Marel
Established
Hi.
My beloved M6 was sitting idly on a table (perhaps 1,3 meters / 4 feet above the floor) when it got knocked down and fell on the floor (old and relatively soft hard-wood). It landed directly on one side of the rewind lever, so that at 90° from the direction of the lever itself, that half of the circular knob-thing is bent down. It doesn't turn, and I tried (before realizing that it was bent) to forward the film a couple of times with the advance lever, it sounded as if the film was off the sprocket-holders and made a sound like a car engine with a broken timing belt, i.e. not good. Also, it was uneven and rickety, perhaps because of the resistance of the rewind knob.
I can't take a proper picture of it now, as the only digital camera I have available is the webcam in my laptop, tomorrow I'll take a proper picture and post here. But this is how it looks through the lens on my laptop:
You can see how the light hits the knob unevenly, and the white line on the lower half of it is where it hit the floor, it is bent down and the lever won't fit in its proper place, it sticks a bit out.
What am I to do, good, kind people of arcane rangefinder wisdom, in this, my time of need?
My beloved M6 was sitting idly on a table (perhaps 1,3 meters / 4 feet above the floor) when it got knocked down and fell on the floor (old and relatively soft hard-wood). It landed directly on one side of the rewind lever, so that at 90° from the direction of the lever itself, that half of the circular knob-thing is bent down. It doesn't turn, and I tried (before realizing that it was bent) to forward the film a couple of times with the advance lever, it sounded as if the film was off the sprocket-holders and made a sound like a car engine with a broken timing belt, i.e. not good. Also, it was uneven and rickety, perhaps because of the resistance of the rewind knob.
I can't take a proper picture of it now, as the only digital camera I have available is the webcam in my laptop, tomorrow I'll take a proper picture and post here. But this is how it looks through the lens on my laptop:
You can see how the light hits the knob unevenly, and the white line on the lower half of it is where it hit the floor, it is bent down and the lever won't fit in its proper place, it sticks a bit out.
What am I to do, good, kind people of arcane rangefinder wisdom, in this, my time of need?
cosmonaut
Well-known
Buy another one. Send this one out for repair. Then you will always have a back up.
jbrianfoto
Established
The ripping noise you heard was the film sprocket holes being torn by your attempt to advance the film - stop doing that. If you keep it up you'll run the risk of damaging the film transport gears further. Pull the film out and toss it away (just open the base, flip open the back and fish it all out of there, sorry, the film is a loss) - you can replace the rewind knob easily - you can find them for sale on the auction site or goto DAG's website. Good luck !
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
First make sure the shaft of the rewind knob isn't bent or warped.
If your RF still is aligned it probably will still be fine, in that case the knob took most of the impact. If the RF is out of whack, make sure the rewind axle is still fine. If necessary, have it looked over by Youxin Ye, Don Goldberg and Sherry Krauter do a wonderful job but at times do have a seven-month repair backlog...
If your RF still is aligned it probably will still be fine, in that case the knob took most of the impact. If the RF is out of whack, make sure the rewind axle is still fine. If necessary, have it looked over by Youxin Ye, Don Goldberg and Sherry Krauter do a wonderful job but at times do have a seven-month repair backlog...
Marel
Established
Thanks for your replies. The rangefinder appears to be in order, it lines up at the right distances, as far as I can tell.
Do you know how the rewind knob is taken off?
Do you know how the rewind knob is taken off?
Marel
Established
Because of the way the top part of the rewind knob is bent, it can't be turned but a a couple of degrees, but in that short distance I can't discern any bending of the rod. But I could be mistaken.
segedi
RFicianado
Did you move the R lever (front below shutter release) to the rewind position before trying to rewind the film? And can you gently bend the winder back into position?
ferider
Mentor
The rewind knob is bent - if the viewfinder is OK, everything else is still likely to work. The aluminum rewind knob is the Achilles heel of M6 and M4P. Order a replacement brass knob from Don@DAG, he makes them from Leicaflex knobs, US 80 or similar. Easy to replace, it's taken off by removing a tiny lock screw and then unscrewing (while you counter hold the film axle from the inside with a finger).
Roland.
Roland.
Marel
Established
Thank you all for your good advice.
After moving the R-lever it allowed me to turn the knob a bit more, but it still gets stuck. The winder won't budge when I try to bend it.
I've ordered a replacement brass knob from DAG, hopefully that will be a sufficient repair.
Thanks again all, I'm really grateful for your help.
After moving the R-lever it allowed me to turn the knob a bit more, but it still gets stuck. The winder won't budge when I try to bend it.
I've ordered a replacement brass knob from DAG, hopefully that will be a sufficient repair.
Thanks again all, I'm really grateful for your help.
segedi
RFicianado
If you have a changing back or a light tight space, you can salvage any film that has been exposed. In darkness and with the R lever in the rewind position, take the bottom off the camera and try to slide the cartridge out. Even if it's just down enough to disengage from the top of the body where the winder hooks in, you can then rewind the film manually using the cartridge. Best of luck!
ferider
Mentor
Marel, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbtqDd-4qPI, starting at 0:35. He shows you how to take the rewind knob off. Good luck !
Marel
Established
Thanks again for all your help.
This is how it looked:
And then I removed the knob according to the instructions in the video:
I don't thik I'll try to bend it back...
Thankfully the axle looks intact:
Now I'm waiting for the replacement part from DAG, hopefully it won't be long. I'll post here when the repairs are done, and how it works.
This forum is a great resorce!
This is how it looked:
And then I removed the knob according to the instructions in the video:
I don't thik I'll try to bend it back...
Thankfully the axle looks intact:
Now I'm waiting for the replacement part from DAG, hopefully it won't be long. I'll post here when the repairs are done, and how it works.
This forum is a great resorce!
Vincent.G
平和、愛、喜&#
Make sure you keep those washers somewhere safe because the replacement rewind knob does not come with it.
Marel
Established
Will do, thanks!
I would try to straighten it without a mere hesitation. You will get another one anyway, so why not try.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
+1 on that. In fact, I would have tried that before ordering a new one!
Best trick to do this: first gently pry the two halves apart so far that the lever will fit between them. Then place it on a rather soft piece of wood, bottom side down. Put another piece of wood on top and gently tap it with a small hammer or something else heavy. The moment the knob is flat, the top surface will relay any force to the bottom side, which is only a ring. If the bottom wood is soft (it should be!) you will at that moment not deform the knob, but the wood and stop tapping.
I hope this makes sense.
Marel
Established
+1 on that. In fact, I would have tried that before ordering a new one!
Best trick to do this: first gently pry the two halves apart so far that the lever will fit between them. Then place it on a rather soft piece of wood, bottom side down. Put another piece of wood on top and gently tap it with a small hammer or something else heavy. The moment the knob is flat, the top surface will relay any force to the bottom side, which is only a ring. If the bottom wood is soft (it should be!) you will at that moment not deform the knob, but the wood and stop tapping.
I hope this makes sense.
Sadly the piece was beyond my capabilities as a repairman, the main reason being that it is bent in such a way that the shaft for the screw is misaligned from the headpiece and the outer rim also has a bulge in it, making it impossible to move in the groove to rewind the film. The margin of error is really small, so that I couldn't get it circular enough to fit back in.
Anyway, DAG came through in flying colours, the replacement part came a couple of weeks ago and works like a charm.
I now have a black M6 with a silver M4 rewind knob!
It took some getting used to, but now I feel that it's more MY camera, being patched up and all.
segedi
RFicianado
And that Chrome winder will forever remind you to not set the camera where it can drop again
I bet you're glad to have it back working again!
I bet you're glad to have it back working again!
MartinP
Mentor
If anyone asks, this is a special feature so you can more easily check the transport of the film!
jordanstarr
J.R.Starr
My winder broke inside my M6, so I had to get all the tools to take the top off and replace it. Kinda wish I had of just dropped it off a table. Luckily you didn't have to go that far. It was a $15 part for me, $80 worth of tools and a couple hours. Better than the $350 I was quoted at though.