AUTOCORD : the Minolta's TLR
by Fred
Preliminary
The focus lever is the (only) Achilles heel of this camera.
It is in zinc alloy and can break easily on impact - for example, the camera falls down - or if a user attempted to manipulate it while it is frozen.
If the lever is frozen , read items 1) to 5) and proceed directly to point 9).
If the lever is broken, do not panic, it's fixable.
You read well : fixable and not replaceable because at the moment there are no spare part.
However, you can opt for a new lever in 3D printing but I have not experienced this way yet.
So I propose you to make a focus lever.
Read the procedure to the end (next page, part 2) before starting.
If you have any slightest fear cope with this task, please contact me.
What you need :
-) The original button or a metal button, 12 mm long and 7 mm diameter, chromed copper style with splines ;
- ) Precision screwdriver 2.4 mm , with narrowed end ;
- ) Precision screwdriver 2.0mm , with narrowed end ;
- ) Toothless sharp knife like Swiss knife or cheese knife (with twin edges) ;
- ) Tweezers ;
- ) 30 cm large section copper wire or a copper pipe piece of 42 mm internal diameter (very hard to find) ;
- ) Piece of copper tube of 15 or 18 mm in diameter ;
- ) Pipe cutter or hacksaw ;
- ) Portable welding lamp ;
- ) Plank hardwood ( not pine ) ;
- ) Tin-lead solder large section coil ;
- ) liquid cleaner ( small pot with brush) ;
- ) Needle-nose or flat end pliers ;
-) wire cutters ;
- ) snap ring pliers with right beaks ;
-) vice ;
- ) one 100 or 200 g engineers hammer and one 1 kg lump hammer ;
- ) Flat file ;
- ) Round file ;
- ) Lithium grease.
Recommendations
- ) Before soldering copper pieces , clean them by puting some cleaner to where you'll weld. Warm and sold the parts directly.
- ) If you have the original button , remove the piece of zamac which remained hooked, file the edge of the residual stump.
Dismantling
1) Peel off the leatherette covering the plate around the lenses.
There are two types of upholstery : rigid and flexible .
Rigid are brittle and generally unrecoverable when trying to take off .
Flexible may be peeled off without breaking , they can be glued easily (with polysaccharide glue).
Using the knife, insert the tip between leatherette and the edge of the plate , preferably in a corner , avoiding scratching the metal.
Pull gently leatherette with a knife and then go under the leatherette as if you wanted
to slice off one another, progressing slowly and making sure not to cut
or tear the leatherette.
2 ) Remove the lenses shell .
Place the shutter speed and diaphragm levers at end of strokes.
Using the 2.4 mm screwdriver unscrew the five screws that hold the shell
(red arrows) .
Put the bottom one aside , his head is slightly different from that of the other four,
make sure to put the screws in their place when to place back the shell .
Following the model of your device, you must pay attention
to the flash sync switch lever (if on the side )
or unscrew it (if lower) to remove the shell.
Mark a dot on the edge of the shutter and one just beside on the main body.
Make a picture with a digital camera.
3 ) Remove the shutter.
Open the dark room of the camera .
In the bottom is the internal lens .
Using your fingers , remove the black cone ( in green circle )
located just before the lens.
Using snap ring pliers , remove the ring of the shutter unit
- the larger of the two (green arrow).
The small is that of the lens (marked with red circles). This must remain in place .
Be careful not to scratch the lens. Make sure the position .
Holding the shutter in place, turn the camera body upside down .
Remove the shutter without pulling the wires (triggering the flash unit) .
Do not move the diaphragm nor the shutter speed levers on the shutter.
Before removing the guides and spacers , observe exactly where they are engaged
in the side housing because you'll have to put them back later ;
reserve them in the order you removed them.
The ring located between the two guides has a unique direction.
Note the reference points indicated by the green arrows.
The upper indicates insertion hole of the shutter frame ( a pin )
and the position of the upper guide ;
the bottom one shows the stop screw which rests against the lower guide .
This composition is available for the Seikosha MX shutter and may vary following your Autocord and shutter model.
4) Detach the focus block.
Move the focus lever to 'infinity' position.
Unscrew the three screws located under the shutter , remove the black block.
Unscrew the four screws of the aluminum plate ( blue arrows ) :
two large on top and two smaller at bottom , remove the tray.
Check the position of the reference marks on the helicoïd cylinder bronze
and the aluminum ring : they must coincide (red circle - location may vary).
This position of the helicoïd is that at infinity.
Unscrew the two screws on the circuit board of the focus scale (green arrows) .
Unscrew the three screws from bronze round tray .
Using the 2 mm screwdriver, loosen the four screws that hold the focus lever ring
to the aluminum ring (green circles).
Remove the focus lever.
Maintenance
5) the bronze helicoïde lubrication .
At the point where you are , enjoy it to lubricate the spiral .
Loosen it up, locate the brand's position when it is released from the screw
because you must put it back in its exact same position .
Remove the old grease with a suitable solvent .
Use lithium grease to grease the screw thread .
If your grease is white lithium spray , sprinkle a little into a clean pot.
Let freeze and withdraw to put on top of the thread .
Stay reasonable .
Replace the helicoïd in the thread , check your marks .