Nikon F36 back is locked

[_goodtimez]

Hi folks,

I have a nice F36 which I used without any problem some months ago and then I carefully stored it.
Today I tried to unlock the back to load a new film, the knob rotates 180° like it should but the back does not slide down.
It seems like both LH and RH locks are still engaged.
I did not force on anything. I attempted to heat up the knob area using a strong light without success.
Next trial is to cool the camera in the deep freezer ...
Any good idea is welcome
Thanks 🙄

 

[kbg32]

I attempted to heat up the knob area using a strong light without success.
Next trial is to cool the camerain the deep freezer ...

No offense, but none of your attempts or ideas seem like good ones. Why don't you just take the camera to a competent repairman? Certainly better then messing up the camera further.

 

[_goodtimez]

Thanks for the advice; I have tried that but is does not budge. Really it seems like the locks are indeed locked.
I'm going to see on another one I have if it will be possible to insert a specially made hook throught the shutter window in T mode...
Damn this is like a car locked with the keys inside 😱

 

[_goodtimez]

No offense, but none of your attempts or ideas seem like good ones. Why don't you just take the camera to a competent repairman? Certainly better then messing up the camera further.

I am a camera repairman

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Could the sliding internal lock perhaps have come out from under the pin that holds it to the back or perhaps the cam that operates it has become disconnected?

I haven't had my hands on an F in forever but aside from this, the only thing I can think of is the locking tab itself has come slightly loose on the shaft, allowing both the right side sliding lock and the round lock on the left side to remain engaged. If that's the problem you may have to come up with a solution like you said, going in from the front with the camera on T. Worst case scenario, grinding off one of the rivets on the back to allow you to turn the lock from the inside. You'd have to pop a new rivet back in though or have Nikon dig up some of their long gone techs to fix it. Ouch.

EDIT: Do you have a Nikon reloadable cassette in the camera now? I find that those cassettes "drag" my locking tab enough on my SP to maybe get it to stick a bit. There's also that tab that holds the cassette against the body which would cause a ton of binding force if it slipped maybe 10 degrees either way.

Good luck!

Phil Forrest

 

[Livesteamer]

I have an F that does this with the normal back. If I remember correctly, for some reason, the knob is not giving quite enough motion to fully move the bar that does the unlocking. If you examine the regular back you will see mechanics similar to the F36. I wish I knew the answer. I finally got the back off mine and have left it open till it gets repaired. Good Luck, Joe

 

[Livesteamer]

If the knob is not giving enough motion to move the locking bar far enough, with just a little luck, a strong whack with the palm of your hand on one side of the camera (not sure which side right off) might jar the locking bar far enough to disengage?

Any other ideas? Joe

 

[kbg32]

I am a camera repairman

Geezus........😱

 

[_goodtimez]

Thanks to all of you guys for your positive involvment in resolving this strange issue.
I provide hereby added information:

Phil, the body is empty, no film not cassette
I compared with another F36, this is not the back sticking to the body. I had one doing this and I could remove it with normal force. Here this mule does not move a single mil.
Livesteamer, I have tried the ass kicking technique, hmmm no move.
Kbg32, yes I fix cameras on a hobby and by passion. I hope I can fix this one...

Right now the body has been in the deep freezer (in a Ziploc) for 24 hrs. I may re-try tonight.
For sure i will let you know what the final solution will be at the end.
Cheers

 

[_goodtimez]

Got it !

Got it !

Photmoof you were right !
The deep freezer did not help...
I protected the blade of a screwdriver with a few coats of masking tape and gently pried it from each side. It moved !
I got it out easily with the screwdriver.
I know the reason why it got stuck: I had put a pice of thin cardboard to isolate the film rails from the pressur plate (to prevent corrosion, all my stocked cameras have this add-on) but the thin cardboard actually slipped inside the top groove at the back of the body, squeezing the back inside.:bang:
Picture:

Nikon F F36 BACK STUCK by Wegothim, on Flickr
I really thank all of you for you friendly help on this.

 

[steveniphoto]

ive never heard of that cardboard thing before. i dont really think its necessary man haha.

 

[_goodtimez]

ive never heard of that cardboard thing before. i dont really think its necessary man haha.

I no longer use cardboard now. I use thin plastic film just like the one delivered with most brand new film cameras

 

[farlymac]

Oh, so it was self inflicted. Glad you got it open.

PF

 

[_goodtimez]

Yes the cardboard was huge, I agree. This back was really stuck there and I tried hard to remove it by hand. I have quite some strengh for these things, in fact too much sometimes. It happened that I even broke things, thus the reason why I prefered to think about it before taking action hahah.
I think the reason why most film rails corrode is because of the film isn't it ? It seems to me like the material on the film would become acid and accelerate corrosion in some way.
Now I put thin tranparent plastic film which is kind of neutral.
I'm glad this beast has no damage at all.

 

[farlymac]

The presence of two dissimilar metals in close proximity to each other will create an electrical induction current that causes the corrosion. In ships, they place zink blocks on the inside of the hull to disrupt the current flow. Also, when aluminum superstructures are connected to the steel decking, insulators are used to seperate the two. Your pressure plate is of a different metal (usually steel) than the camera body (usually an alloy of mostly aluminum). The little plastic shield Nikon included with their cameras was meant to be used whenever the camera would be sat for long periods of time. But most everyone just tosses them. Film in the camera acts as a disrupter of the current circuit, and also polishes the rails as it feeds through the camera.

PF

 

[farlymac]

Moisture is a contributing factor in whether or not frame rails corrode. If a camera is kept in nice dry conditions, then the rails will be in better shape. I can't say as I've ever had a problem with any of my Nikons in this respect, but other cameras seem to be more susceptible to it.

PF