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My grandfather's Leica II sat in a shoebox for 40 years, and last night the shutter fired clean for the first time
I picked up this 1932 Leica II from an estate sale in Cleveland last month for $120. The shutter was frozen solid and the rangefinder was so hazy you couldn't see through it. I spent four evenings on it, cleaning the old grease out of the blinds with lighter fluid and a soft brush, then re-lubing with a tiny bit of graphite. Fired it at 1/500 last night and all the speeds sounded spot on. Curious if anyone here uses a shutter speed tester for these old barnacks or just goes by ear.
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fiona33022d ago
Wait, you cleaned the blinds with lighter fluid and then used GRAPHITE? That is the part I want to dig into. Graphite is a dry lube, and on a Barnack the shutter spindle really wants something that stays put without gumming up the works when it gets cold. Did you flush the whole thing with naphtha afterward or just let it ride? And how did you test the slow speeds, because 1/20 and 1/30 on a II are the ones that lie to you, not 1/500. Four evenings of work for $120 is a steal either way, but I am curious if that shutter is actually right or just sounds right.
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