Desert Zorki?

[batterytypehah!]

Tinkering with my latest ebay purchase, which turned out to be a bit of a dud. Zorki 1c with Industar-22, described as "gummed up" but in reality, more like "been through a sandstorm." Fine sand (silt?) everywhere. If you can stomach it, look what I found under the accessory shoe.

If that weren't so nerdy, I'd have to call it C3PO. As in, spent too much time in the desert and needs a soothing oil bath in Ben Kenobi's shop.

It has been responding well to some preliminary cleaning up but I think this will never be more than a beater, even after a full strip and rebuild.

Ah well. You win some, you lose some. I only paid $50 and change, shipped, so this is not too bad.

 

[farlymac]

If it came from out west, maybe it was used at White Sands, in which case that would be gypsum, not sand. And a lot finer, so it will really invade all the spaces. And beaters can still make good users.

PF

 

[reagan]

Hope springs eternal. Yep, it'll take some cleaning, lubing, dipping in carburetor cleaner. :-/ Could be worse. My Blackberry took a swim at the bottom of a gallon of oil based paint. But it cleaned up and I'm using it now.

How does the inside look? A camera stored in an old dusty shed could be pretty ugly on the outside but not so bad "in the gears". Hang in there - keep pluggin'. Zorki.1s are neat little instruments and beaters only become beaters after many years of fun outings.

 

[rxmd]

Did that one come from Turkmenistan or something?

 

[reagan]

Did that one come from Turkmenistan or something?

ha! Or Amarillo, Texas? :-D

 

[batterytypehah!]

@ farlymac - Nah, it's sand. Some larger grains lodged in interesting places. I'm just wondering if it took a dip in a river. Slight corrosion in a lot of spots but, except for the rear baffle of the I-22, nothing so far that wouldn't rub off with lighter fluid. So I dunno.

@ reagan - Thanks for the encouragement. I have the top off and see above, not too bad at all.

Came from a US seller -- I don't have the patience to deal with FSU sellers -- in upstate NY.

Turns out I have bigger problems than the sand - take-up shaft, focus tab on the lens and baseplate latch are all bent :bang:

It has its redeeming points, though. The RF patch is very nice and the curtains are in good shape, though reluctant to move. I might still be tempted to replace them, since the shutter has to come apart for cleaning anyway and it's a good one to learn on...

 

[batterytypehah!]

Update...

Gave the I-22 a thorough CLA last weekend. It really is a very easy lens to work on. I had to take the disassembly further than would normally be necessary, to get at the bent tab. That one small setscrew by the tab, plus a slight press fit of the DOF ring, is all that holds it together. Careful though, the machined edge underneath is razor sharp (don't ask me how I know...).

I was very relieved that the diaphragm assembly was spotless and smooth, got lucky there.

So, I now have an ugly, but reasonably smooth I-22. I was going to give it a workout on the FED-2 this weekend but forgot the take-up spool at home :bang: -- this after testing if it would collapse past the RF cam (yes but I need to be very careful) and focuses correctly on ground glass (a solid yes)

On the body, well, the wind knob just won't come off, I'll have to drill the setscrew out.

 

[reagan]

You're a patient man. A handy quality for FsU rEpAir. :-D