Fixing FED 3 Shutter

[Palinuro]

Hello all,
I just got a beautiful FED 3, in mint condition, and took my exactly 3 days to damage—toying around with the speed dial , as expected. No the shutter doesn't work. Is there a way to fix this? Does this mean I really broke up the thing or could it be a simple matter? Best regards,

d.

 

[Valkir1987]

Do you have the early model with the wind knob, or the regular model with the advance lever? If you moved the speed dial between 1/30 and 1 sec (in case it is the later model), its likely something jams. Advancing the dial before winding can cause the slow speed mechanism to jam with the rest.
You need to have the top cover removed, to find out whats jammed.

 

[Palinuro]

Dear Valkir, thanks for your quick reply, I was out of town. I have the newer model with the advance lever, and yes, I mindlessly moved the dial before winding. Is it too hard to find out what might be jammed? I've seen some plans posted but I don't know if the shutter mechanism is sort of self-enclosed or readily visible...

Thanks again and sorry for my possible grammar mistakes.
David

 

[wolves3012]

David,
you may have broken something or not, depends how lucky you are! Can you alter the speed dial or not? If you can, try this:
Alter the speed towards 1/1000th as far as it will go without forcing anything. Now wind the camera VERY SLOWLY and stop at once if you feel any extra resistance. Keep repeating this until you have wound the shutter completely. Now, fire the shutter. Hopefully this will sort the problem for you.

If you couldn't move the speed dial in the first place, you've probably broken the stop-pin or got the slow-speed pin beyond where it should go. Either of these means a proper repair by removing the top cover.

 

[Palinuro]

Hello Wolves,
I can move the dial without problems (although my dial doesn't have a 1/1000 speed!!!) and I find no resistance on the winding lever, except a click that goes off almost immediately upon winding. After doing the lever does get stuck, and it's only released again once I press the shutter, although pressing the shutter doesn't move the curtain. Then back to usual. Any suggestion?

Thanks a lot!


set off th

 

[Charles Woodhouse]

My suggestion would be to use the horrible FED 3 as a paper weight and if you want a good Russian Leica copy, look for a Zorki 3 (and Not a 3M)! The Russkis used an absolutely ghastly slow speed mechanism in a lot of their later Leica based rangefinders, and in their one Exakta based rangefinder, the Drug or Droog, and if you set the shutter speed with the shutter fired the useless things will jam. From memory, my solution was to remove the top plate and then the slow speed mechanism,and retension it . Not an easy job if you are not used to working on cameras. On the one Zorki 3M I have worked on the slow speed mechanism was screwed to an aluminium plate which had the hardness of warm butter,and on about the third attempt the screws stripped the threads,so no slow speeds.
The Zorki 3 is a really funky looking Leica copy with a great viewfinder and it's an excellent user if in good shape.