Necessary tools?

A

Ash

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I might be getting a user condition Bessa-R, but with a little extra cash I should have left over I was thinking I outta get myself kitted out with my necessary tools. Or as many tools as I can within my budget.

This means tools for camera repair/modification.

So far I'm thinking I need tools for the camera, and also for cutting leather for the coverings (since I'm getting into this rolleiflex repair, and I should have the right tools for the job!)

Short of buying the whole catalogue at micro-tools I'm thought I'd ask you lot what I'm missing from my wishlist here:

-Scalpels (I should have a metal handle from my art supplies, so a collection of blades is all I need there) also small and sharp scissors

-Leather Punch set, hollow (for the circle pieces for things like rollei dials. I take it you place it over the leather, get a hammer and whack it?) and a hammer/mallet

-Flexiclamp? Can I get away without one?

-Calliper/Micrometer When would I need to use one, other than checking screw sizes? Also metal rule, etc

-Leather and adhesive

-Workmat/tray with soft inner lining to avoid things rattling about

-Screwdriver set - maybe one like this? http://www.inter-cam.co.uk/4436.html - 'camera repair tools' maybe?


Do I need a set of taps? or shall I simply buy more screws? I'm tempted to get a scriber as well, for marking when and where I've made repairs (rather than a tacky little sticky note somewhere)? Spanner Wrench as well?



I understand a lot of these things I can get locally, and hopefully cheaper without being cheap-quality.

What am I missing from this list for basic camera repair/adjustment and for leather cutting?


Thanks!!
 
Heh, they aren't in order of importance, but i'll bear that in mind :D

Any idea of UK sellers outside of the bay and microtools?
 
You could ask a couple of watch-makers where they got their screwdrivers. I got my set at a hardware shop in Brighton (he says, embarrassedly) 32 years ago. Perhaps the shop is still around. Right next to an off licence, if that helps. A pair of needle nosed pliers will be handy, but you must cover the jaws with something soft when necessary so as not to leave marks on metal. Taps and dies is going too far, I'd say, unless this is to be more than occasional work. You'd be surprised how much can be done with a pair of ordinary school dividers -- and a ruler, of which you have the steel sort in mind already -- when measuring and punching coverings. You could get two rulers, by the way: one 6" and other 12". You'll not use the longer one so often, and it will be unwieldy for much work. Two punches -- one very small and one not so small -- should be enough. The bigger holes can be "built up" by repeated, er, whacks. Good to keep plenty of sticky tape handy for holding little screws and stuff; and pencil and paper for jotting down what goes where, in what sequence, and for making sketches which only you need to understand. An ordinary processing tray lined with white paper should be OK: if rattles still trouble you, there's always ear-plugs. A friend, now dead but not on account of this, used a custom made cut-down shoe box.
 
Go with microtools and buy the best you can. Even if it means ramen for 6 months and only getting one thing at a time. You can skimp on many things but not tools - cheap tools will cause you more work in the long run. I have learned this lesson the hard way more than once - including ruining a FD 135/2.8 once upon a time... :bang:

William
 
So it looks like I should be filling up a cart on their site then? I'll ask in the watch fixing place in town though, since they do amazing work and must have got their tools somewhere! Besides, I need a watch fixed so it kills 2 birds if you get me.

So I've got most of the list there then? :D
 
sweet! there's a maplin's on the other side of town. I should have thought of that first eh?

thanks for the hu!
 
Ash

PM your postad add, I may have a spare engineers caliper, not too rusty. Might go as heavy letter post.

A small pair of needle nosed pliers does as a lens spanner and may be preferable, you need a set of swiss files (small files), you file down the needle nose pliers so they just fit the lens ring slots.

Otherwise you make up a brass key to fit each lens ring. People have been known to slip with a lens spanner.

Syringe for lube or solvent control, brush ditto (one for each) acrylic black board paint to blacken any internal parts, and J12 rear ends.

Can of Zippo, several packs of cotton buds, bromide paper trays, surgeons vessel clamps. dentist mirror, grease for holding small parts in situ like grub screws. Big magnet, for lost steel parts, Dyson for lost brass parts...

Lastly I've a Jessops bulk loader, which does not do the concentric cassettes I use, so Ill see if I can afford to post to you, could you use?

Did you clean the gunge of your j12 heliciod?

Noel
 
Ash

Struggling with .JPG... attachment, mayhap this might work
 

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Noel,

heh, very retro looking in its current state :D

Is it still accurate? I'll take it ;)
 
Ash

It is steel so does have an initial calibration and expansion feature, it wont have changed much. It does need a clean and kept rust free e.g. with olive oil but otherwise should be ok. The one I use normally is plastic!

If you wanted it to be accurate you need to try it on both a feeler gauge and a one inch block, and record the errors, a works or collegue should have calibration facilities...

The other thing you need is pritt stick, it is what you stick leather cloth on with, dont use anything better, you can remove leather stuck on with pritt without damage. It is more difficult to stick on with pritt, but easier to remove. If you use a good glue there may be/will be lots of damage on removal...

Russ Pinchbeck has a depth gauge enhancement on his to allow better Contax registration, and has also made off a lens style template, but registration to a thou or two would still be difficult.

If you sent your postal address I deleted it sorry ...

Noel
 
I'll pm you my address now :)

Russ Pinchbeck has a depth gauge enhancement on his to allow better Contax registration, and has also made off a lens style template, but registration to a thou or two would still be difficult.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean here, sorry I'm very slow today :)
 
Ash

If you look at Russ Pinchbeck's Kiev survival site he has a section on how to register a Kiev measuring mechanically with a vernier. He has a (photo) of a vernier caliper with a extended baseplate for greater precision, and has scrapped a Kiev lens mount to act as a secondary registration plate.

But even with these tools he gets lots of scatter on repeated measurements, one could hypothesis, an optical (measurement) method may be necessary.

Dont think the clarity is your fault, I did not use enough words, part of my dyslexia problem.

If you attempt this (registration) yourself use some pritt (glue) under the shims to locate them temporarily...

Noel
 
Ash,
another source to consider for tools and materials:
http://www.micromark.com/
I've been happy with their prices and service for a long time; I used to do some model building and then some small scale woodworking.
Rob
 
I'm a literal sort of chap, Ash, and the two birds and a stone bit tells me that you have a cuckoo clock that wants fixing.
 
Well I want the two birds gone with one stone, so there's a rock left over for next time that bloody bird cuckoo's! :D

Thanks for the info everyone :)
 
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