fed 5 tight rewinding

[brachal]

Hello, all. Has anyone encountered a situation where their Fed 5 becomes tighter and harder to rewind over time? I've had two that started out rewinding very smoothly, but after a dozen or so rolls have become painfully tight to rewind. I like these cameras, but don't use them much anymore because I'm afraid I'll break either them or the film.

I do know how to engage the rewind clutch/collar. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[fidget]

Hi, I had similar problems on a few of my FEDs. The spool which takes up the film has a slipping clutch. This allows it to take up film regardless of the thickness of film wound on to it (as it has several layers of film on it, it needs to move less to wind it up). Unfortunately, this clutch is not disengaged when the rewind colar is pressed in, so that when you rewind you have to work against the clutch. Most of my cams have been too tight. It is worth checking that other parts of the film transport are free. Try to move this against the friction of the clutch, It shouldn't be very tight.
The take up spool has a screw up inside the tube. This has a spring and probably a washer on it. It's this spring when compressed gives the resistance of the clutch. After a clean and light lube, if it's still tight you could reduce the length of the spring a little. If you go too far you can always add a few washers to increase the tension.
There are a few some posts about this,
try: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21001&highlight=clutch
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Dave

 

[brachal]

Thanks for the advice, Dave. It sounds promising. I'll give it a shot as soon as I have some time and let you know how it works out.

Thanks again!