fidget
Lemon magnet
Hi,
my latest film from my FED2c showed a few signs of "stress" when I removed it from the camera. At the film leader, small depressions were present, caused by the hook of the film spool. This was worst for the first few frames, getting less noticable as more layers of film were wound on top. I also have had more scratches on film from my FSU gear than from elsewhere, something that I put down to bad luck, but now suspect that this can be due to the amount of force needed to wind on and rewind the film into its cassette. The film is dragged past and against the velvet light traps with excessive force, possibly enough to bow the film across its width so that it touches the casing between the film guide rails. The last film from my FED2 reminded me of some posts here which describe the sprockets being ripped out of film and other similar problems. In the FEDs 2,3, & 4 (at least) the spool is held as a push fit over the sprung drum. This gives a sort of a clutch which will turn if sufficient force is applied. Inside the drum is a screw holding down a spring. This has a lot of adjustment and looks and works just like a clutch. I backed the screw off several turns until the spool turned quite easily on the drum. When I checked my other FEDs, most had a light clutch, one or two were very heavy, until adjusted. My Zorki 4 has a similar arrangement, and is more obviously a clutch. Am I correct in thinking that this is indeed a clutch in my FEDs?
(No more ripped, torn, dinted, sprocketless film!!!! 😀 )
Regards, Dave
my latest film from my FED2c showed a few signs of "stress" when I removed it from the camera. At the film leader, small depressions were present, caused by the hook of the film spool. This was worst for the first few frames, getting less noticable as more layers of film were wound on top. I also have had more scratches on film from my FSU gear than from elsewhere, something that I put down to bad luck, but now suspect that this can be due to the amount of force needed to wind on and rewind the film into its cassette. The film is dragged past and against the velvet light traps with excessive force, possibly enough to bow the film across its width so that it touches the casing between the film guide rails. The last film from my FED2 reminded me of some posts here which describe the sprockets being ripped out of film and other similar problems. In the FEDs 2,3, & 4 (at least) the spool is held as a push fit over the sprung drum. This gives a sort of a clutch which will turn if sufficient force is applied. Inside the drum is a screw holding down a spring. This has a lot of adjustment and looks and works just like a clutch. I backed the screw off several turns until the spool turned quite easily on the drum. When I checked my other FEDs, most had a light clutch, one or two were very heavy, until adjusted. My Zorki 4 has a similar arrangement, and is more obviously a clutch. Am I correct in thinking that this is indeed a clutch in my FEDs?
(No more ripped, torn, dinted, sprocketless film!!!! 😀 )
Regards, Dave
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