Repairing a bargain Weston Master

[Coldkennels]

Today's chance find in a junk shop in Rochester: a hideously overpriced Weston Master III, in case, with the needle completely stuck and non-functional.

Cosmetically, it was in great shape, so I showed the owner that it was not useable (she laughed when I pulled out a Weston II from my coat pocket to compare!) and talked the price down a bit. I figured that in the worst case scenario, I could harvest the body shell to fix up a very battered Weston III with a working cell.

After getting into it (the "security screws" holding the name plate on the back were pretty well seized and stubborn to remove), it turns out the only issue was a loose front glass pinching the needle and the floating pivot was slightly out of place, causing the electromagnetic coil to catch on the magnet at a certain point in the meter's travel.



An hour's work and this will be good as new once the new glue for the glass is cured and the case goes back together. These UK-made Westons are solid - in fifteen years I've only ever seen one with a cell that was truly dead.



The zero point isn't perfectly adjusted, but this is already close enough to my "known good" Weston II that I think it'll be bang on the money.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I have an old Weston II, but I'm not sure if it works. Been a while since I've had it out to photo it. Honestly don't think I'd actually be able to figure out how to use it either.

 

[Muggins]

Have you ever gone into a EuroMaster V? I dropped mine a couple of years back, and could only get so far dismantling it.

 

[Muggins]

I have an old Weston II, but I'm not sure if it works. Been a while since I've had it out to photo it. Honestly don't think I'd actually be able to figure out how to use it either.
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As long as you can check how the Weston number relates to ISO when you set it they're much the same as the later Westons, if that's any help?

 

[Dralowid]

While Weston fans are gathered...

I don't remember, are you supposed to leave a later Weston (IV,V etc) with the needle locked or unlocked?

 

[Coldkennels]

Have you ever gone into a EuroMaster V? I dropped mine a couple of years back, and could only get so far dismantling it.

Didn't you start a thread about that? I thought you went in the same way as every other model (remove back plate, remove screws holding back half on, remove three screws underneath back half holding the front half in place), but I seem to recall there was something about having to remove the dial (which you don't have to do on the early models). I personally stick to Westons before the IV came out - the III is the best of the batch, with a much clearer dial than the I and II, but they're all a lot more solid and dependable than the IV onwards. And that's because...

I don't remember, are you supposed to leave a later Weston (IV,V etc) with the needle locked or unlocked?

That needle lock is a problem. Leave it unlocked - it's far too easy for it to get stuck in place. It also bends the needle slightly, from what I remember - and if it gets too bent, it ends up catching on the internals and not moving freely. I've had to repair a few with this issue over the years.

The back case of this Weston III has a date of May 1962, which is some time after the IV was introduced (1960, according to The Masters | John's Weston Meter Collection), so there was obviously some continued production and demand for this model. I'm always impressed to see that they're still working as well as the day they were made.

I have an old Weston II, but I'm not sure if it works. Been a while since I've had it out to photo it. Honestly don't think I'd actually be able to figure out how to use it either.

With the baffle on the back closed, cover the back of the meter with your hand and hold it upright and horizontal (like the Westons positioned on the shelf in my original post). The needle should sit exactly at 0. Then, pointing the meter towards a light source, remove your hand and the needle should move freely upwards. A bright cloudless sky in early afternoon on a summer's day should get you a direct reading of 400 on the meter's scale, but this time of year you'll be lucky to get a direct reading of 100 in most places. Once you know how it works, you can compare it to a "known good" meter to be sure.

Everything else is covered in the PDF copy of the manual here: Weston Master II Model 735 light meter instruction manual, user manual

Just remember that on the Weston II, Weston speeds were two notches below modern ISO (64 Weston = 100 ISO). From the III onwards Westons are only one stop out (80 Weston = 100 ISO). I suspect a lot of claims of inaccuracy come from people who don't know that, but I do have a working theory that the black-faced US-made Westons like yours are far more prone to failure than the white-faced UK made ones like mine. Almost all the reports of totally dead ones come from the US, but I've picked up countless Westons of all ages in the UK without any issues (barring mechnical ones like this).

 

[Muggins]

Didn't you start a thread about that?

You know what, I did didn't I? I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on...

Thanks for the reminder, I will have to revisit that.