Victor Shutter on Premo Pony #4

[vickersdc]

Hi there,

I've just bought an old (Rochester) Premo Pony camera (5x4) fitted with a Victor shutter assembly. This shutter is a bit sticky and I'd like to service it - but can I use the old trick of a tiny drop of lighter fluid somewhere to loosen it up? Or is that just sacrilege?

Cheers,
David.

[Gene McCluney]

I don't know why the lighter-fluid technique wouldn't work on it. I myself, prefer zero-residue contact cleaner available from electronics supply houses, followed with very judicious oiling if needed. I like to spray in the aerosol cleaner and saturate the shutter and have it actually flood out all the dirt and grime. It then evaporates to zero.

[vickersdc]

OK, thanks for that - I'll nip over to the electronics suppliers near here and get some of that rather than the lighter fluid. There's not exactly an awful lot to these shutters, so I'm hoping it's not going to put up much of a fight

[seawolf66]

The only thing I cleaned on Pony Premo # 6 Camera shutter was the Tubes And Thats All and it works nicely BUT I do not know how accuretly it is.Enjoy the camera :

[vickersdc]

Hi Seawolf66: "Enjoy the camera" - you bet! I've every intention of using it, even if it might need a bit of judicious TLC before that can happen. I've already thought of several projects that I'd like to use it for...

[Glenn Thoreson]

The pneumatic tubes must be absolutely clean and dry. Do NOT put any oil on them. One is the timing mechanism that operates on the timed release of air, the one on the right if memory serves. The other is for a bulb hose to connect to. The timing tube is operated by a lever in the shutter which limits the amount of piston travel according to the set speed. There are actually few moving parts in these. They can work pretty well when in perfect condition, but after 100 years ?????? The last one I had gave me a perfectly consistent 1/25 at all speeds.

[vickersdc]

Thank you for the information Glenn. If there are so few moving parts in these shutters, what is it that causes them to malfunction? Is it just the accumulation of 100 years of dirt, oxidisation of the metal tubes? All of the above, or something else?

David.

[Gene McCluney]

Thank you for the information Glenn. If there are so few moving parts in these shutters, what is it that causes them to malfunction? Is it just the accumulation of 100 years of dirt, oxidisation of the metal tubes? All of the above, or something else?

David.

They malfunction because of wear on the moving parts and mostly dirt and grime.

[Darren Kruger]

Hi there,

I've just bought an old (Rochester) Premo Pony camera (5x4) fitted with a Victor shutter assembly. This shutter is a bit sticky and I'd like to service it - but can I use the old trick of a tiny drop of lighter fluid somewhere to loosen it up? Or is that just sacrilege?

Check the shutter and aperture blades to see if they are metal or something else. I've heard of bad things happening if they are not metal if you use solvents.

-Darren

[vickersdc]

Thanks for all the help - the next two questions (as I haven't started on the shutters yet) are..

Is it worth getting it professionally sorted out? If I were to send the Victor to a repair / service facility, can anyone suggest who I might use? Is there anyone around who can still work on these things (preferably UK, but I realise it's more likely to be US)?

I've also got a Kodak 620 that I'm pondering on taking the lens / shutter assembly off of and build a new lensboard for the Premo - that would give me a 101mm lens, but I'd need to check the lens coverage to make sure it covers the 5x4 film.

Cheers,
David.