Film lever. How to remove this?

[elerion]

Hello everyone (I'm ne to this forum).

I'm trying to repair an old 35mm camera, which shutter works fine, and should be in perfect working order, except for the film advance mechanism.

It's not a rangefinder really, but the issue might probably be very similar.
After a couple of hours, I was able to dissasemble (and reasemble) all except the big metal piece shown in the picture.

The three gears below get stuck at times. The movement from the first gear only makes the second and third gear move sometimes, and for a (what it seems to be) random period of the full stroke.

I'm not able to remove the metal part to examine the gears.
Any idea?

Thank you very much in advance.

PD: I don't know which model the camera is. The lens is "color isconar" f2.8 45mm.

 

[sevo]

The plate appears to be riveted to the components below. Rivets can be drilled out - but then you'd have to pick up the proper tools and rivets to attach it again...

The camera will be by some mid size West German maker like Regula, Balda, Dacora etc., or some house brand OEMed by them.

 

[elerion]

Yes, they do seem like rivets.
I've got a Dremel tool which I can maybe use to drill them.

But I don't really know which is the best route to solve this gears sliping. It seems like the middle gear is not fixed, and move laterally a little bit. But I see no screw neither piece of "something" I could check or adjust, related to the gear.

Any idea?

 

[monopix]

Looks like the camera is an Ilford Sportsman 300 or a variant (a rebadged Dacora Dignette I think). Googling didn't turn up much other than a couple of other people with the same problem at http://www.rangefinderforum.com/classics/forum/messages/2/24661.html?1361888369.

I'm guessing the parts are pressed together during manufacture and not designed to come apart again. Sorry that's not much help.

 

[sevo]

Personally I would keep off it - it is easy to remove a rivet, but reinstalling them to original spec can be plain impossible. The "proper tool" will probably be a massive steel guide for a workshop rivet press that can align all parts and press three rivets at once and in perfect symmetry. Trying to emulate the results of these rivet assembly machines with a hand set, bucking bar and hammer will more often than not warp the structure and render the camera useless. And even hand tools will cost far more than another Dacora or two...

 

[farlymac]

Just looking at it the way it is, I would think the only way to get it off the camera is to pull the winding shaft, as it appears to be well attached at that point. Not enough info from only one photo to do anymore than guess.

PF

 

[elerion]

Yes, I don't think it is a good idea to try to remove it.

The gears just don't transfer movement at all time. They slip, so at times the first one moves without turning the last one, not winding the film correctly.

Strange enough, they worked quite well (not perfect though) before, until I dissasembled the camera to fix the shutter cocking mechanism. This makes me think that something I did affected them (though I didn't actually touch them), and maybe something could make them go to their previous state. Just I don't see the way.

 

[farlymac]

You could have missed putting the tail of a spring back in its place so that a catch pawl doesn't work.

It's always a good idea to take photos of the item you are disassembling before it comes apart, and while in the process, so that you will be able to see how levers and springs are supposed to be in place during normal operation, and in what order the pieces are assembled.

The thing is, it's quite easy to forget how things are assembled, especially if you have to get away from it for a while.

PF