Used to think it was too risky for delicate leaf shutters until a guy in Denver showed me his test results from 30 cycles on a Compur Rapid with zero damage last summer, anyone else try it on older shutters?
Guy walked into my shop about 6 months ago with a box of six Electro 35s. He said the foam seals were fine on all of them. I pulled out my phone camera and showed him the light leaks on the back of one. He went quiet for a minute, then asked me to show him how to replace them properly. I spent 20 minutes walking him through cutting new seals from a sheet. He told me he had been shooting with pinhole light leaks for years and never knew. Has anyone else run into collectors who just assume foam lasts forever?
Found out from a retired Kodak engineer's blog post last month that those yellowed front elements aren't just age, they're literally emitting radiation, and now I'm wondering if I should wear gloves when I polish them out.
I was showing a client a clean CLA on a Pentax Spotmatic and the first curtain just... stuck halfway. Ever since then I've been double-checking every single blade edge before reassembly. Anybody else have a specific failure that changed their workflow?
I had a stuck blade on a 70s Pentax and figured I'd trash it anyway. Doused a q-tip in Ronsonol and wiped the gunk off - shutter snaps back every time now. Anyone else use weird solvents on old gear?
I was going through my books this morning for last quarter and realized I have been charging $65 an hour for CLA work. After I pulled out all my costs for parts, rent on my small shop in Portland, and the time I sink into sourcing hard to find bits for old Nikons, I am barely clearing $22 an hour on average. I found this out when I broke down 11 repair tickets from January and added up every minute of bench time. It is making me rethink if I need to bump my rate up to $80 or just get pickier about which jobs I take. Has anyone else run the real math on what you actually make per hour after expenses?
I had this old Pentax 50mm f/1.4 that wouldn't budge at all, even after a week of soaking in solvent. Switched from steel to a brass hammer and it popped loose on the second tap without any damage to the helicoid. Anyone else stick with one type of hammer for this stuff or am I overthinking it?
He said 'it's the same thing just cheaper' but now I'm out $200 on a replacement shutter and wondering if I was wrong to let him try, has anyone else had that exact argument go sideways on them?
I was going through my logbook for the year and somehow racked up 100 focus ring clean and lubes without keeping count. Anyone else track their numbers or just go by feel?
I picked up a Spotmatic at a flea market in Dayton last month and the shutter was completely frozen at 1/250. I tried all the usual stuff, lighter fluid, gentle heat, but nothing worked. Then I remembered an old trick from a 1970s repair manual I found online: a tiny drop of naptha on the blade pivot points, working the shutter with a blower bulb for about 10 minutes. It freed right up and now fires clean at every speed. Has anyone else had luck with this method or do you have a different go-to for stuck shutters?
I spent 72 hours trying to fix a jammed shutter on a Canon AE-1, only to find a tiny spring had popped out of its slot and was hiding under the mirror box. Took me two extra days of tearing it apart and putting it back together before I spotted it with a flashlight. Anyone else spend way too long on a simple part that was right under your nose?
Bought a no-name set off Amazon thinking it'd save money. First time I used it on a Pentax K1000 the tip twisted on the third screw. Anyone else find a decent brand that won't break the bank?
Had a Yashica-Mat with oily blades that wouldn't close, tried dabbing lighter fluid on a q-tip and letting it wick into the gap while I worked the blades manually. After 3 tries they moved freely again - has anyone else gotten away with this shortcut on TLR shutters?
The JIS bit came out of the cheap kit I bought on Amazon for $8 and it came loose in about 3 seconds, no stripped head, no swearing, has anyone else had that kind of luck switching from Phillips to JIS?
A cousin found their dad's old Spotmatic in a closet and asked if I could do anything with it. The shutter wouldn't fire at all, mirror was stuck up. Took me like 3 hours just to get the bottom plate off without stripping those tiny screws. Turned out the foam around the mirror box had turned into straight goo and glued everything in place. Cleaned it all off with some isopropyl and a q-tip, put in fresh light seals, and now it fires like new. Anyone else deal with a camera that sat for like 30 years and had the foam turn into literal sludge?
I just passed the 1,000 mark on shutter replacements for Canon Rebels. About 200 of those had the tiny screw heads strip out because people use the wrong size JIS bit. Check your tool kit before you wreck another mirror box.
I had three cameras come in that morning. First was a Nikon F2 with a shutter that sounded like grinding gravel. Opened it up and found a gear with teeth sheared clean off. Then a Canon AE-1 with a sticky mirror that turned out to be a corroded magnet. By 3 PM I got a Pentax K1000 that someone had tried to fix themselves. They used super glue on the light meter wires. Ruined the whole circuit board. Anyone else have a day where you just want to lock the shop door and go home?
Was out doing an on-site CLA for a vintage camera collector in Portland, had a Lubitel 2 seize up mid-test because I hadn't blown out the old grease properly beforehand. Now I'm doing a full dry-fire cycle and inspection before I even touch a drop of solvent on any old shutters. Anybody else had a dumb mistake force them to change their workflow?
I tried cleaning the shutter blades on a Canon AE-1 with a tiny bit of lighter fluid on a q-tip, like a guy on YouTube said. Problem is, I let it pool up a little and it seeped onto the mirror bumper foam, which then melted and glued the mirror up. Now I've got a bigger mess and a $60 repair bill from a shop in Portland. Anyone else had a simple fix go sideways like that?
I spent 6 hours last Saturday fighting a sticky shutter on a Nikon FM2. Thought it'd be a 30 minute job. Pulled the top cover, cleaned the blades, put it back together - still sticking. Took it apart again, found a tiny oil drip from the pentaprism that was seeping onto the shutter. Had to disassemble the whole prism housing to clean that. So my question is: when you get a 'quick' repair that turns into a nightmare, how long do you let it go before you step back and rethink your approach? 30 minutes? 2 hours? I think I wasted time powering through instead of stopping to diagnose.
Honestly, this collector walked into my shop in Portland last year with a Leica M3 that was caked in mud and smelled like a swamp. He said he tried to dry it out in his oven and now the shutter won't fire. Has anyone else dealt with someone who did more damage trying to fix it themselves?
I blew dust around inside a Nikon D750 for ages until a buddy pointed out I was holding the can upside down and spraying propellant everywhere. Has anyone else had a dumb cleaning habit they didn't catch for way too long?
I had a Pentax K1000 come in with what looked like a sticky shutter, turned out there was old oil from the mirror damper seeping onto the blades... took me forever to get it all out without damaging anything. Anyone else run into this issue with older K-mount cameras and have a better way to clean that oil off?
I stopped by this little shop in Portland last Saturday, the one near the train tracks. Found what looked like a clean 1960s Kodak Retina, all dusty but promising. Got it home and popped the back open, only to find someone had stored it with a half-eaten granola bar inside. Took me 3 passes with compressed air and a toothbrush to get the crumbs and roach droppings out of the bellows. Has anyone else dealt with food finds inside old cameras? What's the grossest thing you've pulled out?