Nikkormat

[Sparrow]

Over the years the foam rubber that Nikon use either turns to a gluey mess or dries and crumbles into a powder. At the weekend, I got tired of all the little black bits in the finder of my Nikkormat FT so I dismantled it and cleaned out and replaced the light seals in the screen prism and finder.

I tried not to get the dust into the mechanism but when I put it together the mirror is sticking at the wider apertures, and the shutter isn’t firing. I striped it again and flushed it through with lighter fluid and while it washed out a lot of rubbish, the fault is still there.

Anybody have any ideas before I spend money on having it repaired, he’s bound to charge extra because I’ve been messing with it! 🙄

it was this I was cleaning

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Stewart, I've had two Nikkormats ( FT2 ) since the seventies, lovely precision instruments!....but stripping and lighter fluid!...why oh why! :bang:....I'm heartbroken - at the thought!...shame! 🙁
Dave.

 

[colyn]

Did you relube? The mirror return gear will stick if dry..

Also check for any broken wires that may be getting in the way of gears etc..

 

[Sparrow]

Stewart, I've had two Nikkormats ( FT2 ) since the seventies, lovely precision instruments!....but stripping and lighter fluid!...why oh why! ....I'm heartbroken - at the thought!...shame!
Dave.

Your not making me feel any better here or helping for that matter, just wait until your finders fill up with dozens of black specks, my guess is you have this in your future :angel:

At least I had the good sense to break it before squirting the lighter fluid at it!! 😱

 

[Sparrow]

Did you relube? The mirror return gear will stick if dry..

Also check for any broken wires that may be getting in the way of gears etc..

No I was unsure where and what needed lubricating do you have instructions? the mirror is stopping on the way up so it’s not releasing the shutter, if I touch it gently or press the DOF preview it fires OK and returns

PS it works fine stoped down to f5.6

I unsoldered/re-soldered the wiring (four times so far) that’s all fitted and reading correctly


this is the offending item

 

[feenej]

I'm gonna send my 1966 Nikkormat to my Russian guy, Gary Airapetov (garryscamera.com). He's CLA'ed four of my cameras so far, charges half what others charge.

 

[colyn]

No I was unsure where and what needed lubricating do you have instructions? the mirror is stopping on the way up so it’s not releasing the shutter, if I touch it gently or press the DOF preview it fires OK and returns

I've never been inside the Nikkormats so can't help you there but the mirror sticking is fairly common when this gear gets dry.

 

[Bill58]

I've got a Nikkormat myself (built like a brick ****house), but have never been able to get rid of all the specks, fibers, etc. from the VF myself. I've used distilled water, brush & canned air, hand blower and you name it to NO avail. Send it to a pro to get it done is my advice.

 

[Sparrow]

I got the finder perfect, it’s a joy to focus now without the dozens of bits, I used water based liquid latex on the glass and replaced the rotting light seals with new ones.

Looks like it has to go to the technician then, I’m going to get the “so sir tried to go the repair himself?” routine aren’t I?

 

[Gumby]

Tell the repairman you just got it off of ebay in "minty" condition. then he won't accuse you of tinkering with it!

 

[Sparrow]

Tell the repairman you just got it off of ebay in "minty" condition. then he won't accuse you of tinkering with it!

That’s sneaky and dishonest; it's perfect, I’ll use it, thanks

 

[Roger Hicks]

More like liquorice than mint, if mine are anything to go by.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sparrow]

Those in the door were liquorice, inside they had become more like black kali, went everywhere however careful one is.

Next time I’ll have a vacuum cleaner to hand, or cut out the middleman altogether and take it straight to the technician