Copal 1 Shutter Question

[alkman]

Several years ago I bought a 240mm g-claron in a copal 1 shutter from Adorama and the shutter was listed as being stiff. The speed setting ring was tight but workable. A friend of mine who has repaired some cameras offered to take a look at it. What we discovered was the shutter has plastic spacer inserted on the front opening of the shutter which places pressure on the speed setting ring when the lens is tightened down. When the front cell is removed, the speed selector moves freely. I am trying to figure out if anyone has encountered this problem before and a possible solution as the spacer seems pretty well set into the shutter. The image attached has a red arrow pointing to the ring. The spacer also does not appear on images of a standard copal 1 shutter.

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[ridax]

Looks like the shutter was originally adapted for another lens with narrow cells that fit inside the plastic ring, not touching the ring front surface. The ring is not a spacer but a decorative / dust-proof cover. Just cut the ring front off enough to avoid its contact with your lens cells.

[alkman]

Thank you for the suggestion! I will try that.

[Tracy Storer]

There are a couple different sizes of that plastic ring, it simply snaps into place, and can be pretty easily "popped" out by getting a finger tip under it.

[alkman]

Thank you for the tip, Tracy. We've tried to remove it, but it seems pretty well sealed into the shutter opening. We shall also try that.

[domaz]

That ring should definitely come off somehow, otherwise you could never disassemble the shutter it seems. You can see the retaining ring right underneath it...

[Kevin Crisp]

Make sure the front element is seating firmly and abruptly on the shutter body as it should. If it feels malleable (plastic-y) when it is almost tight, it could mean the lens is hitting the spacer and stopping, giving you more lens spacing than you should have. Not that a little bit of extra separation would matter a great deal on that lens. On a wide angle, it would be a big problem.

[alkman]

Thank you everyone for all the advice! My friend managed to get the spacer out and is going to file it down so that it does not interfere with the shutter mechanism but still provides protection from dust.