Dent removal question

The way I have seen it done, not by me, but by looking at the inside of formerly dented top plates, is using a flat chisel in a cross pattern. I.e., one sees lots of horizontal and vertical lines.

That being said, since you do care how it looks, etc, you might want to send it in and combine it with a CLA.

You might also want to have a look at page 44 and 45 of

http://books.google.com/books?id=FV...ent removal hammer&pg=PP1#v=twopage&q&f=false

Roland.
 
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I would leave it alone. If you can't...

I removed a larger dent from the top plate of my Canon IV Sb2.
1) I removed the top plate and cleaned it inside and outside. ( very clean)
2) I cleaned off the surface of my 15 pound anvil. (very clean) My anvil has NO scratches or nicks in the surface.
3) I put the top plate upside-down on the anvil ( Outside surface on the anvil)
4) I pressed a wooden (pine)dowel, twice the diameter of the dent, against the bottom of the dent.
5) I tapped the dent with light weight ball-pein hammer.

BUT FIRST, I BOUGHT TWO FED 5 RF CAMERAS AND PRACTICED ON THEIR TOP PLATES!
 
Sell it as it, and buy a newer looking one, or save it to use and buy a newer one to show.

Regards, John
 
Is that the dent, above the Leica script? I don't think it's from a meter. Looks like it just took a hit somehow. It really doesn't look so bad! At first I thought it was the way the light strikes it. I think that what needs to be cured is something with the photographer, not the camera. Take some advice from Rob, the Professional counselor. What needs to happen is that you need to bond with your camera. No, I don't mean you should use Bondo to fix the dent. I mean you should photograph heavily with it. Shoot some rolls around town, then take it on a trip. Shoot black and white. Shoot color. Shoot slides. Shoot color negative. Let the camera become your constant companion. Document your impressions with it. Let it be a witness to your life. Ideally it will acquire a few more dents in the process. Eventually you and the M2 will come to accept each other, with all its flaws, and all of yours.
 
I'm reading this and cringing...if you can live with it do so and don't try to pound it out yourself. Have you talked to an experienced, qualified Leica tech?

Good luck,

Bob
 
Send it to Don Goldberg (DAG). He can tell you when he can get the dent out, or if he can't. He said he wouldn't try on my IIF, as the dent was right on a corner crease of the rangefinder window - an awkward location. Since your area seems to be on a flat, he might be able to do it, and give it a through CLA too.
 
lmd91343 said:
I would leave it alone. If you can't...

I removed a larger dent from the top plate of my Canon IV Sb2.
1) I removed the top plate and cleaned it inside and outside. ( very clean)
2) I cleaned off the surface of my 15 pound anvil. (very clean) My anvil has NO scratches or nicks in the surface.
3) I put the top plate upside-down on the anvil ( Outside surface on the anvil)
4) I pressed a wooden (pine)dowel, twice the diameter of the dent, against the bottom of the dent.
5) I tapped the dent with light weight ball-pein hammer.

BUT FIRST, I BOUGHT TWO FED 5 RF CAMERAS AND PRACTICED ON THEIR TOP PLATES!
Click to expand...

A few years back I had a small dent (similar) in the top of my M3. Commonly caused by those damned meters - although this may not be the case in your instance. I made a small former out of a piece of polished brass that I epoxied to a piece of very hard hardwood. All of the correct size of course - The former was larger than the ding but in my case not too much larger as the location of the dent precluded that. The idea being that upon removing the top plate and turning it upside down and placing it on a hard inflexible surface it would be possible to tap the ding out from the inside. It worked - not perfect but I was being conservative. The problem is that when metal deforms it actually stretches and it's necessary to recompress it back into its original plane to get rid of the ding. Car body speicalists usually do that by working from the edge in - not with one great big wallop of a hammer. ie if the ding is rounded they work around the edges first to gently work the metal back into shape. You need to be a little gentle and precise...... I think I also tried using a C clamp to clamp produce gentle consistent pressure of the former against the inside of the ding. Like most here who love the old M cameras I just could not tolerate the imperfection and needed to give ti a little cosmetic surgery.
 
The dent could perhaps be rolled out, but definitely not hammered out. But its likely to have stretched the metal already, so any method is going to leave a rippled chrome finish. I'd say leave it and just use the damned camera. Use it so hard and for so long it gets a few other dents and scratches, and by which time a black paint job might be justified and proper repairs can take place.

I had a similar M2, and the best thing is not to dwell on the fact that it is nearly mint because it isn't and never will be any more. Its a mile away from mint, and as such is a 'user', and they are the best ones.

Steve
 
Rob-F said:
I mean you should photograph heavily with it. Shoot some rolls around town, then take it on a trip. Shoot black and white. Shoot color. Shoot slides. Shoot color negative. Let the camera become your constant companion. Document your impressions with it. Let it be a witness to your life. Ideally it will acquire a few more dents in the process. Eventually you and the M2 will come to accept each other, with all its flaws, and all of yours.
Click to expand...

Stewart

You can make a start this Sat. P`Dilly usual time. I`ll bring the hammer and if that doesn`t work you can sell it .I`m sure sombody will be there who would buy it :)

Michael
PS Seems like the wood or possibly the ice is the way to go
 
Michael Markey said:
Stewart

You can make a start this Sat. P`Dilly usual time. I`ll bring the hammer and if that doesn`t work you can sell it .I`m sure sombody will be there who would buy it :)

Michael
PS Seems like the wood or possibly the ice is the way to go
Click to expand...

Hi Michael, the 26th? I don't think I can make it, who's playing-out?

I've been trying to find some dry-ice, but I can only find bulk suppliers so far. I'd like to try that first as it looks so improbable.
 
Thanks for all the kind offers to use and abuse the poor thing for me .... all very generous indeed, but I really couldn't put anyone through this sort of insecurity and keep a clear conscience
 
Bloody typical, the Micro-tools M tool kit has all the wrenches one needs to work on them ..... excpt the ring under the rewind knob Gaarrrrrr, that comes separately, what bright spark thought that one up??????

I was all fired up and ready to start too

Anyway, it meant I had time for a practice on a dead Nikkormat and a dead leicameter ... first I hit the former with the latter and got this

4735459274_5de6b447ac_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4735459274_5de6b447ac_b.jpg

a little worse than the m2 is, and made a hardwood block and drift so I could clamp it up

4735461044_97408cdc9a_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4735461044_97408cdc9a_b.jpg

4735461560_73c3844c5d_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4735461560_73c3844c5d_b.jpg

and ... it seems to work, well gets 90% out

4735462452_76dd3ed1ef_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4735462452_76dd3ed1ef_b.jpg

The thing not to do is having got it so far is to use a soft drift to tap out the last bit, it puts tiny dents in, like this

4734823079_3e9a6ae895_b.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4734823079_3e9a6ae895_b.jpg

it gets it flatter but marks the finish
 
Unfortunately I had to remove the VF and illumination windows, and in their wisdom Leica uses three different adhesives in their assembly, so I spent most of the day yesterday shopping for glue

4760301808_1903307939_b.jpg



4759667367_45e025d464_b.jpg


last job, putting the L back ;)

4760299790_20e2c18572_b.jpg
 
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