Leica IIIa spool

[David Hughes]

I've been looking inside a FED-1, identical to a Leica for this post.

The take-up spools fit on to the part under the film winding knob (almost dead centre here) of this FED and the part beside it is from a FED-2 or 3 etc and positioned where it would be in a FED-2 etc. Note the position of the start of the taper of the FED-2 part, shown by the screwdriver blade. And can you see that the taper of the FED-1's part is some distance further away from the camera top?

Seeing this I looked into a few take up spools and saw a rivet end sticking out. The rivet is one of the two that holds the clip on the spool. So I can guess that early ones were neatly riveted. Later ones were not so neatly riveted and the clutch mechanism holding the spool was modified for the change.

So old ones fit nicely and newer ones stick out and stop you fitting the base plate...

Regards, David

 

[KoNickon]

Since my post in January I've been looking at spools and cameras. It's very obvious with the Barnacks, FED-1's and Zorki-1's (and probably the very rare Zorki-2) that some take up spools will fit and some won't. So I was able to create two heaps of spools quickly and I have carefully measured 10 of them.

These are what fit the Barnacks, FED-1 and Zorki-1:-

The one on the left is a typical Leica spool; points to note are the criss-crossed knurled end and the arrow pointing to the clip. Not all of them have the arrow, btw. They all seem to be brass and some are painted and some blackened chemically. (The camera bodies checked date from 1926 to 1946.)

In the middle is a typical FED or Zenit or Zorki spool. It hasn't got the knurling like the Leica's and no arrow either but the clip is more or less the same. These and Leica ones sometimes have rounded corners to the clip.

Lastly, the one on the right with the nasty hook is from the old USSR and fits the Leicas etc but it's the exception. I had just two of them that fitted and dozens of hoooked ones that don't fit Barnacks etc.

As for measuring them; the Leica ones are about 0.024" shorter than the old USSR's ones. The internal diametres are the same but the clue as to their fit seems to be the diametre of the take up spools' slipping clutch post and its length. The ones that don't fit Barnacks etc all stick out too much for the bottom plate to close.

So the visual clues (for buyers) seem to be the clip's shape, knurling and sometimes the arrow. BTW, one of these Barnack fitting spools came in a Zenit from the 1950's.

I hope this is of some use. I wish sellers on ebay and so on would read this, they all think a spool will fit (say) a FED-1 and a FED-2 and so on and vice versa but the 1's are the exception. One of these days I'll start sending spools back...

Regards, David

Looking through this older thread I was interested to see the picture showing the three different spools. I recently started fooling around with a Tower (Nicca) Type-3 that came with the spool shown in the middle. It fits the spindle fine, but will not grasp the film securely (it'll work fine if I use tape to hold the film in place). I realize from the above that the spool probably is Soviet and not Nicca, so I'd love to see what a proper Nicca spool looks like. I realize it's possible my spool may simply not have been well made (Soviet QC), or perhaps the clip has gotten bent such that it doesn't hold securely anymore, but that seems hard to believe -- no sign of bending or other trauma. A Leica spool works fine on the camera, and I bet a Canon spool will also. (I agree that the spring-loaded Canon spools are great.)

 

[David Hughes]

Hmmm, there's a chance that the rivets have failed by coming slightly loose (and then jamming out of true). That can be sorted out with a pin punch (through the holes in the spool) and a pin hammer but a bit/lot of luck is needed and something solid to rest the spool on; an extra pair of hands would help too...


Regards, David

 

[KoNickon]

Hmmm, there's a chance that the rivets have failed by coming slightly loose (and then jamming out of true). That can be sorted out with a pin punch (through the holes in the spool) and a pin hammer but a bit/lot of luck is needed and something solid to rest the spool on; an extra pair of hands would help too...


Regards, David

Hi David, no, the rivets are as tight as when new. The tongue may be slightly raised from the spool, so it could have gotten a little bent. But also, the tongue itself is shorter than would seem optimal to me (though it's just like the one in the picture).

 

[David Hughes]

Looking through this older thread I was interested to see the picture showing the three different spools. I recently started fooling around with a Tower (Nicca) Type-3 that came with the spool shown in the middle. It fits the spindle fine, but will not grasp the film securely (it'll work fine if I use tape to hold the film in place). I realize from the above that the spool probably is Soviet and not Nicca, so I'd love to see what a proper Nicca spool looks like. I realize it's possible my spool may simply not have been well made (Soviet QC), or perhaps the clip has gotten bent such that it doesn't hold securely anymore, but that seems hard to believe -- no sign of bending or other trauma. A Leica spool works fine on the camera, and I bet a Canon spool will also. (I agree that the spring-loaded Canon spools are great.)

FWIW, FED spools will be from 85 to 65 years old by now and so I think it's wear and tear rather than quality control...


Regards, David