M6 Repairs That a User Can Make?

[lmishkar]

Dear List,

 

I'm would like to ask forum members to chime in with known mechanical

problems that might occur with my M6 cameras that I would, with a tool

kit, be able to fix on my own. I've only made one repair to date, that

being an adjustment of the shutter release tensioning spring in the

base of the camera (my words-may have the proper name(s) incorrect).

Sherry walked me through this simple adjustment as I was in a remote

location, and the repair has held ever since. Over the course of

reading the Leica forum, I've noted the mention of some problems

occuring but that with general or specific tools, these problems are

easily fixed. My plans are taking me far from easily accessible and

affordable Leica repair experts. All my gear has gone through a CLA

and tested afterwards. Thank you.

 

Larry

[huw_finney]

Take it easy, with the right tools and attitude, all repairs can be done by yourself. Most common acute (i.e. oh it's stopped doing this) faults are obvious, my favoirite is when my M6 stopped doing 1 second, a piece of grit was in one of the escapement gears, 30 seconds to deduce what was wrong, 20 minutes to find it, 10 seconds to remove it. You will need top removing tools (microtools sell an M set) and the ususal jewelers (why? I have never seen screwed together jewlery) screwdrivers, tweezers and the like. And do it first before you leave.

 

Mail me for an M2 service manual (nearly the same).

[john_shriver]

If you are going where you need a field-repairable camera, you might really want to consider a clutch of Leica IIIa or IIIc cameras instead. Why? Because you can do most anything with a set of small screwdrivers, a knife, pliers, and a pair of tweezers.

 

The IIIc is easier to open, but a little more complicated due to the shutter brake, and some IIIc's have ball bearings that are really easy to lose. The IIIa is by comparison the height of simplicity.

 

The M-series, by comparison, have very tightly torqued screws, and more demanding adjustments. You need several special tools to do things.

 

While I don't have an M-series Leica, I'd say that the primary field adjustment is aligning the rangefinder at infinity. But even that deserves a slightly special tool, if I remember what I've read. On the III series, you just need a fine screwdriver.

[rolfe_tessem]

Obviously, you need the tool kit, available from micro tools.

 

http://www.micro-tools.com/Merchant2/special.htm

 

The M2 repair manual is available for sale online, but I've never seen one for the M6. No

doubt many things are the same.