Re: [Leica] Problems with Leica IIIC

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Andrew-
might be time for a CLA! It sounds like you really have too much play there.
Also- are you getting both spools seated firmly?
Dan ( Happy LTM Leica user in NC)
- -----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Morang <morang@magnolia.net>
To: 'leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us' <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Monday, February 22, 1999 9:35 PM
Subject: [Leica] Problems with Leica IIIC


>Dear LUG readers,
>
>Have any of you had problems with film not being pulled taut in a
>screw-mount Leica?
>
>I sometimes use a IIIC that my father bought new in 1949 when he lived on
>the Island of Guam.  Occasionally (often), I have noticed that one side of
>an image was badly out of focus.  The effect was random and irritating, and
>it puzzled me for along time.  I finally realized that, after I advanced
>the film, the wind knob had a lot of play and could rotate back and forth a
>few degrees.  After winding film, sometimes the knob remained fixed, but
>sometimes it clicked back a bit, apparently letting the film bow or bend
>within the film gate.  My practice now is to:
>
>1.  advance the film.
>2.  gently turn the wind knob back if there is any free play.
>3.  turn the rewind knob clockwise to pull the film taut.
>4.  hold on to the rewind knob while I take the exposure.
>
>This is cumbersome.  Can any of you suggest a better solution?  Is there a
>mechanical repair?  For example, should the pressure plate be pressing the
>film tighter?  Or, should the rewind mechanism be under tension so that, as
>the film is advanced, it remains stretched against the film gate?
>
>Thanks,
>Andy Morang
>Frustrated LTM Leica user from Mississippi
>
>