Ikoflex III 853/16 repair

<p>This camera came to me last week after I snatched it on Ebay. It went cheap because it had several things wrong with it. It was a Saint Nicolas Day present to myself.<br>

<img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/ikoflex.JPG" alt="" width="331" height="500" /></p>

<p>The crank was stuck, the shutter was stuck. the release wasn't moving, the focus was stuck. I found a film loaded/empty indicator......it was stuck too. <br>

...at least the hood wasn't stuck</p>

<p>I started dismanteling the lensboard first and discovered the shutter itself was not stuck. But it would not stay cocked. I removed the Compur-Rapid shutter from the camera and opened it up.<br>

<img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/ikoflex01.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426" /><br>

....A broken torsion spring fell out.<br>

It took a few minutes to find where it had come from. It turned out that it came from the internal release cam, next to the release lever sticking out the bottom.<br>

An internet search for a replacement spring lead back to Photo.net: Music Wire. Who knew those 8 years of guitar lessons would eventually pay off. I cut a few inches of excess 1st E string from my old Aria Pro II guitar I have stashed in the attic. Within the hour I had fashioned and installed the new spring.<br>

And it worked!</p>

<p>But as I was working my way through all the speeds I notices something else; The aperture opening wasn't round. It was shaped more like a letter "D". o_O<br>

Everthing I could find on internet concerning aperture blades in a Compur-Rapid told me this was going to be a tough operation. I opened up the shutter again and removed the mechanism from the housing. Followed by the shutter blades falling off one by one....D'OH!.<br>

Luckily the aperture blade fix wasn't that hard. It was only one loose blade and that clicked back into place with ease. The shutter blades were easily re-installed too.<br>

And since I had the shutter open I gave it all a good clean.</p>

<p>After I re-installed the shutter on the lensboard it was time to look at the next problem: The crank mechanism.<br>

<img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/ikoflex03.jpg" alt="" /><br>

(Some gears and linkages have already been removed in this photo)</p>

<p>First I ran into four little broken screws in the crank handle hub. That explained why it was so loose. The won't prevent it from working though. I'll need to take out the broken ends and find some replacements.</p>

<p>Inside I pushed a cam out of the way that locked the mechanism (the one hooked to the roller cam) and I turned the crank shaft to see what would happen...<br>

The actuator arm that cocks the shutter is moved by the roller cam attached to the crank shaft. Unfortunately the arm falls about a millimeter short of actually cocking the shutter. Something is either bent out of shape or worn down. I need to stew a bit on how to fix this.</p>

<p>The Frame Counter isn't working either. I don't have any reference material so I don't know how to go about fixing this just yet.</p>

<p>Sounds like I need to tear into it a bit more and do a bit of cleaning too.</p>

<p>...but I did manage to free up the film loaded/empty indicator. Oxidation had locked it in place. A little citric-acid based detergent freed it up nicely. Unforunately the leaf spring that moves it has long since lost its power. Yet another replacement part to look for.</p>

<p>Anybody have a link to a maintenance or repair manual? Or even a regular manual for this camera?<br>

I would love to get it back in working order,</p>

<p>Rick</p>

<p>Rick: What is the saying " Out of Necessity comes Mother Invention" good luck and I hope do get it running again:</p>

<p>Thanks Lauren, I'm close to cracking the frame-counter mystery.</p>

<p>Just spent a couple of hours taking the frame counter apart and re-assembling it in what I hoped would be the correct method. I learned that there are 2 sets of roller bearings in there that you should NOT take apart..EVER. I'll have to remove the entire frame counter module from the side of the camera now so I can seat those bearings properly. Another well-deserved D'OH!<br>

Another obstacle on the way to recovery. But not an insurmountable one.<br>

And I did get to clean some more areas now. More photos tomorrow.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I once made the mistake of disassembling the same part on a Rolleicord II. You have my sympathy. It can be done but will try your patience.</p>

<p>I was busy earlier this week with a friend's dryer. It took me a couple of tries to get it together and up and running, but it did. Patience is a virtue. I wish I had it.</p>

<p>Thanks, </p>

<p>Oh I have patience, but there are moments where I just want to flip the table and start throwing chairs around ;)</p>

<p>Alright, got the frame counter mechanism back together and the timings right. Also discovered why it wasn't working in the first place. Two little spring-loaded levers on the drum containing the roller bearings were stuck. A cotton bud with little naphtha, followed by a pin prick of oil got them moving freely again. One of these levers is supposed to hit the film counter ratchet mechanism under the disk when advancing the film. It actually does that now.<br>

So, "HECK YES!"</p>

<p>After re-assembling the crank mechanism the only thing not working a 100% is the double-exposure protection.The little spring pulling at that linkage simply isn't strong enough after 70 years. To that purpose someone has cut a slit in the side cover so they could move it manually with a sharp object.....Gee thanks Bubba!<br>

But I think I can fix this with a stronger extension spring, some extra-fine sandpaper and grease.</p>

<p>Nearly there now!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I've decided to bend the end of actuator arm that tensions the shutter by about a millimeter upward. It now moves far enough to work.</p>

<p>The frame-counter gear is still off by one tooth. not a big deal for now.<br>

And I'm currently repainting the worn-off transfers on the dials.</p>

<p>Then it's time to check the focus and load it up with some 120 film. hmmm... Ektar 100 I think.<br>

Oh and some 'Finished Product' glamorous camera porn pictures :)</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/ikoflex05.jpg" alt="" width="426" height="640" /></p>

<p>When they were new, these things had a really terrible reputation for unreliability. I can see why.</p>

<p>Mine definitely saw some abuse <strong>AFTER</strong> something jammed up.<br>

I'm just glad I got to restore it as far as I could. Would've been an expensive paperweight otherwise ;)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Well done there Rick</p>

Gee Rick! You're the man! I'd have lost it after taking the Compur out and all those tiny f---g screw would keep me up atnight! Well Done! I'm curious to see your results, but that you're able to actually load and shoot the thing...Whew Respect!!

<p>That huge albada finder ... what kind of condition is it in?</p>

<p>Professor K., Apart from some separation at the top of the front element (just visible in the last photo) it looks and works fine. I only figured out it includes focus correction yesterday. </p>

<p>Thanks guys, It definitely was a learning experience disassembling and re-assembling that Compur-Rapid. And being able to fix it certainly was another confidence boost for me.</p>

<p>Don't worry Chuck. I'll run some film through it in the near future, right after testing a Signet 35, a Voigtländer Brillant and a Yashica 35 GSN.</p>

<p>Rick, I have the very same Ikoflex III model. Never was able to locate a proper operational manual. I suppose few were imported into USA due to war conflict in Europe at the time. Mine appears in near new condition, still functional and very well made at least on the exterior.<br>

I heard that some of the reliability issues were due to the use of too many soft aluminum parts instead of the usual brass gears, etc. Would you say that is a true observation on your part now that you have been inside that camera? Gary in Bozeman, Montana</p>

<p>Hi Gary,<br>

It looks like most of the gears and levers are made out of steel or a hard alloy. Only a few pieces appear to be soft aluminium and those don't have strong forces placed on them at all. If they fail I doubt they would influence the mechanism. Unless the broken pieces get stuck between other parts.<br>

I did not find any signs of wear on the gears. And it took me quite a bit of effort to bend the end of that actuator arm the required millimeter.</p>

<p>I have wanted this camera ever since I bought "One Shot" by R.Boomhower. (I was buying the Definitive Capa Collection when Amazon offered this book to go with it, for a very nice price).<br>

The book features the war-time work of John "One Shot" Bushemi for Yank Magazine. He used a Ikoflex III for a lot of his work:<br>

<img src="http://img.qbd.com.au/product/l/9780871951748.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="300" /></p>

<p>Recently I was also introduced to the work of Esther Bubley, who also used this camera.<br>

<img src="http://forward.com/image/2/290/0/5/assets/images/articles/2923681716_f13f335444.jpg" alt="" /></p>

Hi Rick,

Goedenmiddag! Ik woon in Groningen en ik spreek niet veel Nederlands.o_O

Glad to see you are still active on this site! I met similar problem like this one on an Ikoflex IIa (late version) with Compur Synchro shutter. It worked well at the beginning but the shutter speed wasn't accurate. So, I was trying to clean the shutter (and it is done), but I loose the connection between the front plate and the body, what a mistake! Then some parts disconnected and the movement of shutter cannot be transferred to the shutter itself. And the front plate cannot be fully separated from the body......Now I do not know how to either separate the front plate from the body or fix this problem.....I am worried to remove the shutter from the body because of those tiny gears/springs/wires. Like you said, sometimes it really makes people crazy.......

I think you may have some experience since one of the picture above shows the front plate is removed......It would be very very appreciated that if you can give me some help.....Thanks in advance!

 

I'm afraid I have very little to no experience with other Ikoflex models, but I know they are drastically different in design of the Ikoflex III.

But the shutter will be held on to the focusing plate by a single ring/tube around the rear lens, accessable through the film chamber.