Zorki 6 Winder Spring

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Juche

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Is it possible to install the winder spring into the Zorki 6 without removing the top cover?

The shutter in my Zorki 6 seems to stick open sometimes at 1/30, and only 1/30. I tried to service it using the instructions from the sticky thread on this board but the last brass screw under the rewind know is extremely stubborn and I have given up hope in removing it.

Now I've put everything back except for the winding lever, I have no clue how the winder spring is supposed to go back in. Any tips?
 
The answer is yes, it's one of the last parts to replace. Be warned though, it does require some fiddling and patience. Hook the lower attachment behind the pillar where it locates, then hook the free end into the hole in the lever. To hook the lever end, you'll need the lever at an odd position and angle.

You then need to manoeuver the lever around to its correct position and drop the gear into engagement - that's the very fiddly bit because the spring tends to contract and foul things up. It can help to poke a thin screwdriver in there, between the spring coils, to keep it from fouling. Largely it's a matter of fiddling and fiddling until it all drops into place. It'll try your patience. If you get that far, the remaining parts for the frame counter are simple to reassemble.

This is about the best way I can explain it, it makes more sense with the camera in front of you! I've often wondered how the factory workers did it, they may have had a tool to hold the spring in tension. The Zorki 5 has a nearly identical method too.
 
Juche said:
The shutter in my Zorki 6 seems to stick open sometimes at 1/30, and only 1/30. I tried to service it using the instructions from the sticky thread on this board but the last brass screw under the rewind know is extremely stubborn and I have given up hope in removing it.
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I believe you don't need to remove top cover in order to fix 1/30. The second curtain gets released when the first one hits some trigger near its rest position. If the first curtain has not enough power the trigger doesn't move and the second curtain remains in cocked position. In short, you need only to stretch the first curtain spring a little more (probably half-spin) in order to relieve the 1/30 problem in this camera. And it can be made by only removing the bottom cover.

Juche said:
Now I've put everything back except for the winding lever, I have no clue how the winder spring is supposed to go back in. Any tips?
Click to expand...
The camera can work without that spring. You would only need to return lever by hand. It's probably better to test the rest of camera function before installing this spring (it took me 2 hours when I made it first time).

wolves3012 described it quite fair. The lever spring should embrace the plain part of the gear which is placed below lever, but it tends to get below it or between gear and lever. I overcame it by doing the first spin with the whole gear-lever assembly, then installing the gear into its position and making the second spin with the lever only and holding the spring with a plain screwdriver from getting between gear and lever.
 
Use a soldering iron to heat the head of the stubborn screw, that may get it out for you. The top off will allow the viewfinder to be cleaned in addition to repairs.
 
Juche said:
Which pillar is it? Is it the one made by the long screw that attaches the top plate to the body or...?
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Simple answer: yes, the one made by the long screw. As suggested, some heat may help remove the screw. As a last resort, the head could be drilled off, carefully and the screw replaced. Or you can leave it alone.
 
ichalov said:
I believe you don't need to remove top cover in order to fix 1/30. The second curtain gets released when the first one hits some trigger near its rest position. If the first curtain has not enough power the trigger doesn't move and the second curtain remains in cocked position. In short, you need only to stretch the first curtain spring a little more (probably half-spin) in order to relieve the 1/30 problem in this camera. And it can be made by only removing the bottom cover.
Click to expand...
On closer inspection, it seems that sometimes the first curtain does not even go all the way across, and it's stuck just past the edge of the opening before it finally gets across and the second curtain closes after it. Does this sound familiar to you?
 
Juche said:
On closer inspection, it seems that sometimes the first curtain does not even go all the way across, and it's stuck just past the edge of the opening before it finally gets across and the second curtain closes after it. Does this sound familiar to you?
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You can increase the curtain tensions to try and offset this, however, it's usually a sign of gummed up lube in the various pivots and the need for a proper CLA. If you do a proper CLA and use modern lubricants, the camera will run smoothly and trouble-free for many years. If you increase the tensions you put more strain on the springs and curtain material and only effect a temporary fix.
 
ichalov said:
wolves3012 described it quite fair. The lever spring should embrace the plain part of the gear which is placed below lever, but it tends to get below it or between gear and lever. I overcame it by doing the first spin with the whole gear-lever assembly, then installing the gear into its position and making the second spin with the lever only and holding the spring with a plain screwdriver from getting between gear and lever.
Click to expand...

I've gotten the spring in but this next part is the part I was having trouble with and the main reason I made the thread.

When I rotate the lever all the way and pull it up a bit, I can see the spring is all wound up on the middle part of the ratchet wheel nicely and I can feel the normal tension on the leaver. However, as soon as I drop the whole assembly into the hole and engage the ratchet with the small gear inside, most of the spring tension on the leaver goes away and the leaver return feels sticky, not snappy like it should 😕
 
Juche said:
However, as soon as I drop the whole assembly into the hole and engage the ratchet with the small gear inside, most of the spring tension on the leaver goes away and the leaver return feels sticky, not snappy like it should 😕
Click to expand...

Yes, I had this too. It worked if the upper nut that fixes the assembly from above was not installed, but became sticky right after its installation. I suspect this was due to the bottom part of the spring going below the ratchet gear pushing it up and increasing friction between lever and that upper nut. It went away after third or fourth try.
 
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