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I just fixed a Pentax K1000 with a trick I learned from a watchmaker
For years, I would always take the whole top plate off to get at the slow speed escapement on those old mechanical SLRs. It was a solid hour of work, easy. Then, about six months ago, I was chatting with a guy at a flea market who repairs vintage watches. He showed me how he could oil a specific pivot by making a tiny, bent tool to go through an existing hole. I tried his idea last week on a K1000 that came in with sticky slow speeds. I made a needle from a broken spring bar and fed a drop of oil right to the spot without disassembly. The whole fix took ten minutes. Has anyone else tried borrowing methods from other repair trades?
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jade32mo ago
Honestly, that's brilliant. I've been taking the whole thing apart like a chump for ages. My version of cross-trade learning was trying to use a guitar pick to pry open a battery door and snapping it in half. So you're clearly operating on a higher level than I am. That watchmaker trick is a game changer for saving time on those old cameras.
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jasonp712d ago
I read somewhere that watchmakers actually use a thin piece of plastic film from old CD cases for this same trick. It's flexible enough not to scratch anything but stiff enough to pop covers loose without cracking them. Something about the plastic being exactly the right thickness for most camera battery doors. Been meaning to try it myself on an old Minolta I've got sitting around.
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