Mamiya 6: Frame Lines Stuck from Oil on Frame Line Assembly
Originally posted on Instagram. Notes from the repair bench, kept here as a searchable archive. View the original on Instagram
The complaint on this Mamiya 6 was that the framelines would not work properly and were always stuck on the 150mm lens setting. Without removing the top cover, really hard to say what the issue could be, might be an impact to the camera that caused sticking or the frame line spring might have come loose?
After removing the top cover I noticed that the frame line assembly was moving with resistance. The first photo shows the frame line assembly after removing it from the rangefinder. Does not look the cleanest, but initially I do not see an issue. Photo two shows the assembly after removing the sliding mask and the base is covered with what looks like oil residue. While it makes a pretty pattern, it will not work well with a mask that needs to slide across the surface smoothly.
I don’t recall seeing this sort of issue before and I have no idea how this much oil contamination could be on the assembly. After cleaning all the parts as seen in photo three, all is well.
Photo four shows the area where the frame lines live and the adjustment points. Notice that the frame line reflector is silver in color, when the Mamiya 7 was introduced, it was also silver but within a few months of production, it was changed to a gold color for its better reflective properties.
