Ansco 3A: shutter release problem

[rippo]

hey all. i've "repurposed" a lens and shutter from an Ansco 3A 'vest pocket' folding camera. i've used it on a Calumet 4x5 in the past, and was planning on using it on my Toyo-View C. Coverage isn't bad, and you can't sneeze at f/4 for serious swirly bokeh!

one of my two 3A's came with a short shutter release cable inside. it's the standard mount, but it's slightly different from modern cable releases. the sliding part that comes out to trigger the shutter has a flat 'foot' on it. it's very small, and you wouldn't think it'd make a difference. but it does! modern cable releases, at least the ones i've tried, get jammed up and often require me to physically pull the handle out, as the spring tension on the cable isn't enough to free it otherwise. makes shooting time exposures a bit of a problem.

now the old-fashioned cable release has gotten bent. the business end, with the little foot, is bent and i don't think i can get it back into shape again. currently it gets snagged inside and i panic every time, trying to free it and thinking i've destroyed the shutter.

any suggestions for making this work? either getting a modern cable release to behave properly, or some sort of mod or something? anyone use these cameras and/or shutters and have some suggestions for cable release?

max shutter speed is 1/100 (untested), so triggering with the actual shutter release lever might introduce wiggles and jiggles. but i haven't actually tried that.

[rippo]

well perhaps it's not a big deal after all. i realized i've never tried the other 3A shutter i have with a modern cable release. it works fine. different shutter: Ilex Universal, rather than 'General' (the only non-functional markings). i think probably the internal actuator lever doodad is probably a little bent. i'll just swap, and suffer through f/7.5 instead of f/4. and perhaps take apart the General one at some point.