Three days to fix a shutter I could have fixed in two hours

Got a Nikon FE with a sticky mirror issue. Figured it was the usual foam deterioration, so I tore it down. Replaced all the foam, cleaned the mechanism, put it back together. Still stuck. Took me another two days to realize the dampener lever was bent by maybe half a millimeter. Straightened it with a tiny screwdriver and it worked perfect. Anyone else spent way too long on something that small?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_wilson81mo ago

Pushed that damn little lever back and forth a hundred times thinking it was a spring issue or something. Same exact thing happened to me with an Olympus OM-1 where the mirror would hang up for a split second every few shots. Spent a whole weekend checking everything under the sun only to find a tiny burr on the edge of a metal piece that was catching on the foam. Ran a small file over it once and it worked flawless after that. It's always the smallest stupidest thing that takes the longest to find. Makes you feel like a total idiot but also kinda proud when you finally figure it out.

the_beth1mo ago

Pushed that same lever on a Canon FTb for three days straight, convinced the spring tension was off. Turned out the little pivot point had a tiny bit of dried grease that turned into a hard little lump. Scraped it off with a razor blade and it moved smooth as butter after that. It is always something that small that makes you want to throw the camera across the room but then feel like a genius when you find it.