Replacing a stuck shutter curtain on a Canon FTb, my way vs the book way

I had an FTb come in with the curtain bunching up at the top rail. The manual said to remove the whole mirror box assembly first, that's a 45 minute job just getting to the curtains. I tried it once and stripped a brass screw on the frame, that thing was locked in place. Instead I worked the curtain out through the back by carefully unsoldering the drum end, took about 20 minutes total and I didn't touch the mirror box. It's not the textbook method and it takes a steady hand with the soldering iron at 350 degrees, but it saved me a headache. Has anyone else worked around the official disassembly order on these old Canon bodies, or am I asking for trouble down the line?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_young131mo ago

350 degrees is a bit hot, could weaken the solder joint later.

grant_allen851mo ago

Tbh I learned that the hard way on a laptop board last year, had to redo the whole joint after it cracked a few weeks later. Dropping to 330 did the trick for me and the connection has held up solid since. Appreciate you calling this out before more people mess up their boards.

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