murrayatuptown
Established
NO idea how or where...I was cleaning my Record III rangefinder optics, got the old cement grease out of the distance drum helical, relubed it and the mirror pivot post and realized the mirror return spring was gone!
I had the screws & spring in a SD memory card carrier (clear plastic with latching cover) inside an Altoids box & took it to work for a lunchtime distraction.
I realized the SD memory case was warped & had a gap in one side so it could be anywhere...not like dropping something and having an idea where to look.
I was wondering if anyone has had one break or lost and found an alternate solution...
It's a relatively straight spring with one loop to go under a retaining screw.
The slightly curved end of the spring wire rests in a notch or flat spot on the corner of the pivoting RF mirror arm to put pressure on it so it pushes against the helical plunger pin that moves the mirror angle via rotation of the distance dial drum wheel.
Murray's Law, I guess.
Thanks
I had the screws & spring in a SD memory card carrier (clear plastic with latching cover) inside an Altoids box & took it to work for a lunchtime distraction.
I realized the SD memory case was warped & had a gap in one side so it could be anywhere...not like dropping something and having an idea where to look.
I was wondering if anyone has had one break or lost and found an alternate solution...
It's a relatively straight spring with one loop to go under a retaining screw.
The slightly curved end of the spring wire rests in a notch or flat spot on the corner of the pivoting RF mirror arm to put pressure on it so it pushes against the helical plunger pin that moves the mirror angle via rotation of the distance dial drum wheel.
Murray's Law, I guess.
Thanks
oftheherd
Veteran
If you are pretty certain that it either had to be at home or at work, and know the general location, first get a strong light, lay it on the floor with the beam going along the floor and your eye behind the flashlight. You may see it. The next two things to try are sweeping the area carefully with a magnet. Last resort (because you could damage the spring or the vacuum impeller, is to use a vacuum clearer with a fresh bag. EDIT: I forgot to mention looking very carefully inside your pants pocket, lunch bag, backpack, or whatever you carried it all in. Don't ask me how I know.
If no luck, hope someone here has a parts camera they can sell.
If no luck, hope someone here has a parts camera they can sell.
Dan Daniel
Well-known
If you can't find the actual spring, two approaches. Find a similar spring from another camera or mechanism and modify it to work for you. Maybe post a diagram with rough dimensions and someone will recognize that 'spring X from ABC camera's film wind system looks just like that' or such. Think about similar mechanisms that might use a spring for the same purpose (Kalart rangefinder on a Speed Graphic?), etc.
The second approach is to redesign the spring mount and modify the camera to use a spring you have. I don't know what is going on inside your camera specifically, but often those 120 cameras have a fair amount of room under the cover plate. The idea here is to think not how to replace the spring, but how to make something that will do what you need to do- push the mirror in one direction. I've used foam to replace broken plastic 'spring' design pieces. A thin strip of polyethylene has a spring action if curved.
And keep looking. Flashlight, magnet, those are the keys. I had a spring fly out of a shutter, about the size of a baby's eyelash. I figured the shutter was toast until I could find a parts one. Three weeks later I moved a cup on the desk and bingo- there it was.
The second approach is to redesign the spring mount and modify the camera to use a spring you have. I don't know what is going on inside your camera specifically, but often those 120 cameras have a fair amount of room under the cover plate. The idea here is to think not how to replace the spring, but how to make something that will do what you need to do- push the mirror in one direction. I've used foam to replace broken plastic 'spring' design pieces. A thin strip of polyethylene has a spring action if curved.
And keep looking. Flashlight, magnet, those are the keys. I had a spring fly out of a shutter, about the size of a baby's eyelash. I figured the shutter was toast until I could find a parts one. Three weeks later I moved a cup on the desk and bingo- there it was.
Pioneer
Veteran
Ouch. Good luck.
Try contacting Jurgen at Certo6 or Ken Ruth at Bald Mtn. They may be able to help out.
Try contacting Jurgen at Certo6 or Ken Ruth at Bald Mtn. They may be able to help out.
murrayatuptown
Established
Thank you all.
Not in my car. If it actually stayed in the box in the box in the bag taped together (sounds like an Irish folk tune my daughter plays of violin), then it can only br one of two places...one being the carpet and I have some hard drive magnets to rake the rug with...I expect to find much mystery ferrous material.
Today I looked at some spring wire and forgot it is 'music wire' and so are guitar strings...
Meanwhile, I bent a couple trial springs to look at and think about.
Then I thought of the magnet.
My very first thought was something like foam, but if I don't rethink tge mechanism, the mirror is at the extreme end of the arm, for maxim deflection via the pin moved in and out by the helical thread. There is a guy on Flickr who has dis/assembly pics with no words that gave me the confidence to try cleaning it, but it's kind of hard to see the spring black on black.
I'll try saving the pic and lightening it.
If I do make a spring, I'll try to share a view.
Not in my car. If it actually stayed in the box in the box in the bag taped together (sounds like an Irish folk tune my daughter plays of violin), then it can only br one of two places...one being the carpet and I have some hard drive magnets to rake the rug with...I expect to find much mystery ferrous material.
Today I looked at some spring wire and forgot it is 'music wire' and so are guitar strings...
Meanwhile, I bent a couple trial springs to look at and think about.
Then I thought of the magnet.
My very first thought was something like foam, but if I don't rethink tge mechanism, the mirror is at the extreme end of the arm, for maxim deflection via the pin moved in and out by the helical thread. There is a guy on Flickr who has dis/assembly pics with no words that gave me the confidence to try cleaning it, but it's kind of hard to see the spring black on black.
I'll try saving the pic and lightening it.
If I do make a spring, I'll try to share a view.
murrayatuptown
Established
Found the spring!
Thank you magnet from a hard drive!
Thank you magnet from a hard drive!
nhchen
Nathan
Well done! I'm an expert at losing tiny springs and screws onto my black carpet floor. But with a magnet I've been able to find all of the ones I've lost (usually a few weeks/months later when I'm looking for something else I dropped
)
murrayatuptown
Established
All I need now is a' brass magnet'!
I relied very heavily on Hans Kerensky's gallery of minor repairs on Flickr, to salvage this.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157620236720442/with/3657829652/
I get 'tunnel vision' looking at page layout and could not even see the descriptive captions separate from the photos there!
I was kind of stressed that I had to figure out what was the action required to get from one pic to the next, and tonight after almost being completely done, I realized the explanations were all there. I read them very carefully to see I learned anything!
I relied very heavily on Hans Kerensky's gallery of minor repairs on Flickr, to salvage this.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157620236720442/with/3657829652/
I get 'tunnel vision' looking at page layout and could not even see the descriptive captions separate from the photos there!
I was kind of stressed that I had to figure out what was the action required to get from one pic to the next, and tonight after almost being completely done, I realized the explanations were all there. I read them very carefully to see I learned anything!
oftheherd
Veteran
Good job! Glad to hear it.
Dan Daniel
Well-known
Just in case, a description of a method for making springs. He is focused on helical springs using a lathe for turning, but the discussion of materials, safety issues!! and how to temper the material after shaping is also useful-
http://www.deansphotographica.com/machining/projects/springs/springs.html
http://www.deansphotographica.com/machining/projects/springs/springs.html