Repairing my Ricohflex Shutter

[dave_g1]

<p>I purchased this Ricohflex off of ebay some weeks ago, and of course the seller didn't bother to mail it out until the 23rd. It arrived wrapped in bubble wrap, but otherwise loose in the box, filthy, with the focus and shutter both stuck. I've usually had good luck with ebay, so this is one of my few bad experiences in the past three years. Thankfully, I only paid $10 for this, so it may still have been a bargain anyway.</p><div></div>

[dave_g1]

<p>I took the gears off of the lenses and used lighter fluid to soften the old grease. However lighter fluid wasn't doing anything for the shutter, so I decided to take the lens board off of the camera to better get to the shutter.<br>

I had to take the lens board off anyway because somebody had wrenched the lens so hard trying to move them through the old grease that they had loosened the top lens from its mount.</p><div></div>

[dave_g1]

<p>The shutter is regulated by spring tension, no clockwork here! To remove the face plate you have to unscrew the center element of the lens.</p><div></div>

[dave_g1]

<p>The blades were sticky with oil so I had to remove the entire mechanism from the shutter shell, and clean all surfaces.</p><div></div>

[dave_g1]

<p>The shutter only has two blades. Each blade looks like half of a handlebar mustache. I'm betting the mass of these blades is responsible for the 1/100 max shutter speed. You're not going to get these things going anywhere fast.</p>

<p>Anyway after cleaning the blades and surfaces, I put it back together. It's easiest to do if you position the blades as shown in the picture, on the back of the shutter mech, and lift it into the camera, rather than trying to lower the mech in onto the blades. Just be careful no springs or bits catch when putting the shutter back into the shell this way. </p><div></div>

[dave_g1]

<p>Some misc notes. The red arrows point to things to watch for when putting the shutter mech back into the shell. Make sure the shutter lever on the left is in the up position. The spring on the top right is for the flash synch socket. The little spring on the lower right you need to be especially careful of - if it comes off it's very difficult to get back on.<br>

There is a booster spring in the shutter that is used for the 1/100 speed and B. When the shutter is set to 1/100 or B this spring is under tension whether the shutter is cocked or not. Therefore - it's best to set the shutter to 1/25 when when it is not in use.</p><div></div>

[John Seaman]

<p>Thanks for sharing your (hopefully successful) repair - the Ricoh looks very similar to a Halina A1 I did some work on (although I couldn't get into the shutter). I guess the A1 is a copy of the Ricoh. It seems to share the typical problems affecting this type of TLR, the grease solidifying and causing the focusing threads to become siezed.</p>

[dave_g1]

<p>It's seems to be fine now. The speeds don't seem accurate, but that is pretty much a given for a shutter of this kind once it ages. At least it fires without sticking. I checked and matched the focus of the lenses so it should be ready to go once I have a chance.</p>

<p>And the Halina AI is probably an almost exact copy - right down to the font on the name plate. AI even looks kind of like VI upside down - pretty cheeky. <br>

You can't get into the shutter without removing the center element of the lens, which is in the helical. It's just screwed into the shutter. I got a good grip on it with a clamp and unscrewed it. Nothing really holds it in except for torque, so far as I can tell.</p>

[lauren_macintosh]

<p>Its gotten to the point you almost need to drill these sellers to be sure what your getting</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Here's the thread I did on the Halina A1 a while back: http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00QLPO?start=0<br>

I did try to unscrew the middle lens to get at the shutter with all the grip I could muster but it wouldn't budge. Luckily it started working again without dismantling after a prolonged soaking.</p>

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>Nice work Dave,<br>

The two-bladed shutter mechanism looks a bit similar to the Synchro-300 on the Kodak Signet 35. Any oil or liquid between the blades will cause them to stick together (capillarity?).<br>

I emersed the complete shutter in hot water with some detergent, then wrinced it with more hot water and let dry completely. That got the shutter blades to move freely again.</p>

<p> </p>

[brian_chan5]

Hi everyone, I am pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to fix this camera. Right now the focusing gears turn but they

don't extend in and out. Basically they are just turning and don't seem to be focusing. Is this normal? I don't have a

0.5mm screwdriver to open up the lenses and I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble. Does anyone have any suggestions?

It would be much appreciated thanks!

[John Seaman]

<p>Brian it looks as if the lenses are turning on the mounting threads, rather than the focussing threads. That is, the threads where the middle lens elements screw on to the body have come loose. You should be able to fix it but you definitely need a tiny screwdriver to loosen the grub screws which secure the outer rings on the taking and viewing lenses. Be very careful, these are soft and easy to damage, I know I had to drill mine out in the end. If you want any more guidance send me a message or add the the thread, if you're still around.</p>

[albert_arana]

<p>I'm having a hard time putting back the focusing lens and shutter lens..... they will not focus any more....what do you think I'm doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated!</p>