Gaf L-CM repair

[hotdogst]

Hi all,

New to the site, so thanks in advance for whatever help you can give me. I picked up a Gaf L-CM today from Goodwill, but missed an obvious issue with the camera: the piece the lens screws into is loose on one side and lifts about a quarter inch away from the body of the camera (I'm sure there's better lingo but I'm new to this sort of stuff so unfamiliar with the jargon). I'll put some pictures below to hopefully illustrate what I'm talking about.

In the little research I've done, apparently the Gaf L-CM is a rebadging of the Chinon CM. The Argus CR-1 is possibly a rebadge as well.

So my question is, does anyone know how this piece is supposed to be connected to the camera? There are no apparent screws or clips, it doesn't seem to slide in any direction for removal, and it definitely is not molded to the camera body in any way. I know this isn't a high end camera but I like to play with old stuff so I thought I'd try to get it up and running again. Thanks for any help you can provide!

The yellow crusty stuff is residue from tape that was holding it together, the tape was mostly under the case the camera came in so I saw it and then immediately forgot to peel it off to check why it was there. Here's the "lens receptor" lifting from the body of the camera:

Pushed back in where it should be:

The other side, snug against the body:

And a couple bonus pics:

 

[Dave442]

Just from the look of it I think the screw holding this together would come from the body to this lens flange mount assembly. That screw would probable be behind the shutter mechanism, but I would take a look from that side to see if there was access.

I would tape it back up run a roll of film through the camera just to see if there are other problems before starting fix something.

 

[hotdogst]

Just from the look of it I think the screw holding this together would come from the body to this lens flange mount assembly. That screw would probable be behind the shutter mechanism, but I would take a look from that side to see if there was access.

I would tape it back up run a roll of film through the camera just to see if there are other problems before starting fix something.

Yea, you're probably right about it being screwed in from the inside. It actually had a roll in it when I bought it so I'll finish that tonight and see if there are any other glaring issues.

Could you clarify what you mean by taking "a look from that side?" Where exactly should I be looking to see if there is access? I haven't opened up the film chamber yet since there's a roll of film in it, so maybe I can get behind the shutter from there? Other than that the only way into the camera that I can see is through the bottom, which is held on with a couple little philips' heads.

 

[Derrel]

I'm not sure if that outer cover is actually load-bearing. My feeling is that the lens mount is not actually affixed to that outer cover. If it is NOT actually suppoirting the lens mount, I'd jusy clean off the tape residue, and then patch it with cement. Or, re-tape it cleanly. I reall these cameras: this was ONE of the few, very inexpensive SLR cameras I was thinking about buying back in the mid-1970's as a middle school student. I sent away for their FREE reprint of one of the magazine reviews and teardown of this camera! GAF tried very hard to sell these things! I beleive it was a reprint of the Modern Photography magazine.

 

[hotdogst]

Well, I was wrong about there being a roll of film in there haha. So I'll run a roll of film through it tomorrow and see if anything else is wrong.

I'm not sure if that outer cover is actually load-bearing. My feeling is that the lens mount is not actually affixed to that outer cover. If it is NOT actually suppoirting the lens mount, I'd jusy clean off the tape residue, and then patch it with cement. Or, re-tape it cleanly. I reall these cameras: this was ONE of the few, very inexpensive SLR cameras I was thinking about buying back in the mid-1970's as a middle school student. I sent away for their FREE reprint of one of the magazine reviews and teardown of this camera! GAF tried very hard to sell these things! I beleive it was a reprint of the Modern Photography magazine.

Unfortunately it is load bearing.

Are there any sites where I might be able to download a service manual? I've googled around but haven't found anything.

 

[dxqcanada]

I would guess that the mounting ring is secured to the body ... and since it moves with the outer casing, I would say that it is either missing some screws or the screws have been broken or they're stripped.
Check them out.

 

[hotdogst]

I would guess that the mounting ring is secured to the body ... and since it moves with the outer casing, I would say that it is either missing some screws or the screws have been broken or the stripped.

The mounting ring seems to be screwed straight to the casing.

 

[dxqcanada]

If I were you (and you may not want to be me) ... I would unscrew the ring and take a closer look inside.

 

[unpopular]

This is a super easy fix that does not cost much.

1) Go to ebay and search for "Gaf L-CM"
2) Press "buy it now" and follow the instructions at checkout
3) Throw the broken camera in the trash

 

[tirediron]

This is a super easy fix that does not cost much.

1) Go to ebay and search for "Gaf L-CM"
2) Press "buy it now" and follow the instructions at checkout
3) Throw the broken camera in the trash

This! These days a body like this is worth zero hours of time/effort/labour and based on the general condition, I very much doubt that the lens mount is the only issue. Unless for a personal reason, you're stuck on this model, then $100 -150 can get you a really nice film body & 50mm lens such as the Pentax K1000.

 

[dxqcanada]

... I very much doubt that the lens mount is the only issue.

Ah, hours of entertainment !!! Sounds like a challenge.

Yes, I agree that unless you want to take on this camera as a fix up job ... you should just get another.

 

[Gary A.]

My thoughts as well. Some cameras are worth fixing and some are not. But, if fixing stuff, stripping them down and seeing how they are put together ... then this is a perfect project.

 

[unpopular]

If all the screws are there and the mount is still damaged then my guess is that the threading is damaged.

If you really wanted to repair this camera, cleaning with rubbing alcohol and then filling the hole with a strong epoxy and tapping into the epoxy would probably work just fine. Using Locktight Red or more epoxy on the screw itself likewise wouldn't be a bad idea.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't put a valuable lens on it.

 

[Dave442]

I would take it apart, of course, I have a bunch of things laying around that are taken apart.

 

[hotdogst]

Thanks for all the thoughts! I know it't not a super nice camera, I just think it's fun to breathe new life into old stuff. I'm not sure why I didn't just take the mounting ring off at first, I guess it looked like there wouldn't be anything much under it. That was a bad assumption though, and the culprits could be found a couple layers below the mounting ring:

Both screwheads on the camera's left side were shorn off, someone must have knocked the hell out of the lens against something:

I could only find screws of the right length with countersunk heads, instead of the original pan heads, and I stripped out one of the holes as I was messing with it. I'll get some loctite in there and it should be fine since it's not completely stripped.

The inside in case anyone's curious:

Cleaned up and hopefully working:

I have a Yashica Pro-50 DX flash - is there any reason I wouldn't be able to use this? I remember reading something once about how the wrong flash could have too high a voltage or something and could fry your camera.