Sticky shutter on himatic

[Kat]

Hi, my "new" HiMatic 9 came with a sticky shutter, esp at slower speeds where it would often not open at all, or open and not fully close on occasion. I've been thinking of trying to see if I can fix it myself, but I've never done a DIY repair job before, and I have no idea how to remove the lens. Can it be done without using any special tools? Is there a step-by-step idiot-proof guide with the basics somewhere in the net?

 

[bmattock]

The Hi-Matic front element unscrews, which will give you access to the shutter. You should see the notches around the trim ring surrounding the lens.

You have to use some caution, as the light meter sensor is embedded in the tube. There are short wires coming from it, which you should take care not to stretch or break.

From a previous post on RFF:

I clean stuck shutters and aperture blades outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, away from all open flame. I pour out a small amount of naptha (Ronsonol, Zippo liquid lighter fluid) into a container like the lid of a 35mm film cannister and close the Ronsonol container, which I keep well away from my workplace. I use q-tips (cotton swabs) dipped in naptha to slowly clean shutters by directly swabbing and gently rubbing them with naptha-soaked q-tips. If the shutter leaves are stuck together, I press down ever so slightly while massaging them - this allows some fluid to run inside and between the leaves.

If the shutter is under tension (because it had been wound and fired, but had not actually worked), it may suddenly spring open as soon as the debris or yuck that's keeping it closed is cleared. So be ready for that. Otherwise, I just keep trying to wind and fire until it finally does.

On fixed lens rangefinders, the aperture leaves are usually behind the shutter, so once I get the shutter working, I keep cleaning it until the leaves are smooth and shiny looking, but then I use the "B" setting to hold the shutter open (a cable release with a lock works great here) and then I can get at the aperture blades. I give them the same treatment as the shutter, but they won't suddenly spring open. I find that when the shutter blades close, they pick up more dirt / naptha, so you do this process over and over again. It can take an hour or more per lens. Just be patient.

If I have been sparing in my use of naptha, the rear lens element will be clear, but if any has dripped, obviously it must be cleaned out as well. There are tools that allow you to remove the rear element from inside the camera (www.micro-tools.com), and I have a couple of those, but generally, I just clean the inside of the lens out with q-tips and lens cleaner once I get the naptha out.

If a shutter is totally stuck, I might try 'flood cleaning' where you just douse the thing good and proper in naptha - but of course outdoors and well-ventilated. Then leave it sit for awhile. That might cure it, but of course you'll have to clean out the aperture blades and the inside of the rear lens element, since they'll have been soaked as well.

I have slowly gotten better results in recent years with these methods. I would say that I get better than 50% success rates. I find that by continuing to clean even after the shutter frees up, until the blades are bright and shiny, gives me a better overall fix - otherwise, the blades eventually tend to bind up again.

Shutter blades need no lubrication, and neither do aperture blades. Once they are clean and shiny, make sure they are dry of all naptha and button the lens up.

That's pretty much it. Works for me a lot of the time, but if that doesn't do it, then I either discard the camera/lens or plan to send it off to be properly done by a professional, depending on what it is worth to me. I recommend trying it on a cheap camera/lens first before trying it on an expensive/classic camera/lens.

******

I would not call that a goof-proof approach, but it depends on your tolerence for risk.

I feel pretty comfortable doing that job now, but I didn't at first, and I'm not particularly mechanically gifted.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Kat]

Thanks so much, Bill! That's a lot of detailed info, sounds fairly easy to follow. I'm not mechanically inclined, either, and can be rather impatient and/or clumsy, but I figured I might as well give it a try.🙂 The pros charge more than I can afford at this time.

 

[Kat]

Help!

I unscrewed all the screws I could find in the lens barrel, things are loose now but nothing is coming out or falling off on its own except the silver ring with the focus distance numbers. Am I supposed to just pull the barrel out of the body to get to the shutter?

 

[bmattock]

Kat,

The barrel does not come out of the body to get to the shutter. You remove the front trim ring that goes around the lens itself - where the light sensor is. The lens element then comes out from inside the lens barrel and you have access to the shutter. What screws did you remove? You 'unscrew' the front element, but it is not a 'screw' as such, more like opening a jar of pickles.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Kat]

Ah, I see! I took out the screws I found on the barrel, which held the focus ring indicators. :bang:

Is it possible to remove without a spanner?

 

[bmattock]

Ah, I see! I took out the screws I found on the barrel, which held the focus ring indicators. :bang:

Is it possible to remove without a spanner?

Kat,

I cannot recommend the method I have used (ahem), but just in case you really feel like buggering up your lens...

You may notice the two slots on either side of the trim ring that holds the whole lens assembly down. Obviously designed for a spanner wrench, you could imagine that if one were to put a small flat blade screwdriver into one of those slots and tilt it over a bit and rap on it with a tiny tapping hammer or something like that, it might unscrew (counterclockwise, just like a screw). However, the chances are about equally good that the screwdriver will jump out of the slot and put a hell of a furrow in the surface of your lens, which will make you very unhappy indeed.

I have done it, more often than I should admit. If you are going to proceed, proceed with EXTREME caution, and consider that I really don't think it is a good idea. A spanner makes it SO much nicer - and it doesn't bugger up the slot either.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Kat,

Take a look at this:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattdenton/photo/cameras/electro_inside/index.html

Scroll down to the part that starts:

Ahem - the Shutter?

You should see something that looks a BIT like what you have. The principle is the same, most of these fixed-lens rangefinders work the same way in this regard. The trim ring comes out, the lens is removed by gripping and turning, and ta-dah, there is the shutter, ready to be given the Ronsonol treatment (outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces and NO FIRE, please).

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Kat]

You've been a GREAT help, the pictures on that site is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much, again, Bill!😀

 

[bmattock]

You've been a GREAT help, the pictures on that site is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much, again, Bill!😀

Remember, you don't have to tear it down all the way, just far enough that you can reach the shutter leaves with a q-tip. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Kat]

I was able to remove the first outer ring with a screwdriver. But the one with the lens itself was a little tough, and too near the lens for my comfort, I brought it to a pro to have it opened, the first said he couldn't do it and kept talking about how tough a job it would be to work on the shutter blades considering shutter mechanism and focusing (I figure he just didn't like the idea of losing a job for himself), but another opened it with no problem (and bless his heart, he didn't charge me any for that help🙂). On a side note, I noticed our local pros just use some kind of long nose pliers in lieu of spanners.

I finally reached the shutter leaves. I think I'm in big trouble now, I apparently made things worse. I tested the shutter a few times after cleaning with the naphta--they started working, but then they got stuck about 85% open. Now the camera won't wind nor the shutter button fire. Worse, the apperture blades, which had no problems before, suddenly got stuck wide open, too... :bang:


Update:
After I posted above, I went back to the camera, thank god the leaves of both it back together.

Bill, I can't thank you enough, not only for a finally working gear, but even more for the wonderful feeling of having fixed it myself (albeit with a lot of my own stupidity and other people's help!). A few weeks ago, I was wary of doing even my own resealing, taking this plunge and going into the lens is just amazing for me. 🙂 Boy, I can't wait to try it out!