Spyderman
Well-known
Hi.
I'm restoring a Zorki 4. I already CLA-ed all internal parts, but now I'm having problems with the slow speed mechanism.
I read Rick Oleson's pages about this, but that didn't help.
The Zorki is from '61 and the slow speed mechanism seems very worn. The gearwheel around the shutter speed selector is wobbly - to the sides as well as up and down.
I bathed it in naphta to remove any oil or dirt, but now it tends to get stuck half way before releasing the second curtain.
I loaded the spring to only 1 turn. Maybe I should give it 2 turns as Rick suggests.
Any suggestions how to mae it run smooth? (I know I shouldn't even ask, but ... maybe some oil?
)
I'm restoring a Zorki 4. I already CLA-ed all internal parts, but now I'm having problems with the slow speed mechanism.
I read Rick Oleson's pages about this, but that didn't help.
The Zorki is from '61 and the slow speed mechanism seems very worn. The gearwheel around the shutter speed selector is wobbly - to the sides as well as up and down.
I bathed it in naphta to remove any oil or dirt, but now it tends to get stuck half way before releasing the second curtain.
I loaded the spring to only 1 turn. Maybe I should give it 2 turns as Rick suggests.
Any suggestions how to mae it run smooth? (I know I shouldn't even ask, but ... maybe some oil?
)
vicmortelmans
Well-known
When you say it's stuck, and you also say the mechanism should be totally clean of oil and dirt, I conclude that the problem is in the operation of the mechanism itself.
When I restored my Zorki4, I noticed (after very careful inspection of the mechanism movements) that the pin that locks the shutter speed was bent upwards. My assumption is that the shutter speed dial got a large amount of downwards pressure.
This same pin is responsible to set off the movement of the second curtain (if I recollect right) or to trigger the slow speed mechanism. Due to the bend, it would trigger it sometimes, sometimes not.
If it didn't trigger, this meant that it passed by the part of the mechanism that receives the trigger. This then caused the mechanism to end up in an unusable state and putting it in the right state again required intervention on the mechanism itself.
You also say parts of the mechanism seem worn out. That can probably cause similar problems of triggers not being hit etc... Problem is: if this is the real cause, replacement seems the only solution.
Just to give you some courage: patience is also a good problem-solver. I had some problems with a sticky second curtain that just resolved itself by operating the camera regularly. Probably some dirt collected while not being used for a long while.
Success!!
Groeten,
Vic
When I restored my Zorki4, I noticed (after very careful inspection of the mechanism movements) that the pin that locks the shutter speed was bent upwards. My assumption is that the shutter speed dial got a large amount of downwards pressure.
This same pin is responsible to set off the movement of the second curtain (if I recollect right) or to trigger the slow speed mechanism. Due to the bend, it would trigger it sometimes, sometimes not.
If it didn't trigger, this meant that it passed by the part of the mechanism that receives the trigger. This then caused the mechanism to end up in an unusable state and putting it in the right state again required intervention on the mechanism itself.
You also say parts of the mechanism seem worn out. That can probably cause similar problems of triggers not being hit etc... Problem is: if this is the real cause, replacement seems the only solution.
Just to give you some courage: patience is also a good problem-solver. I had some problems with a sticky second curtain that just resolved itself by operating the camera regularly. Probably some dirt collected while not being used for a long while.
Success!!
Groeten,
Vic
vicmortelmans
Well-known
Spyderman said:
Are you now talking about the slow speed mechanism (which is on the side of the shutter speed selecter gears) or the shutter mechanism itself?
Spyderman said:
You mean when in slow speed? You hear the mechanism starting to run? I also had it on my Zorki 4: the mechanism started running and then just stopped. Touching it (gently
) would set if off again. This was solved by running it several times and a drop of oil here and there. I didn't have to adjust the spring (actually, I didn't clean it as thoroughly as you did either...).Spyderman said:Any suggestions how to mae it run smooth? (I know I shouldn't even ask, but ... maybe some oil?
Why not? Isn't that what oil is all about: smoothening mechanical operation? Probably the perfect mechanisms can do without, but a Zorki....
Groeten,
Vic
Spyderman
Well-known
Thank you, but this is a different kind of problem. Actually there are 2 problems:
- the arm on shutter speed dial sometimes goes under the pin on gearwheel and doesn't wind on the slow speed mechanism even when it should. This is because the gearwheel is too high and it is also too flexible. On FED 3 the slow speed mechanism is held firmly by 3 screws, one of which is near the front of the camera. On this Zorki the slow speed mechanism is held only by 2 screwsand the gearwheel around shutter speed selector is too flexible.
- the second problem is that when the slow speed mechanism is wound, it sometimes stops in the middle. It just gets stuck and I have to help it move further. Maybe someone tried to set something with the clockwork mechanism... Is there a way to make the clockwork move faster? Because when the shutter speed is set to 1s the actual time is more than 2s. So I guess if I could make the slow speed mechanism run faster it might help...
- the arm on shutter speed dial sometimes goes under the pin on gearwheel and doesn't wind on the slow speed mechanism even when it should. This is because the gearwheel is too high and it is also too flexible. On FED 3 the slow speed mechanism is held firmly by 3 screws, one of which is near the front of the camera. On this Zorki the slow speed mechanism is held only by 2 screwsand the gearwheel around shutter speed selector is too flexible.
- the second problem is that when the slow speed mechanism is wound, it sometimes stops in the middle. It just gets stuck and I have to help it move further. Maybe someone tried to set something with the clockwork mechanism... Is there a way to make the clockwork move faster? Because when the shutter speed is set to 1s the actual time is more than 2s. So I guess if I could make the slow speed mechanism run faster it might help...
Spyderman
Well-known
Ok, so the 2 problems are kind of solved: I bent the part with the gearwheel (around the shutter speed selector) down, and I put some oil on the clockwork gearwheels pivots, and some syntetic grease inside of the gearwheel around the shutter speed selector (It consists of 2 parts that can be unscrewed).
But now another problem arose:
- the slow speed clockwork mechanism can't release the second curtain. It stops just before releasing it. Then it releases when I just slightly push it with hand. It releases only after about 1 tooth on the gearwheel around shutter speed selector.
Any sugestions are welcome.
But now another problem arose:
- the slow speed clockwork mechanism can't release the second curtain. It stops just before releasing it. Then it releases when I just slightly push it with hand. It releases only after about 1 tooth on the gearwheel around shutter speed selector.
Any sugestions are welcome.