Retina II CLA - need a spanner wrench

W

wlewisiii

Guest
Stopped in at the local St. Vinnies today and they actually had some interesting bits laying around. 2 Argus C-3s (both in much rougher shape than the one I have) and a Voigtlander Bessamatic that, while interesting, was priced too high. So instead, I picked up a relatively early Kodak Retina II. It's in pretty good condition, but the helical needs a CLA pretty badly as it causes the focus ring to pop loose easily. This is, IIUC what I've read on the net, a common problem with these cameras. To do this correctly, I'll need to get a spanner wrench which is not something I can spring for right now. I've already caused enough internal scratches trying with my makeshift tools.

Anyone got one they'd be willing to loan for a roll of film or two?

Thanks,

William
 
Are you trying to get out the inner retaining ring? If so, I think you need a special wrench made for the Retina Series. A standard one just can't get into the tight squeeze.
 
Yes, the inner ring. I was afraid of something like that. I may just have to think about sending it to the gentleman from New Zealand who does Retina repairs.

William
 
I'll look at my parts IIa. Does your II have a combined VF/RF, or separate?

The knob advance is counter-threaded. It comes off in the opposit direction that you normally encounter, in case you pop the top.
 
It has a combined VF/RF. It's the 011 model from 1946 - 1949. Retina-Xenon 50/2 lens in a Compur-Rapid with flat face and no sync.

William
 
I just got a wrench for Retina series off eBay to do exactly the same thing.
The wrench worked well for my Retina IIa but I am having a hard time figuring out how to put the film advance mechanism back together (I had to take the top off because of the pin adjusting rangefinder).
You can borrow it when I figure it out or the Retina becomes a basket case. :)
 
BLEE017: use dental floss to hold the "Claw" back. Otherwise it engages the "I do not want to advance" mechanism.
 
Gman, those pages are what I've been referencing. But it really appears to need a special wrench to get the ring out to remove the shutter assembly.

William
 
Greyhoundman, thanks a lot for the url.
I had a quick glance and it seems complicated (holing the advance lever at an angle, adjusting the cocking rack, and etc).
No wonder I had no clue.
I'll see if I can reverse the damage with the instructions but in case I get stuck (which is almost certain), could I ask questions perhaps under a new thread?

Brian, many thanks for the tip.
I'll keep that in mind although I haven't even gotten the frame counter part yet; I am struggling with fitting the advance lever and making it work at the moment. :)

John
 
Yeap, that's what I'm trying to do.
I managed to get the cocking rack out of alignment while trying to see how it works.
To make matters works, I detached the rack on the film advance shaft in desperation and now have to find its correct zero position.
 
greyhoundman said:
If my senior mind remembers correctly.:)
I modified a pair of needle nose to remove mine.
I had the lens assembly off 4 or 5 times during test fitting.
Click to expand...

Ah. Unfortunately, that's outside of my capability here, so I'll just wait to borrow the appropriate wrench. Fortunatly for me, this is the knob wind version & shutter lever cocking version, so no cocking rack to deal with :)

William
 
You might check out e-bay under rangefinder cameras there have been a couple of wrenches advertised recently for the Retina. Good luck!
 
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