Rapax Shutter Tab

[alt.kafka]

What's the purpose of the slidey tab with the hold down screw? It seems that it's always in the way of either the shutter cocking lever or the preview lever. At first, I thought it might have been designed to fit over the preview lever, but it doesn't fit. It also doesn't seem to be useful if I swing it over the other way and try to hook it around the cocking lever.

Also, mine is an X sync with a bi-post. I haven't been able to get the flash to trigger. I'm not sure if it's user error or if it just doesn't work. There's no F/M/X switch, so it may just not work.

[BrianShaw]

If I understand which part you are asking about, dust cover.

[alt.kafka]

OK, I just figured that it *does* hook around the cocking lever, so mine is on backwards in the picture.

Yes, I suppose it could be a dust cover. Functionally, it seems that it just exposes the red dot next to the shutter release if the lens has been cocked, and covers it if it hasn't. Which, alone, would be pretty over-engineered.

Any suggestions on the X sync? Or, should it just work?

[Mark Sampson]

Forum member "Whir-Click" should have the answer, as he repairs Wollensak shutters and his site "alphaxbetax.com" is a superb source of Wollensak information.
By which I mean that I don't know!

[Whir-Click]

Wollensak called that part the “dust shield,” which pretty much sums up its function. As you noted, it has the added benefit of serving as an indicator that the shutter is cocked.

The X-synch should just work; if it doesn’t, there may be a loose contact or a missing insulator inside.

[alt.kafka]

Yeah, the X-sync just isn't working. I'd be tempted to try to fix, but I don't see a way into the case. Something circular must unthread, because I don't see any screws or any other way into it anywhere. It's too bad, because this is a very smooth shutter, otherwise, and I love that circular iris.

[Whir-Click]

The Rapax is an excellent shutter and worth some tinkering to fix if you’re inclined. To access the internals and try to solve the flash issue, I recommend the following steps:
-Remove the lens cells
-Unscrew and remove the silver lock ring (labeled)
-Lift off the name plate
-Take a picture of the levers’ positions in the speed cam slots
-Lift off the speed cam
-Look around at the synch, see if the contacts and lever movements make sense. If not, pour a drink of your choice and enjoy while pondering and poking the mechanism. Attached is a reference drawing.
-Get inspired and fix it.
-Reassemble by reversing the steps above, taking care to persuade the levers back into their original speed cam slots

Half the fun is figuring stuff out, and success at the outset is not making a problem worse.

[maltfalc]

on mine the sync pins themselves had corroded internally. i just unscrewed them and cleaned them and the bolts they screw onto with vinegar.

[alt.kafka]

Excellent. Yes, I was thinking that was probably what had to come off. Hopefully this will just be a question of getting those contacts to work. Thanks.

[alt.kafka]

Alright, that was crazy easy to fix. The silver lock ring doesn't want to be too tight, because it puts pressure the motion of the speed ring. All I had to do was tweezer the contacts back into place, and now I'm cooking with gas. The cams all lined up easily with just a little finessing. Thanks!