Minolta Autocord: scratches on film

[stephen_haynes]

My Autocord sometimes leaves an unsightly pattern of short

lengthwise scratches on the emulsion side of the film. I think the

most likely culprit is the roller at the lower end of the film gate,

which does not rotate freely - I would guess the scratches occur

when it sticks and the film gets dragged across the surface of

the roller. Any suggestions, please?

 

The roller is not tight on its bearings - in fact there is quite a lot of

play - but it just doesn't turn, more often than not, when you run a

film or a finger over it. The upper roller is of a different design

and turns freely at all times.

 

It looks as though the roller and its bearings could easily be

removed from the camera as a unit, but I can see no obvious

way of adjusting the fit of the roller on its bearings, or of

lubricating it without contaminating the film.

[dimitri_kalakanis3]

Mine did that, too. Mr Hamma did nothing to correct the problem when I had it CLA'd. I used an ultra-fine sandpaper on the roller and my problem is gone. What ever you try, you can test your progress with an unprocessed roll of film. Advanced it a frame, open and lood the emulsion side. The scratches will be visible with reflected light. Keep sanding, checking the next frame until you see no lines.

[andy m.]

Do you do your own processing? If not, are you sure the damage isn't occurring during processing? This is the most common place for such scratches to occur- the machines have rollers that can get quite dirty and need frequent cleaning. I have even had scratches on the film base of a film processed by a reputable "pro" lab.

 

You have probably already discounted this possibility, but thought I would mention it just in case.

[andy m.]

Of course, Dimitri's helpful suggestion will enable you to diagnose the cause.

[stephen_haynes]

Thanks for these suggestions. I do do my own b&w processing,

but by hand, using a plastic spiral, and the problem is definitely

peculiar to this one camera. In fact I've only noticed it on HP5, but

that's probably just because the scratches show up more clearly

on the transparent base than on the black edges of transparency

film.