Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Repair and Review

Hello, everybody! It’s spring now and it’s time to do some cleaning. While I do not clean my workshop as much as I should, I do a very thorough job of cleaning the cameras that I repair. I will show you the result of what I did to the camera that I am featuring in this series. I hope that you will appreciate the effort.

Introduction:

It is amazing how a joint effort between two Japanese companies can result in a good machine, at a time when the Germans were the ones who dominated the whole camera industry. I say “good” because this is still nothing compared to what the Germans were making at that time in terms of engineering or quality. I have had the opportunity to service Zeiss and Leica cameras that were made even earlier than this, they’re just superior in every way. It doesn’t mean that this camera is bad, it’s just not there yet.

This is where we left last time. I’ve took the time to clean everything very well and this is the result. This is definitely a huge Improvement compared to how you guys last saw it. It’s now time to reinstall the shutter and the rangefinder mechanism, but before we do that I would like to show you some other things.

I did not really think much about this camera in terms of technology until I have reached this point. These parts that I will feature in this article are very interesting and are made with with great effort. It’s not easy to mill these things especially if you consider but they were made in the mid-1930s. This gave me a better appreciation for Nippon Kogaku because they were the ones who made the internet helicoid mechanism. I also assume that they made the rangefinder mechanism because optics is their strength. If you found any information on who made this rangefinder mechanism, please feel free to mention in the comments then I will happily correct this statement.

Despite being simpler than the German implementation this mechanism is a precise assembly. There is a level of quality that had to be met in order to be able to make this work flawlessly. We will take this apart in this article so you will see how it’s built. It looks really good after being overhauled, it’s back to its shiny and smooth condition and the helicoid turns effortlessly even without lubrication.

The following sections in this article will outline the steps on how to dismantle some of the unique parts found in this camera. While I don’t think it will be that popular because not a lot of people will want to do repairs for something this valuable nor get the chance to even work with one, it will be priceless for those who like to research about certain types of cameras, maniacs as we call them. Collectors will also find this article very useful because it will help them understand their valuable cameras better.

Before We Begin:

If this is your first attempt at repairing a lens, I suggest that you see my previous posts regarding screws & drivers, grease and other things. Also read what I wrote about the tools that you’ll need.

I suggest that you read these primers before you begin (for beginners):

• Essential tools
• Best practices 1
• Best practices 2
• Best practices 3
• Ai conversion
• Working with Helicoids

Reading these should lessen the chance of ruining your lens. Before opening up anything, always look for other people who have done so on the internet. Information is vague and scattered but you can still find some information if you search carefully.

For more advanced topics, you can read my fungus removal article. It has a lot of useful information, it will be beneficial for you to read this. I also recommend that you read the working with helicoids article so you will not get stuck because you don’t know how to put the helicoids back.

Disassembly (Focusing Unit):

The helicoid is the most unique feature of this camera and it is also a little bit complicated to take apart. I did not say that because it has a lot of parts or anything like that, it’s just that I did not know what to start or what to look out for. Once you know the sequence for dismantling it, I can say that it’s actually easy to take it apart compared to what you will see from a Zeiss Ikon Contax 2. Before we begin, make sure that it is set to infinity. Make sure that it’s kept that way while you work on it so you will have a reliable point of reference when you take notes and photos.

These screws secure a spring underneath it, you don’t need to extract them just yet. You can get rid of them later as the last step.

Begin by extracting this screw, it secures the focusing gear.

Pull that screw off so you can remove the focusing gear and the locking lever. Notice that the spring is here, that’s because I have extracted the screws that secure it. That spring is flimsy and it has lost all the tension it had, it was also unfortunate that it broke into 2 pieces while I was cleaning it. I will replace it with a sheet of plastic from a blister pack.

Extract these screws so you can pull the focusing pin’s housing off. I did not knew that I could do that so you will still see this attached in the coming steps.

Carefully unscrew this and make sure not to damage it or you will never be able to get it out safely. Note how deep the rolling part is when the helicoid is at Infinity and how far it sticks out when that 1m. You will have to reproduce it later during reassembly. This part is also responsible for preventing the helicoid from turning under 1m, you can say that it’s kind of like a lock in this way.

Unscrew this part until it comes off. If I’m not mistaken, that screw that we removed in the previous step is for coupling this thing to the gear inside of the housing. That gear is then coupled to the helicoid, turning the helicoid will also turn this and it will drive though push-pin in order to operate the rangefinder. This is how this mechanism works.

Pull the Mickey Mouse ear off. It is very filthy inside so make sure to clean this very well. Putting this back again takes a lot of patience. You will have to put the cog back inside the housing then carefully turn the part that we have just removed in the previous step just enough to engage the threads of the cog. Then you turn the cog with your fingers until it is completely attached to that turning part from the last step. I had to do the several times until I get it right. You then align the holes on both parts and screw in the set screw. You may apply a small dab of grease to help the set screw travel smoother. Once everything’s done you have to make sure that the back surface is something by about 0.2mm and it should reach that state without snagging or getting tight. If you did not do this properly you won’t be able to reinstall this back to the screw mount because the back surface will hit the opposite part found in the screw mount. There is a depression found on the opposite side and that turning part should sink into it. This is how complicated this assembly is.

Now that the helicoid can turn freely, collapse it all the way and take note of the markings’ position. You should be able to reproduce this later during reassembly.

Separate this and do not forget to mark where it parted. Again, don’t forget to read my how to work with helicoids article to prevent any trouble from happening.

Clean everything carefully, scrub the helicoid and all of the gears very well with strong toilet detergent. It is an absolute must that the helicoids are clean and all of the teeth do not have gunk between them. I’ve spent my whole afternoon just picking out solidified lubricants between the teeth, it’s all worth it after the extensive cleaning. I’m satisfied with the results when I use a magnifying loupe to check things. All of the little parts can be cleaned by soaking them in lighter fluid overnight and scrubbing them the next day. It’s important that they are clean, too.

Don’t lubricate the helicoids, the only part that you should apply a very thin film of grease is the pivot of the lock, that’s all. The turning part that drives the push-pin will require a small drop of oil to lubricate it. The reason why I don’t recommend greasing the helicoids and the gears is common sense, the gears are all directly connected with a helicoids’ teeth. Any grease there will soon migrate to the gears so turning it will make your finger greasy as well. Unlike the German designs, this is a simplified one without any relay or connecting gears so the grease will travel to your fingers in really soon.

Disassembly (Rangefinder Mechanism):

The rangefinder mechanism is similar in most regard to the Leica original but there are some things that are different that you should be aware of. It’s kind of a surprise to me because I wasn’t expecting what’s inside of it until I took it apart. In some ways, it’s simpler compared to the German mechanism, it’s also superior in a way which you will see later. While working with the parts here you should be careful not to crack anything because the glass here are very delicate.

Here are the parts that comprise the rangefinder mechanism including its lever and light shield.

Unscrew this cover off and remove a spring underneath it. Also unscrew the tube for the peephole, note that there is a shim for the tube.

Carefully push this pin from the other side so you can dismantle the rangefinder arm inside. Do not use force when removing the pin so you won’t damage the delicate prism. If it won’t budge, apply some oil and let it sit for a few days, that should help smooth things out.

Carefully pull the mechanism out, you may need to push it from the other side using a bent Q-tip. There is a shim here, I forgot which side it came from so you should take notes just in case. Do not dismantle it any further.

Extract these screws so you can remove the beam splitter and its housing.

Carefully push it out from the other side using a Q-tip.

Extract this screw so you can clean the beam splitter properly.

Unlike most Leica clones, this one uses a real prism instead of a semi-silvered sheet of glass. This is very good because the resulting image will look much clearer. I’m impressed by this.

Clean the silvered side of this prism using a strip of lint-less tissue moistened with Windex. Follow that up with a couple of more cleaning with lighter fluid to remove any soapy residue. You will have to repeat this until you are satisfied with the results.

Do the same for the other prism, wedge some moistened tissue to remove any dirt or fungus. Windex will take care of the fungus really well because it contains ammonia.

Clean every part really well especially the internal surfaces of the main housing. You will use a lot of Q-tips and you should buy ones that are really small and another set that has pointed tips used by ladies for the fine work on their eyebrows. That will help you reach the difficult places that a normal Q-tip won’t get to.

Conclusion:

I spent the whole afternoon cleaning up everything, it was not enough so it went through the night. After all that dirt is gone I’m happy to see how shiny the parts are. Everything moves effortlessly so that means I will need less lubrication to make things work smoothly. I’m specially impressed by how the rangefinder looked after cleaning, it now operates smoothly with the slightest touch. This is the satisfaction that I get from rebuilding old cameras, do you feel that, too?

This is completely removed from the topic – a long time ago during the prewar years and up until the end of the 1950s, all Japanese products were seen as inferior in every way including the lack of originality. It is the same way as how we see the CCP today (Cheap Chinese Products). This camera is exactly that, a cheap knockoff of a German original. But unlike the Chinese, the Japanese are ashamed of this necessary step in learning to master engineering and production. Why am I mentioning this? It’s because the quality of this camera is not very good at all. To be frank, I’m not impressed with Canon’s quality at all until they started making much better cameras in the late 1970s. I was hoping that this camera would show me something different, but alas, I was disappointed. I also worked on a Canon S2 from after the old MIOJ era (Made in Occupied Japan) and the quality is even worse. The Canon 7 it’s close to the bottom of the barrel because it was made at a time when Japan is prosperous and Canon is now an established company. The quality of the materials used are poor, even Yashica used better ones, not to mention Pentax and Nikon. I now have an impression that this brand never took materials seriously until much later. This is why I love Nikon and Pentax very much. They represented the will and dedication of the Japanese people very well. Living in the country for such a long time made me familiar with its values, both good and bad. End of rant.

Some of the parts here will require further cleaning. I wish I own an ultrasonic cleaner, that will help a lot in cleaning very small parts. But I cannot justify purchasing one and I don’t have a space for it either. The best I can do at the moment is to clean everything the old way.

We are now near the stage where we will have to put everything back together, and that means this series will be over soon. Did you enjoy this series? If you did, please consider leaving me a tip. You can also help share my work with your friends so they will also benefit from this article. It has been my pride and joy to present to you the best repair and review articles for anything about classic photography. Some of what’s being shown here are exclusive to the site alone, you have helped me keep this site up for a decade now. Thank you very much for all the support and I wish you come back for the next part. See you again, Ric.

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Maintaining this site requires resources and a lot of time. If you think that it has helped you or you want to show your support by helping with the site’s upkeep, you can make a small donation to my paypal.com at richardHaw888@gmail.com. Money isn’t my prime motivation for this blog, I believe I have enough to run this myself but you can help me make this site grow.

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