January-february 2017: Start

I received two Start in poor condition, a first one to restore, another, first generation (which cocking mechanism is broken), for parts.
Heavy work on the curtains: a first one has already been replaced, but it is stuck awry. The second one is dead.
I picked up on the other camera the position that this curtain must occupy at rest with the aid of a cardboard, then I take off the tensioners drum side and I reattach them repositioning the curtain correctly.

Taking off the second curtain, then cleaning.

The new curtain in place. The old curtains were sewn around a bar, the new ones are glued in exposed bars, which poses some problems, the bars being slightly longer.

All the operations on the curtains (gluing) require to separate the shutter from the upper plate, it is sports because the mirror string must remain attached, and I must try not to let it jump off its pulleys (this will occur several times). In this picture the new curtain is being glued, the alignment is complicated because the shafts are not guided at the top.

In short, it goes fast on the photos, but it is a galley requiring dozens of dismantlings. Here, the shaft of the pinion visible at the bottom got unscrewed, it has been necessary to repair and refind the stop position of the curtains, some teeth having jumped. Finally, it will be necessary to glue all the screws of this particularly worn shutter.

I took out my old laptop and my shutter tester for the following operations: adjusting the tension of the curtains. It will also be necessary to work on the long exposures timer, which has been tinkered (spring too tight), which seizes, and that will have to be adjusted so that the slow speeds correspond.

In parallel, I prepared the shell for painting (the tests are done in the shell, identical, of the other camera). Scratching the paint, which was done by brush and does not hold, and masking. The hull is covered with a kind of primer that I did not remove.

Painting, in a cabin improvised in a carton.

And finishing, re-sticking the covering.

After a few dozen hours of work on the very tired shutter, reassembly can begin.

The mechanism of the cocking lever is quite complex, I have kept the order of assembly of the pieces by sticking them with double-sided tape on a planchette.

Few parts have been borrowed from the other box. Some screws. The self-timer lever. And the gear selection ring, this one is particularly damaged.

Reassembly finished, remains to control the focus, with the standard lens of my Start. It's O.K.!

A photo with my lens.

And a small family photo: from left to right the Start provided for parts, reassembled but not functional, my camera with its lens, and this body I just revised.