Re: [Leica] T.A. soft release AKA "Softie"

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/6/00 2:48:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
jbcollier@home.com writes:
<< Subj:     Re: [Leica] T.A. soft release AKA "Softie"
 Date:  5/6/00 2:48:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time
 From:  jbcollier@home.com (John Collier)
 Sender:    owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
 Reply-to:  leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
 To:    leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
  Make sure that some of the loctite does not seep into the works!
  > From: "Noel H. Charchuk" <nhcharch@calcna.ab.ca>
 > I wonder if others are using a light duty Loctite or similar to avoid
 > losing theirs.
 -------------------------
The Loctite solution works, but as John states, if it seeps into the camera, 
you end up with a stuck shutter-release. Never apply the Loctite to the 
cameras release, always to the Softrelease thread. It only requires a minute 
amount and be sure to use the "non-permanent one". The red permanent one is 
as the name implies, just that! The Blue Loctite is the one I use on stuff 
that I want to take apart later. I use several kinds in the winder, red for 
the pin in the hinge of the lever and the green, shaft-retaining compound for 
stuff like the stainless steel shaft that the clutch rotates around. Only way 
to take these out, once the compound has set is by a jewellers micro-torch!
 I have also used nail-polish for stuff like Softreleases and the occasional 
cable release in the days when I was shooting with H-blads. A small dab of it 
on the thread of the release and let it dry until it is sticky and then 
thread it in. You can still unthread it, but it will not shake loose in an 
airplane or chopper. 
 The thread on the cable-release fitting on most cameras is a generic one. 
Nobody seems to have exactly the same thread, but they are all fairly close. 
I tested the prototypes of the Softrelease on at least 50 different non-Leica 
cameras and probably over a 100 different  Leicas. All my friends with M's 
hid them as I would quickly thread in a variety of thread designs and check 
if they worked.
 They can be tightened down quite well, but as with any screw-thread, don't 
use brute force. If you screw it down to deep, the thread can hit the top of 
the shaft that releases the shutter and push it down and lock up the camera. 
Occasionally they do unscrew, but I have been using them longer than anyone 
else and I have only lost 2 permanently, most of the other ones have come off 
in the bag. Very early M3 (700-7010000) have a "looser" thread than the later 
M's and those can be difficult to use the Softie on.
All the best,
Tom A