First time I saw a shutter curtain rebuild actually pay off after 6 months of practice

I picked up a beat up Canon FTb from a thrift shop in Columbus back in January. The shutter was completely toast, curtains all wrinkled and slow. I spent maybe 3 months on and off watching videos and practicing on junk bodies before I worked up the nerve to take it apart. Last week I finally finished the rebuild and ran it through a test roll. The difference was night and day. The first frame I shot at 1/500 came out perfectly exposed, no banding, no uneven drag marks across the film. I compared it to a test frame from my first attempt back in February and you can see exactly where I used to get those light leaks near the edge. Has anyone else held onto a cheap donor body just to practice curtain replacement?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_moore1mo ago

Ah man, I gotta disagree a little. I’ve never seen the point in keeping a junk body just for practice. Feels like a waste of space when you could sell it for parts or just trash it. If you can’t get it right on a real camera after a few tries, maybe this repair stuff isn’t for you.

michael_wood321mo agoOG Member

Wait, did you see that one video where the guy fixed a Kiev 88 shutter with dental floss? I tried it on a junk Zenit and somehow wound up with a working shutter but also a pile of extra screws I cant find homes for.