K1000 film advancement problem

Has anyone experienced this problem? I will have a roll of film

loaded in my K1000, and sometimes when I go to advance the film to

the next frame I feel a lot of resistance on the film advance lever,

about half way through an advancement stroke. IF I continue pushing

the lever, no matter how slowly or carefully, it will result in

tearing a sprocket hole in the film, then it will not advance at

all. I have carefully inspected the entire film path, and can find

no real signs of wear or bits of film that might be causing

problems. The supply spindle is nice and free-moving, also. This does

NOT occur with every roll of film. And it does NOT occur only with

one brand of film. Any help is greatfully appreciated.

I have not had this problem with a K1000 but with a Minolta XD11 and a Pentax Program plus. There are a couple of things to check -

 

The film rails. There was a burr on the XD's rail that was pinching (and scratching) the film. A knife sorted that out.

 

Lube in the transport mechanism. The program A was very dry - the moment you put strain on the winder the mechanism siezed up. A touch of grease and drop of oil sorted that.

 

A tight pressure plate - uncommon because it loosens with age. Check it out anyway?

 

Tight rewind shaft. You have covered it already.

 

If it tears the sprocket hole then the problem may either be on the rails or on the "can" side. Have another look at the rewind shaft. It may seize up if it is at a slight angle?

The next time it happens, try taking up the slack in the rewind crank, and while holding that firmly in position, use your 2nd hand to press in and hold the rewind button in the bottom...and then use your 3rd hand (!?!) to crank the lever, then shoot a blank. Then try to crank again. Just an idea to try.

When you load the film, it helps to turn the rewind knob so the slot at the bottom of the shaft lines up with the top of the film can (I'm a fanatic... maybe it doesn't matter) It's possible someone messed this up before and tried to force the shaft into the film can, or dropped the camera with the rewind knob lifted... who knows? With no film in the camera, open the back and look at the part of the rewind shaft inside the camera. Does it spin easily? Does it look straight? Pull it up from the rewind knob... check the same things. Now grab a roll of film. Look at the top of the film can where the shaft goes... line up the slot so it will be at similar angle. Put in the film and push the shaft down. Pull some film from the can... give yourself extra to work with. Make sure the film is not binding somewhere and the film can is positioned well. I kind of "hump" the film to help insert it into the slot of the take-up spool (sorry, I may not be using the right terms, but close enough) and push it in firmly. Before you crank the lever to wind the film, gently pull the slack back towards the film can, making sure it's between the guides and then wind the lever (back still open) watch to see that it winds and doesn't slip. Many others just load the film from the take-up spool end, then work in reverse, putting the film can in last. I have film in mine right now, so I can't open it up, but there might be other things you should check... sproket wheel? Another thought: the foam seals, especially the one where the mirror lands when it pops up, falls apart (as mentioned) and can get into the working parts of the camera, so while you're at it, remove the lens and look inside... is some of the foam gone? I got the old stuff out of mine just in time, and replaced it myself... works great! I also seem to remember when I first got it something about not pushing the lever in a continuos stroke messing things up, like letting it slip back for a moment, then trying to finish pushing it. If you get stuck, don't force it, use the little button on the bottom to release it. Hope this helps... I go the extra mile for K1000 owners... mostly because I've learned so much about the camera. E-mail me at photonut1960@sbcglobal.net