1955 M3

[AceVentura1986]

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Hello, all. Just took delivery of an M3 in apparently pristine condition except for a few missing patches of leather. The serial number indicates a 1955 year of manufacture, something supported by the Buddha loops and missing frameline selector. 

Any, I’ll run some Tri-X thru it today but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or tips on this. 

Also, any suggestions on a site where I can buy new skins at a reasonable price? Ali-asahi.com is very reasonably priced, but all the rest seem to be about 5x as expensive with nothing in between. 

[Denys]

Hi - just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons..  ..is the present covering original? If so - I, for one, would probably keep it!

 

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[Danner]

Excellent 'get'.  Some pictures would be nice :-)

[TomB_tx]

I've used Aki-Asahi and others, and I'd go with Aki again. I used it to recover my 1955, which had been stored in a Texas attic for decades and needed help! Youxin replaced a bad curtain.

[plaidshirts]

If the bare patches aren’t too big yet try using high grade electrical tape. The covering on my M2 is getting brittle but a little tape seems to have stopped the peeling for now. 
Otherwise Aki-asahi is the way to go. 

[pedaes]

2 hours ago, AceVentura1986 said:

ew missing patches of leather

Is it leather ? For Vulcanite, black Milliput works great. You have plenty of time to reproduce the pattern with your tool of choice.

[Pyrogallol]

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Yes, I used Aki Asahi, very good service.

For very small vulcanite repairs I used some two part epoxi glue with a little black paint mixed in.

[benqui]

Never tried it, but have a look:

 

https://artedimano.com/Leicaskin

[skucera]

4 hours ago, AceVentura1986 said:

Hello, all. Just took delivery of an M3 in apparently pristine condition except for a few missing patches of leather. The serial number indicates a 1955 year of manufacture, something supported by the Buddha loops and missing frameline selector. 

Any, I’ll run some Tri-X thru it today but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or tips on this. 

Also, any suggestions on a site where I can buy new skins at a reasonable price? Ali-asahi.com is very reasonably priced, but all the rest seem to be about 5x as expensive with nothing in between. 

Ace,

You bought the twin of my camera, which is also an M3 from 1955 with Buddha ears and no frame selector.  I don't have any suggestions for a new camera skin, except to confirm with the seller before you buy that their die cuts will match your own unusual camera.  Chances are that their M3 stamping dies were made from a later M3 with later strap lugs and with a frame line selector.

Good luck,

Scott

[Brooktaw]

Hi

 

Another recently acquired  (1 month ago) 1955 M3 here. Buddha lugs and no frame selector.

Really enjoying using this with a 50mm Summicron as a partner to my M2 with a 35mm.

 

Chris

[madNbad]

Hugo Studios.Good selection, fits great, fast shipping: https://hugostudio.com

Edited May 1, 2021 by madNbad

[logan2z]

This thread has renewed my interest in picking up an M3.  But I've already got an M-A and an M4, how many M film bodies does one need?  😃 Sorry, couldn't say that with a straight face.

[benqui]

vor 20 Minuten schrieb logan2z:

This thread has renewed my interest in picking up an M3.  But I've already got an M-A and an M4, how many M film bodies does one need?  😃 Sorry, couldn't say that with a straight face.

Yes I agree! It is never a good idea for your bank account to read a thread like this one!

[250swb]

Don't ruin original vulcanite for the sake of 'cosmetics'. Use black Milliput to fill in any gaps and the repair won't be glaringly obvious but it will keep the rest original.

[nitroplait]

Unless you plan to pimp up your camera, there is no need to pay more than @ Aki-Asahi.

[Pyrogallol]

There have been several other discussions about replacing vulcanite 

 

[jerzy]

if missing parts are smaller than 2-3 mm2 (square mm) I would go with hard wax. For larger parts I have some pieces of original vulcanite, needs to be cut to fill in missing part. If missing parts are on flat surfaces it is not so difficult. If they are around baseplate lock it might be a bit harder.
For replacement I would go to Aki Asahi, I used him few times in the past and have good experience. Early M3 is a bit different than later ones and all of suppliers are aware, Aki is. This is not only budda ear and missing frame previev only, if your backdoor is 200 ASA vulcanuite is a bit smaller

[leitna]

i got a beautiful M3 with some missing parts of vulcanit.  My local camera repair shop made a service of the camera und also replaced the missing parts of vulcanit. now the camera looks like new. I wont have the skills to do it by myself.

[andrew01]

My M3 has been recovered with Aki Asahi 4008 at the last service, except for the film door which was still in perfect condition.  The Aki ashai looks almost identical, I can only see a difference if I take a picture with my iphone and look at 3x magnification.

Flaking original vulcanite looks ugly in my opinion.

 

Picture of my M3 with Aki asahi vulcanite shown below.

 

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Edited May 2, 2021 by andrew01

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[AceVentura1986]

So, I seem to recall that the M3s had a loose take-up spool that was later made fixed to the body in the M4s and beyond but I can't seem to get the take-up spool off my M3. How can I tell if this M3 was modified with the M4 take-up spool?