Aperture blade is loose

[pocketfulladoubles]

On the Copal #1 shutter of my Fujinon 250/6.3, an aperture blade came loose when I stopped the lens down to f/64. I've been using it for over a year and it's been ok so far, just not stopped down so much. I'm generally pretty handy, and am thinking about opening up the case and trying to reset the leaves. Is this worth it, is there a manual I could look at, should I just have a pro fix it, or should I get a new shutter? Thank you.

[David McNiven]

Sorry I don't have any manuals.
I should tell you though that the diaphragm is the last thing you get to when you strip a leaf shutter - if you're unfamiliar with repairs I wouldn't recommend a DIY!
Diaphragm blades are fragile and when they come adrift there's usually damage.
A repairer will have spare parts.

[ic-racer]

May be of some help: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showpost.php?p=279474&postcount=34

[pocketfulladoubles]

Can I use any ol' Copal #1 shutter if I can find an extra, or are there variations in the mounts/depth/thickness, etc.?

[lenser]

Carol Miller at Flutot's Camera Repair (www.flutotscamerarepair.com) is you choice. Very reasonable prices and excellent work. She's down the road from you at Whittier.

[pocketfulladoubles]

Carol Miller at Flutot's Camera Repair (www.flutotscamerarepair.com) is you choice. Very reasonable prices and excellent work. She's down the road from you at Whittier.

Yep, just 7 hours down the road :cool: I'll make that my first stop though. Thank you.

[pocketfulladoubles]

May be of some help: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showpost.php?p=279474&postcount=34

Thanks ic-racer. I ordered a new aperture blade from Bill Rogers (very helpful, thank you!) and got the new blade installed. I have everything lined up, but just can't seem to get the shutter and aperture halves together AND working properly. It's almost working correctly, but there is some friction and resistance when manually opening and closing the shutter. It's not the kind of friction from grease or oil, it's more like I'm not lining up the tangs correctly to fit the little hooks that push the shutter open and closed.

Do I want to start with the shutter in the closed or open position to put it back together? Perhaps if you have a diagram, it would be very helpful. Thanks.

[ic-racer]

I only posted two pictures in that thread above, but I remember taking more. I don't recall off hand where the problem may be, but I'll see if I have any more pictures of the innards.

[pocketfulladoubles]

I finally figured it out. I had opened the shutter from the aperture side, and never open the shutter timer ring and metal retainer near where the front element is. Once I opened that to expose the gears, I could hold align the aperture portion with the shutter portion much more easily. It's not so bad if you know what you're doing ;)

Tackling the timing of the gears though, that looks like a nightmare, but I'd say if you have some time (took me about 10 hours total of fiddling and figuring out things) swapping a broken shutter or aperture blade is doable.