Fixing a stuck shutter on a Yashica Lynx Rangefinder

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Hi colleagues:
After getting back from Frankfurt, I got in the mail a parcel that I was awaiting from long: The last camera I bought past year, eight weeks to arrive. It came from Ottawa (Canada). It was a Yashica Lynx IC, identical to the one with the broken sprocket. (I'm still unsure about what exact model is this, the small plate with the model name was missing...)

The seller told me it was "mint". And the camera really was, from a external point of view. I love this camera because it has a fast and sharp 1.8 yashinon lens, can work without a battery and it's manual, with speeds up to 1/1000.

But unfortunately the shutter was stuck. I was thinking in returning it, but the overall aspect was so good (even came with a leather case) that I thought I could use the broken-sprocket Lynx shutter to replace the one in this camera. And the price had been quite low, ($9.99 plus shipping), so thinking in waiting another 8 weeks to see if the parcel was getting back and so, I decided to keep it.

After looking at the net about stuck shutters, I learned there was a quick and dirty way of unlocking them: what it's called "solvent flood" (obvious meaning). So I decided to try this before going into surgery.

The first step is to get to the shutter. To do that, one needs to take out the lens. It's quite easy in these Lynx Yashicas. The lens is screwed into the barrel, so I use a soft eraser and applying a gentle pressure on it, it does starts unscrewing. The lens is not affected, the pressure is held against the top ring, no contact with the glass:

Once the lens out, we have straight access to the shutter blades, so it's a matter of gently applying solvent with a Q-tip, allowing a small quantity pouring in between the blades (very cautiously and a small quantity!).
I use Isopropylic Alcohol, (2-propanol) as a solvent. It doesn't have any water on it and evaporates quite fast, very convenient for camera works.

Once the shutter blades wet, we have to dry them with the other extreme of the Q-tip, being careful to not to let any debris on the blades.
After this, and since there has poured some solvent between the blades, we have to exercise the shutter (at that time it should be working again if was only a dry grease problem, mine worked!). At each shot we have to dry the blades from the solvent that comes from between them. I shot some 30 shots and dried the solvent until everything seemed ok and no more solvent was pouring out.

After this I left the camera under a strong desktop light for a while, to get warmer to help in getting rid of any solvent remanent traces.
I shot some more test shots and I put back the lens using the same method.

Finally I tried the plastic caps in my collection to see if anyone was fitting the Yashinon lens (the camera came without one but with a nice leather case). And bingo!. One coming from a 5 litre water bottle fitted exactly. Now I've to paint it black and draw the Yashica logo on it Wink

And that's all folks!.

Jes.

BTW, thanks to Andy for sending me the first Yashicas... They inoculated me the Yashica virii, a nice infection!. Next step in the illness are the Yashica TLRs...

Richard_D · Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 2378 Location: Faversham Kent UK

Great work and an excellent tutorial.

Flor27 · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 1195 Location: Paris, France

Nice job and nice pics too !

I've tried to clean sticky blades of a Pentacon 300/4 with Isopropylic Alcohol without success, they are sitll sticky Embarassed

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Juanma · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 257 Location: Cambrils, Spain

Now I know why you have so little time to make repairs. You make a tutorial with pictures of every one of your repairs, and that takes a lot of time! Laughing

Good job, Jes!

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Thanks, Richard, Floriant and Juanma!

I find unvaluable when someone else does it, so I feel oblliged to do the same... I've learned a lot from the tutorials of Matt Demon, Rick Oleson, The Yashica Guy and so many others. If I can share my small experiences, maybe someone else could benefit of it and we would help to widespread the use of the film again.

Jes.

Farside · Expire: 2013-12-27

Excellent series of repair articles, Jes. I must now attend to a couple of dirty and sticky apertures that came free with lenses I bought.