My nephew bent the film advance lever on my Pentax K1000. How do I fix it gently?

My nephew was playing with my old camera last week and forced the film lever. Now it is bent and will not move. I want to repair it myself to show him how to care for things. I took the top plate off and saw a tiny spring connected to the lever. Does anyone know a safe way to straighten this part? I do not want to make it worse by pulling too hard. How have you handled kids breaking gear while still keeping them interested in cameras?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronrivera24d ago

My old K1000 had the same bend, and a small pair of needle-nose pliers fixed it.

emma_wood1mo ago

Use small pliers to carefully straighten the lever while holding the base. I fixed mine like that, just go slow so you don't snap the spring.

abbyk101mo ago

Wow, I always thought you needed special tools but this actually makes sense now.