What shutter does a Symmar convertible use?

[BetterSense]

I have a Symmar 210/370 lens in a Linhof shutter that is broken. Is there any chance I could get another shutter and screw these lens elements into it? If so what size do I need?

[Greg Davis]

It should fit into a Copal 1. If you have one around, try it gently.

[Mike Wilde]

How broken is the shutter? When I bought my 4x5 monorail it came including a 210 symmar in a linhof(I seem to recall - it is not at close hand) shutter that was 'broken' (former owners term, not mine.)

I removed the front plate to see what wasn't working , since it was broken already. The main spring had stretched the hook at one end that is supposed to loop over a post to allow it to be tensioned. Consequently it had fallen off of the tensioning post.

I extracted the spring, and cut off the strecthed end bit, and bent the next turn of the spring over to allow it to go over the tensioning post. Getting the spring back in took a few minutes. Then assemble, and bang, shutter was workable again. The high speed may now be say 2% faster due to an incrementally shorter spring, under a bit more tenson, but that is not a problem for the way I use the camera.

So don't be afraid to peek; if it is broken, it might be fixable.

[BetterSense]

It's not broken in the sense of "it doesn't work"; it's broken in the sense of "it's falling apart". The metal that holds the front plate on is broken away, so the front plate cannot be installed, and the front plate is what retains all the guts of the shutter. I have tried loctiting the front plate on, but the alignment is off enough that the shutter only works on T, even though I suspect the internal parts are ok.

[Ian Grant]

A Linhof shutter is just an F Deckel Compur with a different face plate, Deckel was also a partner in Linhof.

It's possible that if you found another Compur 1 you could switch the face plates, and aperture scales. The elements also fit a Prontor 1. Even pre WWII Compur 1 shutters are usually still accurate and the 135mm & 150mm CZJ Tessar's were fitted in them and often sell very cheaply.

Ian