A wife’s tale?

[Bill Kumpf]

I was looking at some vintage 1960's lenses that had been in storage. Not surprisingly the shutters were slow or non functional.

The gentleman, a chemist by trade, suggested heating the lens to 100 -120 º F for one to two hours. He claims that the heat will soften the lubrication allowing the lens to function normally.

With no offense to wives – Is this a pure tale or does it work?

[Joseph O'Neil]

I've never heard this suggested for lenses before, but I know a few mechanics, farmers and machinists who heat seized metal parts as a method of loosening them. Part of how it works is different metals will expand at different rates.

Might be worth a try, but I would remove all glass cells first, and use only dry heat. Pay attention to temperature too, 100 F sounds high but remember body temperature is just shy of 99F, so it's not that hot.

joe

[Mark Sampson]

Somehow I don't think that heating up dried-out, dirty, gummy lubricants will restore them to new. At least not after they return to normal temp. But I've never tried it...

[Walter Calahan]

This sounds more like a husband's tale, not a wife's tale. Grin.

How about simply professionally cleaning the lens?

[Juergen Sattler]

What's there to lose by trying it out? Remove the front and back glass elements and put the shutters in the oven (you don't have to tell anyone you're doing this:-). It's worth a try, I think.

[BrianShaw]

Rather than asking a chemist, ask a watch or clock repairman. would you put your Rolex in the oven? Even the chemist should have admitted that baking a shutter to rejunenate the lube is a temporary measure... at best.

EDIT: I vote for "pure tale". :)

[mikec]

no one has mentioned flushing the shutter in lighter fluid. worked for me.

[Ed Shapiro]

EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. Don't do any of that! That is if you want those shutters to actually work!

Once lubricants have congealed and are mixed with dirt and dust, no amount of heating will restore them to working viscosity. Lighter fluid is naphthalene and will only leave a residue that will come back and bite you later on. Heat and certain volatile solvents will also badly affect lens cements and other non metallic shutter parts.

A competent repair person will disassemble the shutter and soak the dirty parts in a kerosene type solvent and dry them off. Proper lubricants will be used and the shutter will be re-timed so you will get proper exposures. Many shutters have a separate slow speed gear trains that needs to be addressed with special lubricants.

Ed :)

[John Kasaian]

Some old shutters utilized materials like celluloid, paper, vulcanized rubber and other non-metallic components which I wouldn't think benefit from such a folly :eek:

[Kirk Keyes]

Buy them, wait until summer when it hits 100F, and then try them again.

Come on guys, 100F is not that hot.

[BrianShaw]

Come on guys, 100F is not that hot.
That is true, but perhaps not exactly the point. The point is... heating the shutters probably won't work. They probably deserve a real overhaul unless they are just going to be tempermental playthings.

[rippo]

the lighter fluid thing works though. perhaps not in all cases, but i've repaired...let's see...at least four shutters using this method. three work flawlessly. one still sticks sometimes. you do want to avoid getting the stuff on any non-metal parts, but i don't detect a residue left. and probably using something more 'directed' such as a cotton swab is better than just dowsing it. however i have dowsed too! the stuff evaporates and leaves only the gunk that was already there...but it usually has moved it somewhere away from the actual moving parts.

mind you, when i have a shutter i'm serious about, i send it to Flutot's. my lighter-fluid repairs are for cameras that i won't cry over if they break.

[Vaughn]

Buy them, wait until summer when it hits 100F, and then try them again.

Come on guys, 100F is not that hot.

Not that hot?! I thought people start passing out from heat exhaustion when it hits the 80's in Portland?;)

When it hits the mid-70's here, people start complaining about the heat!:eek:

Vaughn

[seawolf66]

First of all Once old grease has aged and become hard or stiff it is best to clean it out completely and start over again with up todate grease, for the shutter, If its a throw away shutter then Knock your socks off:, or send it to me:[VBG]

[Toyon]

Some lighter fluid is butane.

[Joseph O'Neil]

Buy them, wait until summer when it hits 100F, and then try them again.

Come on guys, 100F is not that hot.

-snip-
That was *exactly* my point. A couple years ago driving across Kansas they had highs of just over 100 F in the mid day and I was right in the middle of it. I am certain that the temperature in my trunk (which was not air conditioned) was well over 100F, and it did not adversley affect my camera, shutters or film for that matter.

As I said, regular body temperature is 98.6F, so wrap the old shutter in a zip lock bag, put it under your armpit for an hour, and you've just heated it up to near your 100F. Other than wasting a zip lock bag and an hour of TV, what's the loss? :)

[BrianShaw]

-snip-
As I said, regular body temperature is 98.6F, so wrap the old shutter in a zip lock bag, put it under your armpit for an hour...
I can't wait to hear the report on this experiment! :)

[wfwhitaker]

Flush it with lighter fluid, THEN put it in the oven. That should do it.

Seriously, this lighter fluid home remedy stuff is enough to scare me away from ever buying anybody's used shutters. Just bite the bullet and send it to someone who knows what they're doing. It isn't THAT expensive.

[Bernard Kaye]

Two things you buy used with a prayer; used shutters and used enlarging lenses.
Shutters, as to metal only shutters: With all glass out, I use ultrasound as do jewelers and watch repair people; it is amazing what is flushed out; hairs, dirt, more dirt and more hairs, etc., then carefully libricate them: that is the C & L of CLA; in my experience, the A may be a fiction; it is a matter of cams and springs, none of which is adjustable as is the speed of a mechanical watch. No comment if there is paper, pressed board, plastic or other "soft" material in the shutter.
Used enlarging lenses: do you remove your enlarging lens from your dark, damp or moist dark room after each use, keep it on an airy shelf out of the dark room and occasionally place it in sunlight to kill fungus? I thought not. Remove it now, smell it. examine it and place it in sunlight remembering that it is one powerful magnifying glass that can ignite combustible material and that too much sunlight will produce too much heat, melt cement between lens blanks and wreak havoc. I did not promise you a rose garden. Get your lenses out of those dark drawers.
(used to sell these things, buy them for the store if fungus free and not etched by hydrofluoric acid secreted by fungus)

Bernie

[BrianShaw]

Seriously, this lighter fluid home remedy stuff is enough to scare me away from ever buying anybody's used shutters.

In general I agree with this sentiment. But occasionally one gets a big surprise. A couple of years ago I bought a "parts" camera with a broken Sychro-Compur shutter. The guy selling it claimed to be a crack DIY shutter repairman and mentioned that he tried to salvage it but it was beyond hope. I needed other parts from the camera so the shutter wasn't really of interest... until I played with it and found that one spring was installed improperly... and that was the only significant problem. After a real CLA - dissassembly and lighter fluid wash (no oven or armpit drying, though, and the "L&A" done per factory specs - it turned out to be a perfect user camera. So I got a $250 value camera for $25 plus the hour I spent properly cleaning the shutter. Not a bad deal!

[Bobby Ironsights]

I was looking at some vintage 1960's lenses that had been in storage. Not surprisingly the shutters were slow or non functional.

The gentleman, a chemist by trade, suggested heating the lens to 100 -120 º F for one to two hours. He claims that the heat will soften the lubrication allowing the lens to function normally.

With no offense to wives – Is this a pure tale or does it work?

If it worked, then why didn't he do it, before he tried selling them to you?

Answer me that one?
:cool:

[Bill Kumpf]

He has moved to the dark side – gone digital………….

If we close this deal, the shutters when be sent out for a CLA.

Bill

[Alan Davenport]

In my (limited) experience, I've come to believe that all of the horror stories and cautions against DIY CLAs (i.e., the lighter fluid treatment) are based on nothing more than (1) paranoia, or (2) efforts to keep business headed toward the professional repairmen/women/persons. I can't recall ever hearing or reading anyone's first hand tale of woe from a careful journey into their large format camera's inner secrets.

Now admittedly, I've done only 2 shutters with the lighter fluid dunk. However, both came back wonderfully, gave all of the speeds with decent accuracy. More importantly, both still work perfectly 4 and 3 years later, respectively.

I do think it's important to re-oil the shaft ends after the napthalene dunk and a careful drying. (Compressed air -- canned air dusters work great -- is a big plus for getting the fluid and dissolved gunk out of tight spots.) Use a toothpick to pick up microdrops of oil, and oil the ends of the shafts where they penetrate the side plates. NO OIL on the gear teeth.

It's probably worth remembering, that LF shutters, with few exceptions, use 100+ year old technology. It sure ain't rocket science.