Rant: Took me three hours to fix a shutter that should have been a 20 minute job

I was working on an old Canon FTb yesterday, the one with the cloth shutter that hangs up at slower speeds. Thought it was just a cleaning issue, so I took the top plate off and gave everything a good swab with isopropyl. Put it back together and the 1/8 second speed still stuck. Turned out the problem was a tiny burr on the curtain drum shaft that I had missed. I must have taken that camera apart and put it back together four times before I finally saw it with a loupe. Filed it down smooth and the shutter ran perfect after that. Three hours gone for something that small. Has anyone else spent way too long chasing a simple burr or bent part that you could barely see?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_wood721mo ago

Spent a whole Saturday once on a VHS deck only to find a penny lodged under the loading mechanism.

the_sean1mo ago

Honestly @simon_wood72 that's rough, man. I hate when you tear something apart for hours and it's something stupid like a coin or a paperclip. Tbh you probably felt like a genius and an idiot at the same time when you found it.