GS645 folder linkage?

[Kragmeister]

Greetings,

I've had constant problems with a GS645 folder. It was supposed to be in excellent working condition but the linkage was very sticky.

I used a cotton swab and lighter fluid to try to clean old lube off of as much of the mechanism I could reach without taking it apart and that helped a bit. Then I decided to try Dri-Slide, a product for lubricating guns and bike cables. This stuff goes on wet, but then the carrier evaporates and leave a slick moly disulfide dry lube. Unfortunately I came up dry <hah> in my search to get some locally. None of the bike shops or gun shops had it in stock.

Ultimately I tried some stuff called Gunslick from Outers. It is a light grease that is loaded with graphite. I used a toothpick to place tiny amounts of it wherever I could reach sliding parts in the shutter release mechanism. It seems to be helping. I managed to trip the shutter over 100 times (yes I counted) without a hangup. I'll try dry firing the camera sporadically for a little while before I commit more film to the experiment.

 

[Kragmeister]

Hah, replying to myself.

So much for the graphite grease solution. After the GS645 linkage worked for over 100 dry firings I loaded film. So far I've had three "hang fires", one in a warm place with a slow shutter speed (where I normally have trouble) and two outside at 1/500 sec. with temps in the upper 50s F.

Guess I'll have to put this one back on the shelf until I get a bellows and do a complete teardown to see how I can improve the shutter release linkage. I'm loathe to send this out for a $200 repair charge....

Later,