Is this worth anything?

[paulbarden]

In my case, the aperture blades are perfect, but the shutter blades are the ones sticking and not opening completely. But, trying to help, I put too much oil and the whole thing needs to be cleaned, dried, lubed and adjusted.

Shutter blades that stick are not suffering from a lack of lubrication, they stick because old lubricants have volatilized and settled on the blades, making them stick together! Shutter (and aperture) blades must be absolutely clean and dry to operate correctly. Adding oil to either is as good as gluing them together.

[robbiemcclaran]

I can see open holes in the ends of two of the displaced aperture blades. This suggests that there are rivets missing from those locations on the blades*, and the rivet posts are what locates the blades in the mechanism plate. Once the rivet posts break off the blades, it’s pretty much game over, even if the rivets are still inside the shutter somewhere. A repair on that level is not something you’d want to attempt yourself, and even a pro repair service might not be able to help.

*Ive repaired a Compur shutter that had a rivet come off one end of an aperture blade, and it was very tricky indeed (reassembling the blades is not for the faint of heart!). I’m not familiar with the design of your Wollensak shutter, so it’s possible that the blades do not have the pivot posts riveted to the blades, but are fixed to the mechanism plate instead. If that’s the case, it might be easier to reinstall them. However, I see quite a bit of distortion on the blades at the pivot point, which suggests the blades came out of place because somebody forced the aperture lever when it was stuck with oil or otherwise seized up. Distorted aperture blades are a nightmare to reinstall!

Thank you. This is exactly the info I was looking for. And unfortunately much as I had suspected. I can find myself at least part way around small internal combustion engines but will leave shutters, watches and the like to professionals. In this case I think I have a lovely brass paper weight.
Cheers.

[robbiemcclaran]

A tell-tale sign something was an issue in the past was the missing f scale... Might have been removed as someone maybe thought without the plate would think there was more "wiggle room" to free the stuck iris, and it seems like it was forced...

One would have to check the iris blades to see what they are made of first to determine if they can be flattened, and see if the pivots are still in place...this is the go/no go point... Some of the era's blades were made of rubber or materials that can stick together, and a no go, as they need to be smooth to operate...

I have some of these shutters (smaller) and not reliable with their consistent speed in general, and didn't respond to overhaul well at all, so not one I would trust in the field, so don't go bonkers on it... The Compur Compound is much better...

Maybe good as a display piece, but you might put a fixed WH stop in it to try it, but it won't be a miracle lens either, but have some fun with it...



Steve K

What's interesting about the missing f/stop scale is someone in the past has etched (scratched) crude markings indicating the stops. Which would indicate it was working at the time.

But as you suggest, I think this is a nice display piece.

I know that some vintage lenses have strong appeal to certain photographers, for their specific characteristics. But I don't get the impression this lens is particularly rare, so not worth the effort or expense of putting it right.
Cheers

[jnantz]

Hello
You could always remove the aperture blades, shoot it wide open ... or
cut a slot in the barrel and use waterhouse stops
Great lens ,, no mattter the condition of the iris ..!
John

[robbiemcclaran]

Hello
You could always remove the aperture blades, shoot it wide open ... or
cut a slot in the barrel and use waterhouse stops
Great lens ,, no mattter the condition of the iris ..!
John

Funny you should say that, as I was thinking the exact same thing! Could be an interesting experiment, worth playing with. I have to confess though, having never cracked open the case of any kind of shutter, much less one of this vintage, I'm unclear where to start. I did remove the two obvious screws but it seems there is another fastener or two holding the case together. And I didn't want to just jam a screwdriver in there to pry it open, again fearing an explosion of springs and ball bearings. Any tips appreciated.
Cheers!

[jnantz]

Great minds think alike !
I don't have a clue how I would remove that, I have a travel clock in a drawer in pieces
to remind me of how sometimes ...
Maybe if you can't find something online you can just bring it to a repairshop and have him or her remove
the iris, probably won't cost much.. and instead of cutting a slot you could put them infront of your lens like a box camera.
I've made simple lenses like that, they work OK if you set the bar low

have fun!

[Robbie Bedell]

Robbie, Since that is an old Wollensak shutter the lens will probably fit into a Betax or Gammax shutter. I made that switch with an old Centar lens and it works very well and is a very good lens..The Betax and Gammax can be found in working condition for not a whole lot of money...

[Eric Rose]

For me the question would go like this. If I saw a photo made with the same lens and it had a wonderful signature look would it then be worth spending $100 to repair it.

[Keith Fleming]

I prefer Robbie Bedell's recommendation, but since the iris still works, a Packard shutter would also work. Used ones are rather inexpensive--though you might need to fabricate a box for the lens-shutter combination. If you go that far, it probably would be good to have a universal iris on the front of the box, and the Packard on the rear--for use with multiple old lenses.

On another tack, I have a Wollensak Versar in an equally-bad Regular shutter. The iris no longer makes a perfect circle due to leaves being messed up. But if I remove the front lens cell and open the iris all the way, the rear cell works as a good soft-focus lens--and the softness can be controlled by stopping down the iris slightly. The iris on mine cannot be stopped down very much though.

Keith

[Mark Sawyer]

I paid about $20 for it, and I hate to pay $100 for the repair.

It's worth $20. If you pay $100 more to repair it, it's worth $120. Simple math in LF photography.