Available repair guidance for Leica I / II / III ?

D

d_c

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I’ve got a bashed up pre-war Leica III that’s got a defective shutter, needs a new rangefinder mirror, needs recovering, and just generally needs overhauling. I’d like to have a go at doing these repairs myself but I’m struggling to find decent repair guides to help me. I’ve looked at both Samuel Rocha guides, which I’ve been able to get through Kindle, and they’re frankly of very little use - they have limited repair information, and then only for a IIIf. The Romney and Tomosy books are both like hen’s-teeth to find in paperback, and are overpriced when they do appear, and neither are available through the UK Kindle store. Can anyone give me a steer as to any good publicly available guides that I might be able to refer to?
 
Nobbysparrow (on eBay) wrote the best Leica repairbooks available in my opinion. Excellent writing and very good pictures about the repair of lenses and cameras, also about model lll.

Erik.
 
Your list of repairs is not unfamiliar. They have all be covered in the ltm forum on this site though some may have been moved to the repair section, I'd do some searching. Good luck, working on a III can be rewarding and it is really not that complicated.
 
I finally tracked down a cheap Romney Leica text a year or two ago, but was disappointed in the depth of information. It is worth having, but very basic and with some bad advice thrown in. I find the Tomosy books that I have to also be a very mixed bag. There are lots of good tips, but not enough information to cover the topic. The Leica book seems to be more highly regarded, but I haven't found a good price on it yet.

I'm looking at attempting some of the same repairs as you, but started first with a working iiif that just need lube and adjust. A Fed i would probably also be a good cheap starter before tackling such a major project. There are some very good videos out there that I am finding much more helpful than the books. They may not be for the exact model you have and don't always cover ever aspect you need, but give a good orientation to the screw mount Leica platform. I find watching someone do the repairs is way more helpful than the books I've had. I'm looking now for a good video on curtain replacement for a iii, but realize I'm probably not ready to take that repair on quite yet.

I plan to order some parts from Nobby Sparrow, but don't recall seeing repair books listed. His videos are a great help.
 
Mark C said:
I finally tracked down a cheap Romney Leica text a year or two ago, but was disappointed in the depth of information. It is worth having, but very basic and with some bad advice thrown in. I find the Tomosy books that I have to also be a very mixed bag. There are lots of good tips, but not enough information to cover the topic. The Leica book seems to be more highly regarded, but I haven't found a good price on it yet.

I'm looking at attempting some of the same repairs as you, but started first with a working iiif that just need lube and adjust. A Fed i would probably also be a good cheap starter before tackling such a major project. There are some very good videos out there that I am finding much more helpful than the books. They may not be for the exact model you have and don't always cover ever aspect you need, but give a good orientation to the screw mount Leica platform. I find watching someone do the repairs is way more helpful than the books I've had. I'm looking now for a good video on curtain replacement for a iii, but realize I'm probably not ready to take that repair on quite yet.

I plan to order some parts from Nobby Sparrow, but don't recall seeing repair books listed. His videos are a great help.
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He has the repair books - maybe you can send him a personal message. Above all his repair book on the IIIf will be a great help, really. He is a great repairman himself, he wrote the books himself and he sells the equipment and the parts, so try to reach him. He himself makes the flexiclamps, these are absolutely indispensable when repairing cameras. He has and makes other parts as well, such as mirrors for the rangefinders. It is possible to replace the mirrors of the rangefinders on the screw mount cameras yourself - altough this is very difficult for a beginner - on an M this is absolutely impossible. His books are a joy to see, to read and to use.

Erik.
 
If it’s a III (rather than a lettered model which are covered by Nobby etc.) also check out pages on Zorki 1 and Fed 1 or even pick up a broken one to look at first. You won’t have the slow speed part but the rest is similar.

Pages like: Camera disassembly1
 
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