do-it-yourself CLA?

[johan_de_groote]

I found a Levéque L.D8 cine camera that belonged to my dad. It was very dusty

and I cleaned the outside as good as possible. I also opened the case and while

it isn't very dirty, the gears don't look clean. It looks as if there is some

caked dirt in them.

 

Now I can start to disassemble the lot, clean each part etc. The problem is, do

I oil it when putting it back together? And if yes, what type of oil? Most

gears are brass and alu.

[lex_jenkins]

This is like the droll joke about the expensive restaurant: "If you have to ask..."

 

There's no way to coach someone in how to properly clean, lubricate and adjust a camera in a forum like this. You need illustrations. The inside of a camera body is pretty much like a fine watch and requires the same knowledge, tools and careful approach.

 

To start out, join one of the Yahoo groups or other sites that discuss DIY camera repairs. Lots of info, tips and illustrations there. A couple of good books will help too.

 

Bookmark the www.micro-tools.com website too. You'll be needing it.

 

First tip: Stay away from WD-40. Leave it in the garage.

[johan_de_groote]

You are right about the "if you have to ask.." part. I also noticed I misposted this as I intended to put it on the "classic" forum.

 

But this camera isn't that fine. Some gears are a massive 75mm diameter and 6mm width. It also doesn't need any special tools to work on it, all very simple screws. Just everything is bone dry and my engineering background says this cannot be a good thing.

 

Good to know about the groups, didn't think about those. Regarding the books, any references worthy to check out?

 

No need to warn me about WD-40!

[lex_jenkins]

Thomas Tomosy and Michael McBroom have published some good books on the subject. You can find 'em used on Amazon.

[JDMvW]

Photograph every single step of disassembly! I mean _every single step_!

What seems obvious coming apart will not necessarily be so putting together. Naphtha is your friend (used very moderately).

 

Lots of good websites on repair--many of their hints/directions can be generalized to any camera.

[joshroot]

<i>"http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00O6Nr"</i>

<p>

This is excellent advice for taking apart ANYTHING that you hope to put back together correctly. Advice that I wish I would pay attention to more often.