Rolleicord V back won't close but...

.... I found a strange solution!

 

The back to my V won't close all the way. I think this has something to with the tab. My IV's back closes nicely, all the way, and I can rotate the latch to hold the back firmly in place.

 

On a hunch... I put the IV back on the V body and then the V back on the IV body. Both backs now close easily and can be latched.

 

!!!

 

Go figure... anyone have a solution? I think it has something to do with that tab. This happened a few months ago and I was able to firmly push the tab to one side, but that trick won't work this time.

 

 

 

I own a Va but not a IV or V. The tab in image 2 is the trigger for the exposure counter. It should be pushed in by fully closing the back. You can operate the tab with your finger and it should move in easily. It is spring loaded. Maybe you mean the same thing with "pushing it to one side" but you should not bend it out of the way.The back is fitted out with a raised position to touch the top of the tab. In the Va it is part of the dual position pressure plate. If that tab is stuck you cannot close the back. I do not know the IV. If it has no tab at all or a tab in a different place the "wrong" back may close on both cameras but then I worry about the exposure counter working. Best look closely for touching parts in the tab area while closing. Anyway if the tab cannot be pushed in easily you will have to get that sorted out. A CLA of the film transport and counting mechanism is due. I hope this helps. /Ferdi.

Excellent answer, Ferdi, thank you. Don't go away! I need to take some time for a detailed reply and perhaps upload another photo. What time zone are you in? I'm in MST, in Montana. Your description is spot on.

 

Couple of quick responses for the time being: The tab does move in easily, the problem is that the tab does not always touch the raised portion in the back, it misses that portion and the tab is not pushed in. And on my V that raised portion is on the back, not the pressure plate. Would you mind re-checking that raised portion on your Va? My IV has that raised portion on the back too, not the pressure plate.

 

I can get the back to close if I move the tab slightly to one side, it has some sidewise play to it. Then if I'm careful how I move the back to one side (it has a bit of play also) the back will close. Also, the back was dented at one time, and in a CLA done by the previous owner the dent was straightened out. However I think it still shows some effects of that dent. I'll take a photo and upload it but can't do that right now. It may be that the after effects of that dent cause the tab to miss that raised portion.

 

Thank you so much, stay tuned!

 

Paul

Hello again, Ferdi,

 

Attached is the photo of where the back doesn't close all the way, when I get it closed. You can see how the gap varies in width.

 

 

Regards,

 

Paul

Hi Paul,

Im in Holland, we have UTC+1 (GMT+1 for the Brits). My Va is fitted out to take both 120 size film and 135 (24x36 mm) size film. It has a pressure plate that can be adjusted for those two sizes of film and the plate has two positions to mate with the tab. Your camera takes 120 size only so there is no need for the one raised position to be on the pressure plate. So nothing is wrong when the raised position is on the back between the pressure plate and the rim of the back.

 

I guess you are right about the dent and there still being some damage to the back. Your image shows a bulged back when closed. The raised part seems to miss the top of the tab or there is some other problem.

 

I assume your camera still has the right back and that it was not swapped for one that does not fit properly. Could you take a picture that shows the raised position, part of the pressure plate and the rim of the back? There must be something wrong in that area.

Ferdi.

deleted.

Thanks, Ferdi,

 

I believe I'm in the UTC+7 zone... you might not see this till tomorrow morning!

 

Actually I used to have a 5a, and I'm familiar with the different positions of the pressure plate. As far as I can tell, it's identical to the V in that respect. I'm assuming the V back is the original.

 

Is this the photo you wanted? You'll note that on the raised portion there's a bare spot where the tab should rest. And on the raised portion, the nearest side shows a longer bare spot where the tab was going down along the side missing contact with that portion. I should have said "where the tab should make contact."

 

I do appreciate your feedback, thanks so much.

 

Paul

 

Looks like your deleted post nevertheless made it to my email Inbox! Hope you don't mind my answering here. But to respond to your suggestions there, no there is no bulge to the side that I can see and, yes I can very very carefully move the back a mm or so to the side due to some play in the setup. And if I do that just right, the tab will indeed contact the raised portion near the rim. So I can get by, as a workaround, but it's kind of a hassle... not a very elegant solution! Edited November 7, 2018 by PaulWhiting

Hi Paul,

 

First of all let me say I put you on wrong track with my pressure plate story. I took a closer look at the Va today and the back is exactly like your V. I also checked a III and that one is also like yours. My mistake. Thank you, the picture is fine. I wonder if your tab goes in far enough. That would explain the closing problem and the bulging back when closed.

 

The camera back has no seals to keep out light. It uses a light trap or labyrinth to keep the light out. You can see the double rims at the edge of the back. The arrow in your picture points to the inner rim (assuming that is the right word for it). From the picture it looks like the inner rim is slightly bent outward. Can you see that in real life? In that case the tab may miss the raised portion and go down in the space between the inner rim and the pressure plate. That would bring the tab somewhat out of position and may prevent it from being pushed in all the way. Resulting in the bulged back when you manage to close it anyway. Could that be the case? Then bending the rim inward at the raised position would be the solution. Just a tiny bit! Normally I would not advise bending things in a Rolleiflex but here we have a real problem and the back was bent before, probably causing the problem.

 

You are right. I deleted an earlier message. Thinking it over I felt it was a bit early to start bending things.

 

I hope we can find the problem. Otherwise permanently switching backs between IV and V will probably work because the tabs seem to be in the same place. My fear that the counter would not be working is over.

 

Ferdi.

Hi Ferdi,

 

Well, to tell you the truth, I kinda wondered about that pressure plate chapter! No problem... and your III, my IV, your Va, and my V... all share the same design it appears. That's somehow reassuring.

 

As for the bend you see in my photo, I would attribute that to some barrel distortion in my camera's closeup mode. And the tab does indeed want to go down into that space between the pressure plate and the inner rim, as you said. Rather than bending the rim inward, I have a less intrusive solution. Both the back and the tab have some play. I very gently simply position the tab outward a tad, and slide the back in the opposite direction. I hold the camera in such a way that gravity does not undo these adjustments. Then, and only then, do the- tab and raised portion of the inner rim make contact.

 

Someday I may send the camera in for a couple of small issues, and ask my repair guy to see if he can straighten out the back. In the meantime I'm getting pretty good at positioning the tab and the back as described.

 

Looks like we've reached a good outcome in this thread... thank you ever so. Your spot-on analysis helped me successfully think it through, slowly and thoughtfully.

 

Best regards,

 

Paul