Yashica 44 LM front plate removal

[Murray Kelly]

I have a shutter problem with the Yashica 44 LM and wish to look at the shutter. When I take out all the screws and the rings off the flash socket and shutter release it is free and floating but I cannot see how to get it any further.
The problem is with the knob on the shutter wind lever - it is too big to fit thru the slot in the front plate.
Short of easing a hole in one end of the slot, does anyone know how to get the lever thru the plate?
Do they rivet the knob on after assembly, perhaps?
Most puzzling.
Thanks for any advice.
Murray

 

[wblynch]

Do you have the front plate off the camera? I believe you need to remove the leather coverings to reveal the fasteners that free the entire plate.

 

[Murray Kelly]

Do you have the front plate off the camera? I believe you need to remove the leather coverings to reveal the fasteners that free the entire plate.

I did get it off after a bit of a struggle. Unlike some other Yashica TLRs the front plate is held on by 4 screws and the trim rings on the shutter button and the PC flash plug. All in plain view.
Fixed the shutter and reset the speed/aperture mechanisms. Operational again.
Thanks.
Murray

 

[Jack Dominic]

Similar Problem

Similar Problem

I have a similar issue with my Yashica 44lm. I acquired it from a vintage camera store in great working condition, light meter and and all. However, on the day my 127 film arrived in the mail, the shutter would no longer cock. The shutter cocking lever, is as loose as when the shutter is already cocked, whilst the shutter button is as mushy as when the shutter is not cocked.

I removed the front plate as you have, with considerable effort. And from here I can see the cocking the shutter causes a small metal tab to pop up near the shutter button. Pressing the shutter release, resets said metal tab, but the shutter does not fire.

Could you share with me what you did to fix the shutter? I'll do anything in my own power to get this beautiful camera working again.

 

[Murray Kelly]

G'day Jack. Sorry to hear your troubles. My 44LM is still working tho I haven't had it doing anything since the saga of 5 years ago! :-O One problem is it came w/o a case and the strap lugs are quite odd - I never did work out a solution and consequently it is awkward to carry.

The shutter wasn't my original problem actually, it was that someone had just laid the mirror in the hole on top and not into the grooves that are meant to locate it exactly and make the focusing screen on the same plane as the film. Hence it was either in focus at inf. or 1m but never both until the penny dropped and I rectified that one.
While I was at it I had (as you so rightly observe) removed the front plate with great difficulty and checked out that area. It was terrible hard to set the speed and f-stop. The camera had been set on self-timer with the X/M synchro in the wrong place and it had teeth missing and will never be able to do that function again.
I did not remove the lens assembly only the front element as I remember. It was all a bit stiff and even tho I flushed it carefully with 'Ronsonol' I still had to ease off the shutter cover/ring which is kept in the right place with a half headed screw - you wind it out a half turn and the ring will then rotate. After that I carefully applied some graphite to the mechanism with a dropper or a brush (a suspension of a little in some Ronsonol) and the shutter worked just fine.
The headache was getting the speed and f-stop indicators correct when re-assembling the front.
I cannot recall the actual item you ask about, tho I may indeed have had to adjust it but I don't think so. Could it merely need the said flush and graphite?
The actual shutter isn't all that complex but of course I left everything as was working, strictly alone.
Somewhere on the 'net is an exploded view of a similar Yashica but not the 44. It might prove useful.
Don't ask me to fiddle with the darned thing. I am now 79 and the ol' hands ain't so steady anymore. :-(
It really sounds like it only needs a flush and the half headed screw loosening and giving things a turn to the next or next notch of the front plate of the actual mechanism.

I really hope this helps and would be interested to hear the rest of your own saga!

Cheers
Murray

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Mine does the following:
When using the selftimer everything is fine.
When not, than all times ar too short. I think the escape mechanism does not engage and no matter what speed is set they all run at 1/500s.
Sometimes I get the longer times by whacking a bit the front plate.
All this tested without film.

 

[rick oleson]

Sounds like the shutter needs cleaning.

 

[dxq.canada]

Hmm, weird that this post was brought back to life ... I am trying to work on a Yashica-44 (original) and I am having problems getting the front plate off. The sync lever and shutter cocking lever both have an open slot in the cover to slip through ... the self timer lever does not. So I cannot seem to wiggle the front plate off as the shooting lens is in the way.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[rick oleson]

I haven't seen exactly that combination: in most Yashica TLRs, it's the shutter cocking lever that won't come out. In these cases - Yashica 44LM, and 6x6 models C, D and 635 that I know of offhand - the knob on the shutter cocking lever unscrews from the lever. In all of these, it is a LEFT HAND THREAD, and will strip out easily if you turn it the wrong direction. To get the best guess as to whether you have a RH or LH thread, look at which direction your thumb would tend to rotate the knob during normal operation of the lever: Yashica chose the thread direction so that normal operation would tighten, rather than loosen, the knob. Go very gently in trying to unscrew it, these threads are soft and delicate.

One other note, though I don't think it would apply to the original 44: on the 44LM, there are little aluminum fascia panels on the front that block the sync and ST levers from coming through the slot in the main panel. These are glued on, and must be pried off to clear the broader part of the slot for clearance to slip the lever through the panel.

 

[dxq.canada]

Thanks Rick. I was able to wiggle it off ... now I have a problem trying to get it back on.
The knob on the self timer lever is not the problem, the lever itself keeps the plate from lifting high enough to get over the edge of the lens.
I will continue to work on it ... maybe I did not tighten the lens enough so it is raised too high.

 

[rick oleson]

I haven't encountered that problem, I'm afraid. On the 44LM, after prying off the little aluminum plate, there's a big hole behind the lever so that the cover just lifts straight off.

 

[dxq.canada]

Sadly the original 44 does not have such plates.