Gone in a Flash: Removing a Flash Sync?

[Joe Vitessa]

I've recently acquired a Leica IIIb that has a flash sync added to its front. I'd like to remove this anachronism before giving the camera a fresh coat from cameraleather.com.

Any words of advice before I try to do it? Do I need to remove the camera shell to get to it? Does the hole need to be filled in afterwards? And with what?

Any suggestions are most appreciated. Thanks.

Joe

 

[HuubL]

I hate it when a nice classic camera has been "updated" with a flash sync. I passed on a beautiful IIIb a few days ago because it had a sync sticking out of the viewer housing.

You could probably glue a thin piece of metal at the inside of the body shell and plaster the hole before applying the new coat.

 

[akiatoji]

Joe,

I have the same issue with my IIIa, and was thinking of doing exactly the same.

On my IIIa, I can get to the zit err sync terminal pretty easily from the bottom (see link below). Looks like the thing is attached with some sort of goop, so I'm hoping removing it will be easy. I'll epoxy thin metal on the inside like HuubL says.

Now the only hold up is, I can't decide what color covering to get. I'm still so very intrigued by that Morrocan Red leather, but everytime I bring it up, my wife keeps making this funny face.....

http://tinyurl.com/5bwe77

 

[Livesteamer]

My only hesitation would be that if the camera were sold in the future the partial restoration should be mentioned to the potential buyer just for honesty. The hole could also be welded up but this would require some expert and careful work. Joe

 

[john neal]

I have the same issue with a beautiful II body. The offending item has been removed by a repairman, who left a blob of black epoxy in the hole (awful). In one way it was a good modification, in that the flash connector leaked light, so the body was not used for the last 40+ years, but it has left me with a tidy-up to do.

I think the application of some 0.002" brass shimstock inside the body shell, with a little car body filler on the outside should get the surface good enough to apply a replacement leather from Cameraleather and ensure light tight conditions (I have also seen advice suggesting countersinking the hole and gluing a brass disk into the depression). Given the application of adhesive and filler, it would probably be a good idea to do this as a "body off" exercise - you can then remove the rest of the vulcanite without damage to the rest of the camera - even if you have to resort to paint stripper to get the vulcanite off (unlikely in most cases).

I would not advise trying to weld or solder the body - it is an aluminium extrusion of unknown composition and I think it would be all to easy to make a real disaster out of a relatively small problem 😱