stiff seiko shutter cocking pinion

[esearing]

I recently purchased a Fuji 210 lens in a Seiko shutter. The cocking mechanism requires a good deal of force compared to all the other shutters I use. It seems to require the same force for all speeds. The shutter seems to fire accurately but I still need to test it to get actual speeds.

Exercising it does not seem to reduce pull needed.
The shutter has to be held a certain way or the outer speed setting ring will turn during cocking and has to be reset.

Any tips or should I send out for repair? Or leave it alone - all is well.

[domaz]

Hm I would be careful there, I've had multiple Seiko shutters where the cocking ring gears had stripped teeth resulting in the shutter not being able to fire at all speeds. Sounds like if you force it that might be the end of your shutter eventually (i.e. not fixable without spare parts from another shutter). I'm not really sure why it would take so much force though.

[reddesert]

Don't know the specific answer to this question, but on some shutters, including Seikos I think, you take off the front name plate (with a couple of screws), and then there is a thin retaining ring with many circular indentations. There is a small screw head in one of the circular indentations that prevents the ring from turning. If you remove the screw, you can loosen the toothed retaining ring, which holds down the front plate of the shutter. Loosening it entirely is a necessary step to get into the shutter to clean it (or to damage it irreparably).

However, if the retaining ring is tightened too much on re-assembly, the shutter speed ring is very stiff to turn. Thus, you could try loosening the retaining ring by just one or two notches, re-inserting the screw, and seeing if the cocking and speed setting have a more normal amount of friction afterward.