So, proudly I open my bargain eBay purchase: Schneider Symmar-S 180/5.6...listed as "oh, its perfect!! not a scratch!! only driven by a professional photograhpe r to the lab and back on Sundays...." you get the idea. Ok, maybe there are some surface marks, known as "cleaning marks"...(what the heck are cleaning marks, a nyway? If you clean a lens the right way, it won't leave any marks)

So, my untrained fingers begin to work the shutter, to see if it "sounds" ok...I keep reading used lens listings, and folks say, "not tested, but sounds ok on a ll times"...well, darn if the 8 and 15 don't sound a bunch different than any ot her speed. Then it dawns on me; the speeds 1,2,4, 30, 60...they all sound the sa me...hmm, must be some old lubricant gunked up in there, eh? I know! lighter flu id! I read about that on the large format usenet. Lemme see...nope, no lighter f luid, but this de-natured alcohol should do the trick...lets see, unscrew the le ns...hmm...now the big 'hold open' knob is sticking, and the shutter vanes are s ticking open....and...and...

...sigh...

Maybe if I just remove this one little screw? (having built boats, fixed refridg erators and airplanes, I can figure this out). Yeah, I see, these 4 screws hold this thingamabob, which is connected to the ankel bone. I'll have this opened up , cleaned, and working before lunch! Or at least before I forget how it went tog ether...ok, maybe its 4 screws, but I can handle it...

POING-BOINK-PLINK...whasthat? was that a spring? damn, which screw held that lit tle devil in place? WOW!! a shutter leaf is just laying on the table, how did th at get there? And how do I get it back where it came from? Better just open this back part here, only 4 more little tiny screws and....holy clockmaker, Batman!! ! This looks like a Rolex mechanics nightmare!! There's more little tiny, teeny wheeny little itty bitty springs, screws, gears, levers, not to mention legitbob s, cretisramps and fregerbits than you can shake a stick at!!

So, now I'm looking at a pile of about 6 donut looking things, 3 spring like dev ices, 13 little tiny screws, 2 levers, 5 shutter leaves and a partidge in a pear tree...damn. And to think I coulda just gone to an early lunch.

So, I fess up to SK Grimes via e-mail. I threaten to send him a complete "I alre ady worked on this" basket case shutter, with unknown parts included. Guess what ?

Less than 2 hours later, I have his reply via e-mail: go ahead, he says, send it on! We'll have it fixed up in no time, and for less than you can buy a good use d one for. Forgetabout, he says, just put it all in one big bag, and we'll figur e it out.

Tomorrow, I think I'll change the battery in my Casio watch.

Doug