Another Leica saved

[colyn]

I bought this Leica IIIf black dial from KEH last week. It was advertised as Ex condition with wrinkled (cracked) curtains and speeds off for $172.00. Both curtains were shot so I replaced them with silk-rubber material from Aki-Asahi. The camera was cleaned and relubed by me and speeds adjusted to specs.

I just hung the first roll through to dry so I'll soon know how it did. Negative do look properly exposed so I am confident it is working as it should..

 

[ruben]

Leica or not Leica, it is always a pleasure when an old camera is brought back to life !

Greetings and Congratulations,
Ruben

 

[colyn]

Below is a photo of both curtains after removal. The top curtain is the closing curtain and while it can't be seen in the photo it has vertical cracking of the rubber coating. The below curtain is the opening curtain with little rubber coating left. Needless to say it was pouring in light.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

well done...how does one go about changing curtains on a IIIF ? I read with much trepidation about the horror stories of doing just that on FSUs...

 

[colyn]

well done...how does one go about changing curtains on a IIIF ? I read with much trepidation about the horror stories of doing just that on FSUs...

Thanks..

Overhauling the IIIf is a lot easier than overhauling the FSU cameras. It still requires a bit of knowledge though.

A good starting place would the below link.

http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/leica_iiif.pdf

 

[ray*j*gun]

Nice work!!! My favorite 35's include the IIIf!!

 

[Trius]

Beautiful camera. Stuff like this is why my wife forbids me to go on KEH, etc. 😀

 

[colyn]

Beautiful camera. Stuff like this is why my wife forbids me to go on KEH, etc. 😀

Thanks

When I bought this one KEH had another IIIf in BGN condition for $133. I almost bought it too but didn't. Today I went back and it's gone.. 🙁

 

[payasam]

Skills are priceless.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Colyn, your original curtains are far better than what I've had to work with. 🙂

This is all that the last Leica I worked on had:

Did you take the whole crate apart and replace the whole thing? Have you tried doing the 'partial' replacement method described in the Nat-Cam repair manual? I'm considering to do this for another Leica repair I'm about to do.

Regarding the curtains, did you glue or sew them? The ribbons in particular appear to need the stitching to prevent them from getting loose in the future. I also had tried stitching some of the shutter curtains to the laths too. With the cloth I used, the needle punctures needed to be patched with paint.

However, the Aki-Asahi silk/rubber/silk cloths close up tightly after stitching so that no patching is needed. The rubber coating is so flexible that it wraps itself around the stitching threads so even the needle punctures get covered.

The stitching appears to be unneccessary when modern adhesives are used; many references don't require it. However, some shutters I have repaired over the years appear to be flaking off their glued laths; sewing seems to be the only stable means of keeping them in place.

 

[colyn]

Did you take the whole crate apart and replace the whole thing? Have you tried doing the 'partial' replacement method described in the Nat-Cam repair manual? I'm considering to do this for another Leica repair I'm about to do.

I completely disassembled the crate in order to do a good cleaning job.

The problem with the partial method is you can't get to areas that need cleaning.

Regarding the curtains, did you glue or sew them? The ribbons in particular appear to need the stitching to prevent them from getting loose in the future. I also had tried stitching some of the shutter curtains to the laths too. With the cloth I used, the needle punctures needed to be patched with paint.

I glue and stitch the lathe ends. You need a very small needle and when stitching you should push through at a slight angle. I still put a bit of latex paint on the thread though.

However, the Aki-Asahi silk/rubber/silk cloths close up tightly after stitching so that no patching is needed. The rubber coating is so flexible that it wraps itself around the stitching threads so even the needle punctures get covered.

The one time I used the silk-rubber-silk material I had problems getting the shutter to work properly but then I didn't make the tapes/curtains shorter like some have suggested..

The stitching appears to be unneccessary when modern adhesives are used; many references don't require it. However, some shutters I have repaired over the years appear to be flaking off their glued laths; sewing seems to be the only stable means of keeping them in place.

For the added security I stitch all my new curtains and tapes. That way I don't have to worry if the shutter will fail..

 

[beyond]

Wow Colyn, that s a good job you have done on the IIIF.

 

[johannielscom]

Guys,

I'm planning to do a DIY clean of slow gears on a IIIa from 1938. Anything in particular I need to consider? I got the Tomosy book and have taken apart FED-1 and Zorki-1 cameras before. Is it okay to wash the old grease out with lighter fluid? What to lube it with afterwards? I won't be doing the shutter curtains, they are fine. Just the slow gears.

 

[batterytypehah!]

CLE-RF, I think there was a thread here just recently, or probably an older thread that bubbled to the surface, about cleaning and lubricating agents. It got somewhat sidetracked into the relative health hazards of each, but there was good info. See if you can find it (a search for "naphtha" and its various misspellings should do).

I concluded that lighter fluid and gun oil (Rem Oil brand here in the U.S.) were OK and the easiest to obtain for me. YMMV of course.

 

[batterytypehah!]

And Colyn, how did those negs come out?

 

[john neal]

Johan,

IMO, the Tomosy book is poor, and you should take some of what he says with a grain of salt. If you have had success with FSU bodies, you should be OK with a IIIa - the big thing to watch with any Leica with slow speeds is that you get the actuating bar engaged in the right place when you put the front plate back on.

If you need any specifics, send me a PM. Also check the IIIF manual on Kim Coxon's site - that has a lot of relevance, even though it's a later model.

 

[colyn]

Guys,

I'm planning to do a DIY clean of slow gears on a IIIa from 1938. Anything in particular I need to consider? I got the Tomosy book and have taken apart FED-1 and Zorki-1 cameras before. Is it okay to wash the old grease out with lighter fluid? What to lube it with afterwards? I won't be doing the shutter curtains, they are fine. Just the slow gears.

2 screws hold the gears in place. Remove them noting which goes where. You can then remove the black cover by removing the 2 small screws and dropping it in lighter fluid overnight. A drop of Nyoil on the pivots and reassemble making sure to engage the slow speed fork with the pin..

 

[colyn]

And Colyn, how did those negs come out?

Sharp and well exposed...

I've printed a few and plan to scan some soon..

 

[batterytypehah!]

Ah, not quite. Have you seen Bessa-L prices lately? $115 in EX- condition at KEH. Another one went for $90 on the 'bay.

If I wasn't such a die-hard classic Voigtländer guy, it's what I should do. The only LTM lens I want to use is a 35. I'd need to find another hobby if I couldn't scale focus that.

 

[colyn]

These photos were taken with my newly rebuilt Leica IIIf black dial and 50mm f/2 Jupiter J-8 lens..