More on cassette jamming in FED-1

[Nickfed]

THis is now getting serious...... I got my FED-1 for fun but I have just used it for work purposes and getting the film out was really hard. The cassette started to come apart and I may have lost some critical stuff.

Now, looking inside the cavity where the cassette goes, I see some scratched paint. This is a line parallel with the side of the shutter crate, about 10mm from it, just where the front of the body changes from straight to curved. The surface there is nonetheless dead smooth. It appears that the problem is on the other side of the space, immediately opposite. There is a much thinner wear mark and I can feel a distinct ridge under it.

I'm guessing, but I suspect the body is brass sheet formed over a jig and this ridge is the join. It is in the worst possible place, as any error in manufacture more or less guarantees the cassette will jam.

I would like to see a FED-1 stripped of vulcanite. I suspect this area will show a lapped join and a lot of solder.

I believe the solution is to drop the body off so that everything is accessible, and cleanable. This ridge can then be filed back and the area re-painted. There is no other sign of distortion or abuse. The outside of the body feels absolutley kosher in this area. I would be glad of any comment from other FEDF-1 drivers.

 

[Nickfed]

Further to this, I have dismantled the FED. The distinct ridge is in fact a purpose-made depression, there is also one at the other end of the body. I guess this is just to keep the body clear of the film. There is nonetheless a ridge adjacent to it and I have attacked this, gently, with a file and also the paint scratches on the other side.

The Fuji cassette does go in more easily but I will now have to finish the roll before seeing how easily it comes out. I think the cassette moved more easily through the bare body so I suspect the body is distorted by a few microns when it is assembled. This may be caused by the alignment of the shutter crate to the top deck.

 

[reagan]

Nickfed ~
Interesting ... and unfortunate. But it sounds like you're on the right track. Never having seen a film cassette made "back-in-the-day" of the early FEDs and Zorkis, I'm guessing they were just a tad smaller than the mass produced canisters of today. I have one Zorki.1 that is just a pretty snug fit as well, although so far, I've been able get the film out suffering only frustration. But if needs be, I've got a Dremel tool and I'm not afraid to use it. 😉 Good luck! and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Nickfed]

Indeed CVBLZ4, I think the staked caps may be the villain. I think the Leitz brass cassettes were smoother. I used to use Adox screw-in cassettes for bulk loading and they definitely were. I have been trying to find one around here. I bet it would drop out nicely and, who knows? it might have Panatomic-X in it.....

 

[ZorkiKat]

The FED-1 body (from the several naked ones I've seen) is completely seemless. It appears to have been formed by hmmering an aluminium tube to form the camera's oval shaped body. By being made of aluminium instead of brass, the camera's body shell is prone to distortion. Even normal handling can deform the body.

Tight cassettes are common with the earlier ones. I have a few samples of FED with tight film chambers. The factory cassettes from Kodak or Fuji are often stuck in them. Curiously, these same cameras would freely let in and let out thicker reloadable cassettes- even those which label stickers on them.

The problem with the earlier ones is the way the shutter crate is made. The wall of the crate facing the film chamber is not flat, and the stamped forms on the wall catch with the caps of the cassette.

The last FED-1(variants "f" and "g") were not prone to detain cassettes. But there have been two which I found to do so. The problem wasn't with the shutter crate. It was with the way the crate was installed in the camera. The crate as attached too close to one side, making the chamber thin. This probably was the reason why the camera looked so well preserved. Its defect prevented its previous owner from using it often, or at all.

One way to correct the problem is to remove the shutter crate and hammer the body to shape. Or some filing could help. But if too much filing is required, the wall may become thinner and the body loses its strength. In one of the
'tight' FEDs, I painted a layer of metal-filled epoxy over the filed areas. The epoxy made them less prone to distortion.

 

[Nickfed]

The problem with the earlier ones is the way the shutter crate is made. The wall of the crate facing the film chamber is not flat, and the stamped forms on the wall catch with the caps of the cassette..

Yes, I thought that was the case but in previous discussion somebody said that filing the projection on the shutter crate didn't fix anything. I'm inclined to agree as there is no sign of anything and thew cassttte can be hard to remove even when the cap is past the projection. All the scratches are on the inside of the body.

The last FED-1(variants "f" and "g") were not prone to detain cassettes. But there have been two which I found to do so. The problem wasn't with the shutter crate. It was with the way the crate was installed in the camera..
The crate as attached too close to one side, making the chamber thin.

That's what I meant but I thought it may be the crate was mis-aligned fore and aft

This probably was the reason why the camera looked so well preserved. Its defect prevented its previous owner from using it often, or at all..

Indeed.......

One way to correct the problem is to remove the shutter crate and hammer the body to shape. Or some filing could help.

I don't think hammering is a good idea but the metal is quite thick and a few licks with the file should be OK. I think I have improved things but have maybe been a biit too cautious and I may be faced with more work when this last roll is finished.