Zorki 4K - "How to CLA"

PDF for Zorki 4/4K

PDF for Zorki 4/4K

I started work today on a new PDF of wolves3012's tutorial; should be finished by Monday, Nov. 12, 2007. It includes the addendums of questions/answers after wolves3012 submitted his tutorial, and all the photos set within the text for easy reference of each step.

That is if wolves3012 will let me ~;-) 🙄
 
Probs not on the Zorki Tutorki

Probs not on the Zorki Tutorki

Oops, me too. I couldn't remember if I was supposed to do it or you, but it's there now for the clicking of others. The post-production taught me a lot. Thanks for letting me help get your work back to help all the FSU users.
 
Zorki/Fed CLA

Zorki/Fed CLA

I know wolves3012 will be pleased all his work helped you with your Zorki. I didn't think mine needed a CLA but I did one anyway to see if I could follow my own editing of his great tutorial. I even applied some I learned from him while rebuilding my brother's Summitar 50/2 (the one with the friendly aperture blades), two Kiev 6x6's, and an old strat I never play.

Also am applying the techniques on the new (old) Argus A3 with the extinction meter that kinda almost works. Soon.

Vido


Bunches of cameras I'll sell one day, so you gotta be quick! Used them all while shooting thephotocollege.com
 
I need to lubricate/fix the shutter release on my Zorki 2C. Before I start dismantelling it are the above instructions and parts the same?

Regards,
Lee
 
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Thanks for the detailed guide. My Zorki 4K had lost its shutter trigger and spring due to the loosening of the small screw that holds it in place.
I removed the top cover following your instructions, tightened the screw, cleaned up things around, remounted the whole thing, et voila ! It is now ready to take a few more years of beating.
 
Hiya, might as well piggyback this thread. I have a 4K I managed to drop on a trip, get the RF totally out of whack and then fumble enough to loosen the adjustment screw enough to have it rattling inside.

So thanks to the detailed instructions here (big hand) I finally got to repairing it, alas theres a couple things I am missing now I put it all back together again.

1. Film advance is "loose", as in I need to advance first halfway, and then advance fully to get the shutter triggered. Is it my spring too loose or the cog wheel under the spring in the wrong position?

2. The film rewind release doesn't work. I mean it releases the silver spool with the teeth from the shutter allright, but it won't "release" it to allow rewinding, it only moves half a turn and then stops. And I didn't really touch anything of that assembly, only the rewind mechanism.

3. If you look from the film compartment there are the cogwheels and then a "claw"... on the claw there is a small spring... where/how what is it supposed to be doing? Apparently not allowing a return of the cogwheels but I didn't pay attention to its existence before removing a hefty dollop of grease. The spring's function is a mystery...

*sigh* the Fed 3 I reassembled was such a cakewalk as are plain 4's.:bang:
 
BigHairyFinn said:
Hiya, might as well piggyback this thread. I have a 4K I managed to drop on a trip, get the RF totally out of whack and then fumble enough to loosen the adjustment screw enough to have it rattling inside.

So thanks to the detailed instructions here (big hand) I finally got to repairing it, alas theres a couple things I am missing now I put it all back together again.

1. Film advance is "loose", as in I need to advance first halfway, and then advance fully to get the shutter triggered. Is it my spring too loose or the cog wheel under the spring in the wrong position?

2. The film rewind release doesn't work. I mean it releases the silver spool with the teeth from the shutter allright, but it won't "release" it to allow rewinding, it only moves half a turn and then stops. And I didn't really touch anything of that assembly, only the rewind mechanism.

3. If you look from the film compartment there are the cogwheels and then a "claw"... on the claw there is a small spring... where/how what is it supposed to be doing? Apparently not allowing a return of the cogwheels but I didn't pay attention to its existence before removing a hefty dollop of grease. The spring's function is a mystery...

*sigh* the Fed 3 I reassembled was such a cakewalk as are plain 4's.:bang:
Click to expand...
In answer to your questions:
1) yes you did reposition the ratchet wrongly. Take a close look at the pictures and you'll see the ramps in the correct position. Alternatively, just move it about 1/8 turn and try again. You can't be much further away than that.

2) The rewind release collar should only turn about 1/4 turn anyway. Effectively what it does is to depress the shutter and release the sprocket. If the sprocket IS releasing you could lock the shutter down when rewinding and live with that or take it all apart and solve whatever is the real problem.

3) The "claw" you mention is a ratchet that allows one-way gear movement. The tiny spring keeps the "claw" (it's actually called a pawl) in engagement with the gear teeth.

Hope that helps!
 
I'm stuck on part 2, getting the slow speed gearing back in. I seem to get it to the right place but I don't get the shutter speed selector and the ring gear to cooperate. And of course, you don't get to find this out 'til you have the whole thing back together. Is there a gotcha there that the easily baffled might run into?

EDIT: I have made another couple of runs at this and perhaps my escapement has gotten gummed from repeated handling. I'm de-greasing it again (mmm, the smell of orange oil). Where my reality deviates from the documentation is the number of turns i need to wind the ring gear: I need almost 2 full revs to get the pin in the right place. Is there a more precise way to tell if this is working properly?
 
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paul beard said:
I'm stuck on part 2, getting the slow speed gearing back in. I seem to get it to the right place but I don't get the shutter speed selector and the ring gear to cooperate. And of course, you don't get to find this out 'til you have the whole thing back together. Is there a gotcha there that the easily baffled might run into?

EDIT: I have made another couple of runs at this and perhaps my escapement has gotten gummed from repeated handling. I'm de-greasing it again (mmm, the smell of orange oil). Where my reality deviates from the documentation is the number of turns i need to wind the ring gear: I need almost 2 full revs to get the pin in the right place. Is there a more precise way to tell if this is working properly?
Click to expand...

First of all, the 1-and-a-half turns was what mine needed. I don't think 2 turns would mean something is wrong, it's just a case of individual spring tension etc. You'll probably find that 3 turns (ish) can't be achieved because the spring is fully found before 3 turns and that needs to be avoided.

The only way to check if you have it set up properly is to cock the shutter, which can be awkward to do with half the top missing (and the lever, in particular!). Try winding it by turning the film sprocket in the normal film travel direction. Hurts your fingers but it works. Good luck!
 
Ah, OK. And one more detail. Since mine is a 4, not a 4K, I can use the winder knob to cock the shutter, yes?

The speed selector on this 'un was a little balky and still seems a little tricky, as if the tabs and slots don't fit well. I guess it's only a '70 and hasn't been run in yet?
 
paul beard said:
Ah, OK. And one more detail. Since mine is a 4, not a 4K, I can use the winder knob to cock the shutter, yes?

The speed selector on this 'un was a little balky and still seems a little tricky, as if the tabs and slots don't fit well. I guess it's only a '70 and hasn't been run in yet?
Click to expand...
On a 4 you can just screw the knob back on and use that, yes.

If the tabs/slots of the selector are tight, try a few small dabs of lightwight grease on the slots. Run the selector around the speeds a bit to work it in. Personally, I tend to oil or grease the contact surfaces of any moving parts. Oil for bearings of any sort and grease for gears and anywhere oils wouldn't stay in place.
 
wolves3012 said:
First of all, the 1-and-a-half turns was what mine needed. I don't think 2 turns would mean something is wrong, it's just a case of individual spring tension etc. You'll probably find that 3 turns (ish) can't be achieved because the spring is fully found before 3 turns and that needs to be avoided.

The only way to check if you have it set up properly is to cock the shutter, which can be awkward to do with half the top missing (and the lever, in particular!). Try winding it by turning the film sprocket in the normal film travel direction. Hurts your fingers but it works. Good luck!
Click to expand...


Alright, I think we have achieved something approaching success. But . . . the second curtain doesn't close. The speeds sound OK (at least as fast as the unwinding of the escapement goes) but the second curtain doesn't close until I cock the shutter. Not what controls that . . . help?

More messing about with this hasn't revealed anything other than that camera repair is not a career option ;-) I have perused Rick Oleson's pages on this and I don't quite see how I can either check that the shutter is under tension and then release it or otherwise get things right. I think I have stuffed something up and despair at having another basketcase on my hands.
 
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paul beard said:
More messing about with this hasn't revealed anything other than that camera repair is not a career option ;-) I have perused Rick Oleson's pages on this and I don't quite see how I can either check that the shutter is under tension and then release it or otherwise get things right. I think I have stuffed something up and despair at having another basketcase on my hands.
Click to expand...
There are two ways the second curtain is held open. First, there's the crescent-shaped arm sitting in an arc around the speed selector. This gets kicked aside by the little tab on the first curtain shaft. Secondly, there's a tiny lever sitting under the slow speed mechanism and this gets pushed into operation when the slow speeds are set: once the delay is up the mechanism pushes this out of the way and the second curtain carries on. The tiny cam under the clockwork is what operates the lever, so have a close look.

When a slow speed is set, the second curtain's "normal" release is kicked aside as usual but the second one detains it until the time's up. Have a re-read of the sticky and see if you can understand by watching it what happens. You could also fire the shutter with the slow-speed mechanism removed and try moving that little lever manually to see the operation: the shutter will stay open until you move it aside. Positioning of the slow-speed mechanism's cam is crucial when you re-fit it.
 
wolves3012 said:
There are two ways the second curtain is held open. First, there's the crescent-shaped arm sitting in an arc around the speed selector. This gets kicked aside by the little tab on the first curtain shaft. Secondly, there's a tiny lever sitting under the slow speed mechanism and this gets pushed into operation when the slow speeds are set: once the delay is up the mechanism pushes this out of the way and the second curtain carries on. The tiny cam under the clockwork is what operates the lever, so have a close look.
Click to expand...

Is the level a thin black piece that is flat on the top deck? I see it and it moves a little. Not sure how much and in what direction it should go. And I really don't want to disassemble another Zorki 4 to find out ;-)
 
sooner said:
Haven't followed this thread, but in my opinion the best way to CLA a Zorki is to buy a Bessa R!
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Yes, well there's no doubt while if one is simply interested in an operational LTM body, the Bessa R meets the mark very well, but I rather enjoyed this thread. I think the point is not so much that it's a 4K that's being CLA'ed, but that this makes a good training vehicle for those interested in camera repair in general. Many of the Russian rangefinders seem to be good for that due to their relative simplicity. A CLA'd 4K would also make a very useful photographic tool for many.

When I get a lot more time than I have now, I plan to try this!!!
 
paul beard said:
Is the level a thin black piece that is flat on the top deck? I see it and it moves a little. Not sure how much and in what direction it should go. And I really don't want to disassemble another Zorki 4 to find out ;-)
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the second catch. It is spring-loaded towards the speed selector (i.e. to the right as you hold the camera normally). I don't recommend taking it apart since you'd have to remove the RF/VF block first. The little cam under the slow-speed mechanism pushes that flat bar to the left at the end of the time and so releases the second curtain. It doesn't move very far at all, couple of mm. Taking the slow-speed mechanism out means that catch never gets pushed aside, so the second curtain cannot release.
 
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