Levers stuck on Minolta Autocord TLR

I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. It looks spotless, like
it's never been used, except the focus, aperture, and shutter speed
levers, all seem to be stuck. I started reading up on this and
apparently it's a common problem (at least with the focus lever) and is
caused by the old lubricant seizing up with age and turning into glue.
In any case, I would like to either fix it myself or have it fixed. If
this is something I can do myself, will I need a rapair manual and if
so, where can I get one? Is it a major job to clean it thoroughly and
relubricate everything--is this even necessary? If I decide to have it
professionally done, can anyone recommend someone to me? How much is
this likely to cost? KEH seems to have a repair center--are they
reputable? I live in the NYC area--are there any excellent places
locally someone can vouch for? Any help here would be greatly
appreciated-thanks.

In article ,
TheKeith wrote:

I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. It looks spotless, like
it's never been used, except the focus, aperture, and shutter speed
levers, all seem to be stuck. I started reading up on this and
apparently it's a common problem (at least with the focus lever) and is
caused by the old lubricant seizing up with age and turning into glue.
In any case, I would like to either fix it myself or have it fixed. If
this is something I can do myself, will I need a rapair manual and if
so, where can I get one? Is it a major job to clean it thoroughly and
relubricate everything--is this even necessary? If I decide to have it
professionally done, can anyone recommend someone to me? How much is
this likely to cost? KEH seems to have a repair center--are they
reputable? I live in the NYC area--are there any excellent places
locally someone can vouch for? Any help here would be greatly
appreciated-thanks.

I had mine repaired by Paul Ebel in Wisconsin. He's a photo.net member
and has a series of rotating classified ads for lens work. If you've
done mechanical work before, you could try fixing it yourself, but
Ebel's price (on a camera I got for $40 at a flea market) was just a
little over a hundred, plus my shipping costs to him. I had a shutter
release that was locking up intermittantly plus some lens fog.

http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one?cla...d_ad_id=663034


Comet in NJ has a good reputation, but I've never used them:

http://www.cometcamera.com/

They'll give you on-line estimates.

Mark Hama is also someone known for excellent work with twin-lens
reflexes, in Georgia, but not always fast. He was a Yashica technician
before moving to the US.

"TheKeith" wrote in message
...
I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. except the focus, aperture,
and shutter speed
levers, all seem to be stuck. and is
caused by the old lubricant seizing up with age and turning into glue.
************************************************** ************
Dear TheKeith: Unless you can remove the shutter and just do a dunk
cleaning in cleaning solution, this is a major undertaking. I went to a
camera repair school and had to disassemble leaf shutters and reinstall the
aperature leaves and the shutter blades. The first time I did it, it took
me about 2 hours if I remember correctly. Eventually I got it down to 15
minutes but it is not for the first time guy. Also, you will need special
lubes, which are a graphite powder for the blades. If the levers are stuck,
I assume the whole shutter could use a good cleaning and perhaps adjusting.
This is a job for someone that knows what they are doing. Also, they will
have the shutter testers to get the speeds right. If you tackle it
yourself, expect to have a few springs fly off into the other dimmensions
and the loss of a ball bearing or two. Have fun if you tackle it yourself.
Ric in Wisconsin.

TheKeith wrote:
I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. It looks spotless, like
it's never been used, except the focus, aperture, and shutter speed
levers, all seem to be stuck. I started reading up on this and
apparently it's a common problem (at least with the focus lever) and is
caused by the old lubricant seizing up with age and turning into glue.
In any case, I would like to either fix it myself or have it fixed. If
this is something I can do myself, will I need a rapair manual and if
so, where can I get one? Is it a major job to clean it thoroughly and
relubricate everything--is this even necessary? If I decide to have it
professionally done, can anyone recommend someone to me? How much is
this likely to cost? KEH seems to have a repair center--are they
reputable? I live in the NYC area--are there any excellent places
locally someone can vouch for? Any help here would be greatly
appreciated-thanks.


Thanks guys. I will definately have it done professionally. I'll go with
one of Rebecca's recommendations. Thanks again.

"TheKeith" wrote in message ...
TheKeith wrote:
I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. It looks spotless, like it's
never been used, except the focus, aperture, and shutter speed levers,
all seem to be stuck.

Thanks guys. I will definately have it done professionally. I'll go with
one of Rebecca's recommendations. Thanks again.

Here is the website for Mark Hama:

http://www.markhama.com/

Although TLRs aren't very complex, Hama has a history with them and an
excellent reputation. A full CLA is likely to cost you as much as you paid
for the Autocord, but it is a fine camera, optically the equal of better of
any Tessar lens based TLR. It is worth the repair.

"Randy Stewart" wrote in message
...

"TheKeith" wrote in message
...
TheKeith wrote:
I picked up a used minolta autocord on ebay. It looks spotless, like
it's never been used, except the focus, aperture, and shutter speed
levers, all seem to be stuck.

Thanks guys. I will definately have it done professionally. I'll go with
one of Rebecca's recommendations. Thanks again.

Here is the website for Mark Hama:

http://www.markhama.com/

Although TLRs aren't very complex, Hama has a history with them and an
excellent reputation. A full CLA is likely to cost you as much as you
paid for the Autocord, but it is a fine camera, optically the equal of
better of any Tessar lens based TLR. It is worth the repair.

You might also consider Carol Miller at Flutot's. I have an Autocord
currently there waiting to be fixed and CLA's.

http://tinyurl.com/y32vbx