retrovator Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 <p>Such a lovely camera but I need to get at the aperture blades which have come loose and are now tangled up together. I've removed the front element but there's no obvious next step; no screws or other clues, and no screws on the barrel other than a couple to fix the flash outlet. Old Japanese rangefinders frequently had four screws under the leatherette which mount the unit to the camera body, but the covering on mine is too good to mess about with on the off-chance of finding those screws. It would be worth the risk if I knew for sure that there are the screws I need under the leatherette. Any advice please?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteenthumbs Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 <p>http://homepage1.nifty.com/fukucame/restorelink.htm in case you want to look at other links<br> http://kanscamera.sakura.ne.jp/html/p216.html<br> and or<br> http://endoscopy.jp/moto/camera/camera_repair/fujica35se/index.htm</p> <p>Use a translator such as google translator or a browser plugin.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 <p>Many thanks for those Japanese links but they all skip over the process I need most at this stage - how to remove the name plate and the front ring - unless the text clarifies those procedures. I'll try some translators. Seems there's a gap in the info market so if I work this out I'll share the trick online :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryAmmerman Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>Looking at photos online, it looks like there are two holes in the name plate, one on each side, for a spanner wrench to be used to unscrew the plate from the inside of the barrel. If you don't have a spanner, sometimes you can get by with an improvised friction tool like one of those pads used to unscrew jar lids. I've made my own before by sticking an appropriate sized piece of PVC pipe inside a glove with sticky pads on the palm and then pressing this to the nameplate and turning. I've also created my own spanner (I actually own one spanner wrench, but it only has slotted ends, not the small posts on the ends) using a couple of small nails trapped between two small pieces of wood, but be careful if you try this as it is very easy for the nails to slip out and possibly scratch the lens.</p> <p>That being said, if the shutter or aperture blades have come loose, you are most likely going to have to remove the lens completely from the body and access the mechanism from the rear. The inner workings of the aperture and shutter blades are usually not accessible from the front. The best way to get the leatherette off of the front is to heat the glue up with a heat gun so that it becomes more pliable.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>Thanks Cory. Good plan! I used a hairdryer very carefully on the leatherette which peeled off without damage to reveal the four brass screws I was hoping to find...as well as a cut-out in the body giving access to a small forked lever close to the shutter release mechanism. No idea what it does...yet. I removed the lens nameplate quite easily but I couldn't find any clues showing me how to make progress from the front. If this works out I'll write it up with a few shots for other people to use. Thanks again,</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryAmmerman Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>If your camera is like the one on the Japanese site (the last link above), once you get the name plate and front element out and remove the focusing ring via the three brass screws, you should be left with just the scalloped ring in the center holding the cover to the shutter mechanism in place. To get that off, either remove the small screw at the 10 o'clock position in the second picture, or turn it so that the flat side is facing inward (I can't tell from the small pictures whether or not the screw has a flat side. Some do, some don't.). Then all you have to do is twist off the scalloped ring.</p> <p>However, if the shutter is working and only the blades are loose, I wouldn't even open the mechanism. There are lots of very small parts in there that don't always stay in place when you remove the cover. Best to not create any new headaches for yourself if you can help it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>Even with nameplate and the front lens removed I can't see any way to get at the first ring, Cory, which on this camera is a coupled aperture and speed ring. I'll upload some photos of the problem once I've worked out how to do it on this site. As I'm hoping to sort out the blades I might as well give the whole unit a clean and service. No rush but it'd good to fix it soon. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>Here's the problem: no screws nor any clues how to proceed. I hope the photo displays OK.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryAmmerman Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>It looks like inner ring consisting of the middle group and name plate should unscrew as a unit. Are there holes in the side of the inner silver ring? It almost looks like there might be one visible at the 9 o'clock position, but that might just be a scratch. If there are, then they are for a spanner with 90 degree posts.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 <p>Alas no; not as far as I can see. Perhaps it should just drop out but has somehow become stuck in there. Exploration continues. I'll post a few more general shots.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_rogacion Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 <p>you need to improvise a furniture foot rubber pad that would fit the fuji synchro 1000 2.8 part to loosen and the 3 screws would appear. However after removing that part, the 3 screws, there's a lock in the middle, and everything from there could be impossible to put back. Blades are also visible.<br> http://www.pbase.com/pganzel/image/51257414<br /> pic from the link<br /> <img src="http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a574/king3sparrow/P1020901_zps4iylnmnt.jpg" alt="" /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 <p>Yes, I was beginning to think too, Grey. Some kind of friction unscrewing device. I have quite a few furniture foot cups so I'll try that method now. Many thanks for your advice. So...remove three screws and then the rotating lock-nut and then onwards into the works. "Impossible to put back" sounds a bit scary but I'll go for it. The camera is unusable as it is so there's little to lose (apart from flying springs and ball bearings). I'm so glad I posted this problem on here. Thanks everyone.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 <p>Breakthrough...a homemade friction ring spanner, as suggested by Grey. Filter tips for hand-rolling cigarettes wrapped in sellotape (inside out) and spaced between the outer and inner chrome rings and sticking to the outer nameplate...press down with a perfectly-fitting wooden egg-cup, twist anti-clockwise and...hey presto! A couple of safety tips: ensure the lens is fully retracted to avoid excess pressure on the focusing helicoil, and put something soft under the camera back to avoid damaging it. I like to use filter tips rather than Q-tips where possible for working on cameras as they leave fewer fibres behind.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_rogacion Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 <p>nothing much, Let's see.......................goodluck<br /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 <p>OK...so this is where I confess I'm very close to being a novice when it comes to working on leaf shutters and rangefinders (as if you hadn't already guessed). Now that I've found my way into the mechanism I realise it's the shutter blades, not the aperture ones, which are badly broken and will somehow need to be replaced. I've also hit a snag stripping off the outer casing to clean up the interior, especially the finder optics and mirror. The manual override button: how does it come off? All ideas welcome, as ever.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 <p>Here's the troublesome button:</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_rogacion Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 <p>My Fujica 35se sports a citizen shutter mechanism, it could be similar to a yashica lynx/minister. Just maybe you could replace the blades of the fujica with blades from a yashica? You can search some reading material on the yashica leaf shutter mechanism also which are quite plentiful to give you more better ideas.....<br> http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/yashicaminister.html<br />http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/yashicalynx.html</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 <p>I have a spare Lynx 1000/Yashinon 1.8 which I used to restore a better one...but the blades are all fine. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll explore that once I've worked out how to get at the Fujica blades and remove them.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_rogacion Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 <p>The Citizen shutter mechanism is accessed from the front<br />The iris and shutter blades can only be accessed from the lens/shutter block rear<br /> <a href="http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/yashicaminister.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/yashicaminister.html</a><br /> again, we will need some special tools. The wires from the meter and flash you may not need.................I stop surgery on my Fujica when I looked inside the film plane, I don't think I can remove it. The camera repairman said it's the problem with the springs on mine, he just recoiled.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 <p>I've decided to try use the shutter blades from a Yashica Lynx 1000 and possibly the aperture blades too. An update: the manual override button unscrews anti-clockwise. The photos show the blades from the Fujica 35-SE and the partly-dismantled shutter/aperture unit. There is also one of the Yashinon donor blades drying after a soaking in 99% IPA. So far so good...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 <p>The other Fujica blades, &c...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 <p>Parts of the Fujica shutter mechanism...</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrovator Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 <p>The donor...?</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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