FED-1 RF follower adjustment

[Nickfed]

I'm very pleased with my FED-1 except for the rangefinder follower. I have read admonitions about carefully screwing in the lens while it itself is screwed out to close focus. Nonetheless I have now concluded that it shouldn't be so tricky and my follower needs adjustment. The lens is fine. It goes into the Zorki-6, just like it ought to, but I can sometimes feel some bind and even hear a click when it goes into the FED. I originally had this down to build quality but I 'm now sure it's due to use/abuse. Measuring across the lens opening, the RF follower is about 1mm further from the bottom of the lens mount thread i.e. from the base of the camera than it is on the Zorki. This suggests it is not properly bearing on the focussing ring. I'm not rushing to do this since all is well once the lens is in place - or feels well.

Has anybody tried working on the follower lever? I propose to bend it slightly so it sits in the same position as the Zorki, relative to the lens.

It's clear that an attempt has been made on this before. The screw holding the follower lever has been marked. I guess this was tried simply by approaching through the lens opening and thus not getting a proper attack on the screw.

The chances of doing this are a lot better if the mechanical assembly is removed from the case and I intend using Oleson's excellent sketches to do this.

The lens mount is clearly screwed into backing plates through the body but these are not connected to the chassis. So, is it necessary to remove the lens mount?

Is the position of the lever on the shaft critical? I assume there is no square or spline and the adjustement is made at with the normal setting screws(?)

 

[phototone]

Rangefinder adjustment is indeed made with the usual adjusting screw and ring around round rangefinder window. The follower should be thick enough to allow for some mis-alignment in regards the back ring on the lens.

Some of the first Feds were not to the Leica standard for mount and focus, you know.

You do have to remove the lens mount, as there are retaing brackets for the lens mount on the inside that have to come out, before the shutter basket can be pulled up and clear. Please note the position of any paper shims behind the lens mount, and replace these exactly as you found them, or the lens will never focus correctly. Also, mark on the lens mount the up position, so when you replace it, and screw in your lens, it will stop with the f/stop and focusing scales on the top of the lens.

It can be a delicate procedue to dismantle. Proceed slowly, and work in a pan, so any loose bits don't go rolling off the table.

 

[Nickfed]

there are retaing brackets for the lens mount on the inside that have to come out, before the shutter basket can be pulled up and clear.

Thanks

Do you know if there is suppoosed to be a washer under the rangefinder follower lever?
On mine their is no sign of one. I realised after posting that, if the screw is long enough, a spring washer would reposition the follower and there would be no need to bend the lever.

 

[Nickfed]

OK. I decided to pursue this a bit futher. The FED setup does not match the Zorki-6. I have screwed a Pentax>Leica ring into both cameras. This enabled me to see what is happening with the RF follower. The thickness inside the Leica thread part is about the same as a Summar i.e. it just fits over the lens barrel.

When the ring goes in the Zorki it misses the follower. The clearance is a bit less than a millimetre but it might as well be a mile. When the ring goes in the FED, it just fouls with the follower. The follower is 34mm from the other side of the lens mount. On the FED it is about 35mm.

The FED and Zorki followers should be in the same position and attitude. On the FED it is not parallel with the base of the camera. It looks bent. What puzzles me is that I think it would still foul the lens if it was straight. It won't be any closer to the base of the camera.

Once the case has been removed from the shutter crate, it is easy enough to remove the screw that secures the follower arm. This arm does not fall off. It has a square hole and appears to be staked over a round shaft. There is no vertical movement of note in the shaft. It would seem that there is no value in taking the arm off the shaft and putting a washer behind it, as there would be virtually nothing to bind the arm to the shaft.

I don't know if this is all down to abuse, or it was badly made. The camera seems otherwise very well made. The screw shows sign of attack. Maybe somebody was attempting repair and thought better of it. The camera is very clean inside and out with smooth grunge-free gears. It may be that it was stripped down further than I have for cleaning and incorrectly assembled i.e. there should a washer behind the arm but it's on the other end!

If I removed the arm from the shaft I may be able to put a couple of bends into it, so that the follower is in the right position. A crank of 1mm would do. I would be glad to hear if anybody has removed this arm.

It seems that any alternative way of fixing this will only be found under the viewfinder cover but I don't know how to remove it. Has anybody done this? I would rather look here before bending the arm.

One thing I have found is that the lens mount will only go on the case one way. There is a mark on it at 9 o'clock, which may be an aid to assembly, but not mission critical.

 

[Nickfed]

OK. So I bit the bullet and got the follower arm off its shaft. It comes off easily and the shaft has flats on it to locate the arm. I put a couple of tiny bends in the arm and replaced it. No washer was used. The clearance from the Pentax>Leica ring is now the same as the Zorki and all lenses screw in nicely.

I would still like to know how to get the RF housing off. I am coming to the conclusion that the shutter wheel screws off rather than pull.

 

[pshinkaw]

The metal inside can be kinda soft. If the set screws have been twisted in really tight, they may have deformed some metal inside that could be locking things up.

Once you have the screws out, try applying enough torque to the shutter speed dial to get it to move slightly. Then apply upward force.

If you over-torque the dial there might be some risk of shearing the pin that sets the actual shutter speed.

-Paul