing lens, and this needs to come off before the top will lift. Screws will sometimes be hidden under rewind knobs, or inside the film can chamber. Also note the length of the screws you take out, and the shape of the head, as you don't want to put a fillister head screw back where a flat head should fit. You can get a piece of foam plastic packing from an electronics box, and place the screws in the foam in the order you took them out, and the pattern they fit on the camera.

And there are variations in rangefinders, depending on the manufacturer. Some are more complex than others due to companies not wanting to license an existing design, so they created their own monstrosities, like the split-field combo on the Agfa Karat. Nice to use, but I wouldn't want to have to adjust it. One of the nicest simple ones is on the Kodak Signet 40, but it's riveted in. Yashica came up with a design that they used on at least 12 different models, with very little modification needed from one to the other, making repairs easy if you had a parts donor laying around.

PF
 
All good advice above. Especially the part about photos of each step you take. I would also add a large cloth towell can save the day if screws get away from you. If the screws are of ferrous metal, a magnet can be used to sweep the towell (or the floor if you ignore the towell). Use an ice tray, or a plastic tray with compartments like you find in some tool boxes. Everything goes in its own compartment (after you find it on the floor 😀 ) If you are working above a rug, vacuum it before you begin. If you ignore the towell, or it gets down to the floor anyway, every speck, crumb, or other debris is a distraction. If something gets to the floor, keep looking. I once found a screw two weeks after I gave up looking for it.

EDIT: I have never gone into a rangefinder, the above is from other repairs or attempts.
 
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