F3 rewind knob HELP!!!!

[aidjoy]

<p>I just got a brand new to me F3 in 9+ condition. Clean as a whistle. Went to put film in it and when I pulled up the rewind knob to open the back the rewind knob came off in my hand. I now have a tiny washer, a rewind knob, the cylindrical spool that goes down in the camera body, and an F3 with some parts rattling around inside of it. GRRRRRR!!!</p>

<p>Any suggestions? Is there a trick to opening the back of one of these things without a rewind knob attached? Anyone know a good repair facility that could put humpty dumpty together again?</p>

<p>I thought the F3 was supposed to be a tank... but so far it's just making me appreciate my D3 more and more! :)</p>

<p>Thanks guys!<br>

Mike</p>

[h._p.]

<p>I hope someone can give you better advice but, in the meantime...</p>

<p>I think you'll find that there's a partial or full collar sticking out into the path of the rewind cylinder. Some small probe with a right angled hook should be able to slide down past the collar then lift it up to release the back.</p>

<p>I'd take a look for you but my F3 has film in it just now.</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>The F3 WAS built like a tank; it's YOUR F3 that is broken and that is not at all indicative of an underlaying problem with all F3s.</p>

<p>There is a small e-clip that holds the whole works together. Sounds like it came off (which wouldn't happen by accident). If you are in the US there are a number of authorized Nikon repair stations that can fix that for you.</p>

<p>Sorry about your problem. It should be easily resolved if that is the only problem with the camera.</p>

[jeff_livacich]

<p>It sounds like the knob just came off the end of the rewind shaft. If it was very loose to the point of "hanging by a thread" or if the knob or shaft threads were partially stripped and put back together it could separate. The threads in the knob are brass; the shaft is plated brass. You are aware of the rewind shaft lock lever, I assume. If you pulled up without moving the lock a weakened connection between knob and shaft could let go.<br>

How to get it open. I assume the cylindrical spool to which you referred is out of the camera. If not, push the rewind lever and pull the spool up and out. Get a piece of wire of sufficient strength. A large paper clip works fine. Make a bend in the wire of at least 90 degrees, and which projects 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Insert it with the bend pointing toward the area between the edge of the door and the strap lug. Pull up and that's it. Open it with the camera facing down as there will be a spring and small washer in there along with the shaft.<br>

Next is to figure out what happened. Look closely at the knob and shaft threads and see if they look stripped. If so, the best solution is another knob, shaft or both. I did manage to loctite together the ones on a well thrashed F3 I bought , but I really ought to find some good used ones. You might be able to locate some NOS (new old stock) ones.</p>

[jeff_livacich]

<p>I forgot to mention- there's a set screw on the knob which locks it to the shaft threads. A small flat blade screwdriver is needed to loosen it and back it off or remove it (it's tiny) before trying to thread the knob back onto the shaft.</p>

[aidjoy]

<p>Alright! Thanks Jeff- that was exactly the information I needed. Time to tackle the problem!</p>

<p>:)<br>

Mike</p>

[david_harris15]

Sorry for coming to this late. I have a .pdf of the F3 Repair Manual that I can email to you if you want to PM me your email address. It is about 6MB in size. Maybe seeing a picture of the parts breakdown could help?