Al Kaplan
Veteran
The auf-zu key in the base plate of my M2 lost its ability to stay up flush with the bottom of the camera. It justs flops down. Does anybody know if this is an easy thing to fix? Or should I just use a bit of masking tape and forget about it?
Thanks, ~Al
Thanks, ~Al
zgeeRF
Established
Al, I have the exact same question! I think it started happening to me when I dropped the baseplate on the ground, but not sure.
Al Kaplan
Veteran
zgeeRF, I didn't drop mine but it is a 50 year old ancient button rewind M2. Maybe Home Depot or Office Depot will have a buy one/get one free on masking tape and we can split the purchase
zgeeRF
Established
I was just about to write, " I guess it's tape" since no one offered a solution yet..
for all I know mine could be 50 yrs old too. I got it in "bargain" condition but it works great.
I'll start looking for tape bargains asap!
for all I know mine could be 50 yrs old too. I got it in "bargain" condition but it works great.
I'll start looking for tape bargains asap!
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I've seen how to fix this, I just can't remember where.
IIRC there's a dished spring washer in the latch that presses against the key. It's flattened out and needs to either be rebent or replaced.
IIRC there's a dished spring washer in the latch that presses against the key. It's flattened out and needs to either be rebent or replaced.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
As Ken said - take the lock apart and lock at the dish flatspring. The edges of the "key" are slightly rounded and the dish-shaped spring simply pushes it up towards the baseplate- once the rounded edge of the key is turned inward. There is also a curved "pin" that holds the hinge and occasionally this one gets worn down - a bit tricky to get out and rebend though.
kully
Happy Snapper
I had this, simply tightening the screw on the other side of the mechanism did the trick.
rulnacco
Well-known
I was looking around for info on this, and found this thread. The original poster is the late, lamented Al Kaplan, sigh. He passed away near the end of 2009--I wonder if he ever got his catch tightened up.
Anyway, for future reference to anyone in a similar situation, I'd like to add my bit, at least relevant to an M3. Mine also suddenly became incapable of staying folded flush to the base plate, and kept flopping down.
I found that neither tightening the screw on the interior of the base plate nor putting a little more bend in the dish spring washer solved the problem--the apparent purpose of the washer is only to provide a little resistance to turning the locking plate, so it doesn't come unlatched accidentally.
It appears that the somewhat U-shaped external locking/unlocking tab is held in place against the base plate only by friction between its inner edges and the hub to which it is attached. I was able to repair mine by removing the central screw and taking out the hub and tab, then pushing out the metal pin that secures the tab to the hub.
*Very* carefully using a good pair of channel lock pliers (vise grips would work just as well), I was able to squeeze the two ends of the tab, where the pin inserts, slightly closer together. It is extremely important to go slowly with this--it did not take much movement at all to squeeze the ends sufficiently to solve the problem. And it is much easier to push them closer together than I am certain it would be to spread them back apart should you go too far.
It would be a good idea to do this on a table, on top of a white sheet or towel. The central screw is pretty small and painted black, and there is a tiny black washer just beneath it that if dropped would be very difficult to find. The towel would not only make things more visible, should you drop a part, but the fibres should help catch stray bits and keep them from bouncing away. A magnetic screwdriver also would speed the process.
It would also be helpful to have a second pair of hands around. There is a square projection at the top of the hub which fits into a similarly shaped hole on the dish spring washer to make sure they are aligned properly. It doesn't stick out very far, so it was much easier to finish the repair when I held the spring washer to the top of the hub while a friend maneuvered the small round washer and the screw into position and tightened it to wrap things up.
Mine now works fine--it was about a 10-minute job, but that was only because it took us figuring out what we needed to do. If I had to do it again--and had some help--it would take half that or less.
Anyway, for future reference to anyone in a similar situation, I'd like to add my bit, at least relevant to an M3. Mine also suddenly became incapable of staying folded flush to the base plate, and kept flopping down.
I found that neither tightening the screw on the interior of the base plate nor putting a little more bend in the dish spring washer solved the problem--the apparent purpose of the washer is only to provide a little resistance to turning the locking plate, so it doesn't come unlatched accidentally.
It appears that the somewhat U-shaped external locking/unlocking tab is held in place against the base plate only by friction between its inner edges and the hub to which it is attached. I was able to repair mine by removing the central screw and taking out the hub and tab, then pushing out the metal pin that secures the tab to the hub.
*Very* carefully using a good pair of channel lock pliers (vise grips would work just as well), I was able to squeeze the two ends of the tab, where the pin inserts, slightly closer together. It is extremely important to go slowly with this--it did not take much movement at all to squeeze the ends sufficiently to solve the problem. And it is much easier to push them closer together than I am certain it would be to spread them back apart should you go too far.
It would be a good idea to do this on a table, on top of a white sheet or towel. The central screw is pretty small and painted black, and there is a tiny black washer just beneath it that if dropped would be very difficult to find. The towel would not only make things more visible, should you drop a part, but the fibres should help catch stray bits and keep them from bouncing away. A magnetic screwdriver also would speed the process.
It would also be helpful to have a second pair of hands around. There is a square projection at the top of the hub which fits into a similarly shaped hole on the dish spring washer to make sure they are aligned properly. It doesn't stick out very far, so it was much easier to finish the repair when I held the spring washer to the top of the hub while a friend maneuvered the small round washer and the screw into position and tightened it to wrap things up.
Mine now works fine--it was about a 10-minute job, but that was only because it took us figuring out what we needed to do. If I had to do it again--and had some help--it would take half that or less.
oftheherd
Veteran
Thanks for that good description.
And yes, many of us still miss Al Kaplan. He was a true gentleman and one of a kind.
And yes, many of us still miss Al Kaplan. He was a true gentleman and one of a kind.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Indeed. I was a bit surprised to see his name pop up on the main page.