Graflex.org

[wlkehoe]

the long travel arm on my hugo meyer rangefinder is sticky from disuse. working it back and forth a million times has helped a little but it really needs lubricating. does anyone out there know if it's possible to do this without removing the rangefinder? if so, where does the lube go and what kind should i use? thanks very much for any help.

[glennfromwy]

Try using a tooth pick to place a small drop of light oil on the shaft, as close to the finder as possible.
Holding the camera on it's side, rangefinder down, would help the drop run down to the bushing. I'm not sure how you take one of those apart. If you have to do it, and succeed, please post back on how to do it.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

[wlkehoe]

thanks glenn. i tried this but couldn't really get past the bushing on the arm to where the oil would do any good, so i took the thing apart.
1) loosen the 1/16 allen screw on the long arm and work the arm off its shaft.
2) remove the 4 screws that hold the rangefinder to the camera body.
3) remove the 3 screws that secure the baseplate to the rangefinder. (note: there may be more than one model of rangefinder, the adjustment instructions i found on this site refers to 1 screw.)
4) with the shaft pointing up, CAREfully work the baseplate away from the rangefinder and over the end of the shaft without pulling the shaft upward. if you do this right, the various parts should stay in place so you can see how the whole thing fits together. memorize the positions of the parts just in case (there are only 4 separate parts and 3 springs. one of the springs is free-floating and tends to fly away if you try to work the mechanism without holding your finger over it.) i didn't do this, of course and it took me a while to figure out the proper configuration, but i'm not especially mechanically inclined.) several of the parts seem to have unnecessarily complicated shapes for the functions they actually perform.
5) the parts and the housing didn't seem to be gunked up at all but i cleaned everything with lighter fluid and lightly oiled every surface that seemed to contact another one. i was a little concerned that the lighter fluid might leak down into the housing and onto the mirrors but it didn't. 1 bronze part permanently affixed to a short shaft seemed to turn a bit stiffly but it can't be lubricated without flooding the area with oil, so i left it alone.
reassembled, the rangefinder works a little better than before but not much. there isn't enough spring-tension for the arm to move really positively, in my opinion, but there is no way to adjust tension.
i'm still struggling with the mirror calibration. the instructions say to start by focusing the camera to 3 feet, but my rangefinder arm isn't long enough to stay in position much closer than 4 feet. (my lens is 150mm. maybe it would work with a shorter lens.) also, the cam adjustment allen screws are fiendishly placed so that it is impossible to turn them without blocking at least one window while doing so. the lower mirror screw is attached to a cam capable of moving with weight on it and my allen wrench set is easily heavy enough. guess i'll have to buy a separate 1/16th wrench and try again.
not sure if any of this helps. i'm pretty sure i didn't do anything wrong so i'm thinking the problem is that the rangefinder design isn't very good, which would explain why you don't see them very often. does anyone out there have a spare kalart *******?

[45PSS]

Lets go for a site walk starting at the home page www.graflex.org, next lets look in the Q&A section, and that hallway has a bunch of doors so lets try Graflex Speed Graphic FAQ, under Features is Hugo Myer Range Finder hidding at the bottom of the list, opening it there is a here highlighted link (weak imo) to the actual adjustment procedure.
Lots of other good stuff hidding just like this one.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

[glennfromwy]

Though I haven't dealt with many of these, the ones I have dealt with had a little booster spring on the shaft, along side the arm. It helps greatly to keep the arm against it's stop on the focus rail. Is yours in place and working? Maybe it's been lost? Maybe I have an extra one in my box of junk? Who knows?
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

[wlkehoe]

thanks 45pss, already read that. that's why i think mine may be a different model, what with the 3 screws.
glenn, i didn't find the spring you're talking about and i was expecting there to be one (there's a warning about what sounds like it in the adjustment instructions 45pss referenced). it's not inside the camera body, i checked thoroughly. twice. i suppose a previous owner could have lost it but from the looks of the insides, it wouldn't have been much later than about 1949. on the other hand, it would sure make the action of the arm a lot more positive. does yours have a spring at the other end of the arm, where it connects to the whatever-you-call-it: foot? short arm? mine doesn't have one there either, you have to adjust the tension around the screw holding the 2 arms together so it just holds its angle when focusing closer than the rangefinder goes. doesn't look like there ever was a spring. again, it works but not very well. i'm starting to think i have an oddball model, but if you happen to come across an extra spring, i'd like to buy it and try it out. thanks for your help.

[glennfromwy]

I no longer have the camera that had that rangefinder on it. The way I remember it, the thing only had a solid one piece arm. The spring has a little collar that goes on the shaft betweem the arm and the body. It has a little hook that goes behind the arm and helps it move forward when you focus. I'll look to see if I still have that spring and contact you via private message. I also have that new one but don't have a clue as to what focal length it matches.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

[wlkehoe]

thanks glenn but don't bother looking for it. my long arm has the collar you describe but definitely no hook anywhere that a spring could attach to or push against. and since yours doesn't have a second, short arm that attaches to the end of the long arm i'm sure our rangefinders are different. sure appreciate your efforts though. i think i'll hunt around for a kalart.

[45PSS]

A google for hugo meyer rangefinder resulted in the link below. The second entry looks promicing but I have recieved a Compur 00 manual from this company that did not cover the reapir of the shutter as described in their listing.

http://www.photobooksonline.com/books/manual33.html
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

[wlkehoe]

thank you very much 45pss. there are different models. one of the booklets was ******* on ebay but i passed because the description of contents wasn't very good. your link describes much better what's in it and it looks useful enough that i've ordered one. if there's something there that makes my rangefinder work better i'll post it on this site.

[David C.]

[wlkehoe]

thank you david. for some reason access to your link is "forbidden." i've tried from 2 different computers.

[wlkehoe]

thanks everyone who offered advise. i finally solved the problem. i'm not missing a spring. the reason my spring tension sucked was because the baseplate of the r/f was screwed on too tight, causing the inside sliding cams to bind slightly. too tight in this case means anything beyond finger-tight, unlike every other screw on the r/f. don't know how many people this will help because i think i have an unusual r/f but for anyone who has a r/f with no external springs, give it a try. to test it, you have to attach the swing arm with the r/f off the camera and tighten the baseplate screws until you feel something start to bind.

[David C.]

Sorry I just came back and noticed that it was forbidden. Thankfully you found the problem, but this should work for anyone else having the same problem.
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2366687090101798400qaeTPR

David

[glennfromwy]

The picture of the spring on that site is the one I mentioned previously. It mounts on the shaft between the arm and the body of the camera.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"