Operations carried out
Cameras - lenses - accessories
Nikon S from 1952 - CLA
The need to lubricate equipment!
This Nikon S no longer had functional gears, and for good reason!
If we assume that a camera can operate for around thirty years (under non-intensive use), this one dates from the 1960s, and would have benefited from an overhaul in 1990. In 2024, it would have completed a second cycle without a net failure!
Dismantling
Disassembling the Nikon S for a CLA is relatively simple and does not require any special tools.
Removing the top cover begins by removing the cocking button and the rewind button (1 screw on the side).
Under the cocking button, you must remove the counter which is simply pressed in. The cocking button support has 3 holes. These holes provide access to the 3 screws that secure the cocking.
Removing the clutch lever (1 screw).
Unscrewing the shutter release cup and the shutter release.
To remove the speed button, lift it up and loosen the fixing screw without removing it. Unscrewing and removing the button.
Unscrewing the chrome screw located in front of the stop of the flash shoe.
Unscrewing the 5 chrome screws that hold the cover.
Important!
There is no need to remove the flash shoe and the stop.
In case of disassembly of the claw
(3 screws), there is at the back, a small thin plate of parallax compensation.
Important!
It is preferable not to disassemble the slow speed selector unless it is difficult to rotate it.
In case of disassembly
(2 screws), do it when the cover is removed and take references of the position of the internal rotating cam of the slow speed selection.
It may be necessary to clean the slow speed mechanism and / or the focusing ring.
The disassembly of the front is done by removing the screws of the 6 chrome fixings, (4 short and 2 long which go on the bottom of the plate).
The focusing mount is held by 4 screws (3 with flat heads, 1 with countersunk head.
Videos on speed 1/20
The second video shows the same thing after the exposure window has been removed.
At this stage, it would be tempting to tighten the spring on the first curtain! This would give more force, but would solve nothing, as it would distort the operation of the shutter!
In the third video, without touching the tension, only the curtain drums were lubricated.
You can see that the first curtain opens fully, freeing the second.
The shutter works again…
There was also a marked slowdown in the movement of the rangefinder.
Old grease congeals and/or loses its lubricating properties.
Cleaning and re-lubrication solved this problem.
Dismantling the rangefinder is risk-free; the fixing screws position it exactly as it was originally, and there are no tolerances or adjustments.
Lubrication
Two types of grease must be used to lubricate the sprockets.
The top sprockets are lubricated with a medium fluidity grease. This ensures smooth, unobtrusive operation.
The lower sprockets, although connected to the cocking and trigger sprockets (on the right of the video), allow the first curtain (in the centre of the video) to be released. These last cogs must not be slowed down or slowed down by a thick or sticky lubricant. A fluid grease should be used.
Thin oil is mainly reserved for the axles.
Before final reassembly, always clean the external parts.
Nikon Much more than a legend
