Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi David, You have not saved yourself any money at all. Shutter exercise has its place but does not remove the need for regular CLAs. Lubricants contain volatile components that eventually evaporate. Working the shutter mechanism certainly keeps what is left mixed and keeps the crud from hardening in the wrong places but it does not keep it properly lubricated. If you use your cameras and do not want them to wear out prematurely, then it is advisable to have CLAs at least every ten years to replace the failing lubricants. I was once at a Leica clinic and was just behind someone with a M3. It looked as good as the day it left the store and everything "functioned perfectly". Gerry Smith, Canadian Leica Repair God, listened to ONE shutter release and would not let the chap even wind the camera on! He insisted it be sent in for an immediate CLA. I was next in line with my used and abused but regularly maintained M2 and Gerry fired it off at several speeds and said everything was fine. If you buy an old M camera, get a CLA. At the very least have an experienced LEICA tech listen to the camera. All this talk of not ever having a CLA makes me laugh. Do not try to sell me your piece of junk for a premium no matter how pretty it looks. Shutter exercise is to keep the lubricant properly distributed on the seldom used slow speed gear train. If you are using regular shutter exercise to keep the gunk (that is left after all the volatile components have evaporated) from hardening, you are being very foolish. If you do not use your cameras then who cares what you do. Camera collectors are a funny lot. What would you think of someone who told you his vintage car still had all the lubricants it left the factory with! John Collier > From: "SML" <inyoung@jps.net> > > For two nights, I have exercised my Nikon S whose shutter was kind of > stuck at all speeds. Now it starts working fine after extensive exercise > saving some money. I have had some Nikon rangefinder bodies and Contax > rangefinder bodies whose shutter was bettered after some exercises. > However, I have never succeeded in reviving any Leica camera whose shutter > was sticking. I wonder why extensive shutter exercises can revive the Nikon > and Contax rangefinder shutters but not Leica's. I was strictly referring > to sticking shutter. I am kind of curious. > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html