Beauty, Aires, and to a lesser extent, Petri - all were Japanese companies that made fixed-lens rangefinders of good to high quality. Some dross to be sure, but also some good solid rangefinders. You guys who stick to only one brand and then only from the 1970's or newer, are missing out!
No, they're not Nikon or Olympus or even Minolta quality in most cases - but they can be very, very, nice - and unusual, and fun! I don't have any 'Beauty' cameras, but I do have a soft spot in my head for vintage Aires models, and they're very similar to me.
You'll find that every Japanese camera maker except Pentax and ALL the German makers had at least one good rangefinder. Worth experimenting!
Stuck shutter lesson:
As to the stuck shutter. I've been getting slightly better at reviving those little monsters, so here's what I do - your mileage may vary, and if you blow it up and burn down your house, not my fault!
I find that q-tips and liquid lighter fluid (Ronson, Zippo, etc) work the treat just about every time. They are liquid naptha, if that helps any. Very flammable, use caution, ok?
First trick is to get at the shutter. This usually involves removing the front lens assembly. I have gone to a lot of trouble to find that more often than not, it is pretty simple to remove the front lens assembly. Look over the front of the camera very carefully and methodically. See if you can find two or more (usually two) little slots cut into a metal ring surrounding the lens. This is often the 'nut' that unscrews to allow the rest of the front of the lens to come out - but not always - you have to go slowly, use caution. I know that I'm not supposed to do it, but sometimes I use a screwdriver and a little tap hammer to move the thing around in a counter-clockwise circle. Don't get energetic, if it does not feel like it is moving, let it be.
Sometimes, it is the whole lens barrel that turns and screws down the whole shebang. In which case, I apply some masking tape to the outside edge of the lens and grab hold of that and give it a twist like taking the lid off of a jar. Don't go twisting if you aren't pretty sure that's the way it comes apart.
When the thing unscrews, however it unscrews, you have to watch for springs, washers, spacers, and other things that like to come sproinging out. Usually not too many, so normally it isn't too bad. But use caution, keep track of where things go so you can put 'em back correctly.
Once you get down to the shutter itself, I find that a drop or two of Ronsonol on a q-tip and gently massaged onto the leaves of the shutter will generally do the trick. In fact, if the shutter is already cocked as I suspect (Oldprof said it first), it will suddenly snap open and startle the heck out of you. Be ready for it! If it doesn't and the winder doesn't wind, apply more Ronsonol. You might try pressing down GENTLY along the seams where the leaves come together so that the Ronsonol can work it's way inside. Don't go nuts with the stuff, cleaning up the residue later can be a pain.
I used to average about 50/50 success with this technique - now it is closer to 80% or so, I'm guessing.
Once it is free, use clean q-tips to gently swirl up the leftover Ronsonol. Keep winding the triggering the shutter over and over again, and clean up the mess your Ronsonol keeps depositing on the leaves of the shutter. You might take a few minutes and put the shutter on B and hold it open so you can reach inside and do the same thing on the aperture blades as well. Gently, please. You will develop a 'touch' for it, but better too light than too heavy. A snagged aperture blade or shutter leaf bending and you're all done with that camera, dig?
You keep doing this until you can snap the shutter and open and close the aperture and no more Ronsonol liquid appears on the leaves or the blades. Both should be shiny and without streaks, very 'new' looking. If you stop too soon, it will just harden up again later - you don't want to do this a lot, trust me.
I then leave the camera out overnight. See how it feels in the morning. If the shutter still works, then you can reassemble it. But often, it will decide to be cranky in the morning, just like me. But you can't pour coffe in it like me - you have to do the whole Ronsonol thing over again. It's worth it, just be patient!
I can do about 3 or 4 cameras in an evening, but I've been doing it for a couple of years now. And no, I won't do yours - I've wrecked too many of mine, and I'd feel horrible! You might find that the first time through takes a couple of hours easy, but it is well worth it.
Couple of suggestions:
1 - Buy a cheap broken camera or two off eBoy - make sure that the seller notes that it the shutter is stuck, you'll get it cheap. Like $5 and not much for shipping either. Practice on that! Do that a couple of times before touching the one you love and want to bring back to life.
2 - Use the real 'q-tip' brand q-tips. The others shed cotton and you don't want that inside your shutter.
3 - Have fun!
Hope this helps!
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
