roxiemarty Loc: Florida

I'm taking notes about your ideas. Because my eyesight is not as good as it used to be, nor are my fingers as nimble as they used to be. Now I need to see if mine needs cleaning.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

So far my best suggestion has come from the person who pointed out the 4 screws. But because the screws are so tiny and my are so old, 77, I may have a hard time using such a tiny screwdriver. I tried a 3mm but it seemed too large by a hair. Tomorrow when I am out and about I might stop at a jeweler to see if he has a screwdriver to take out the screws. If he can do that I will take along a Zeiss cleaning cloth and clean the viewfinder. Then I will ask the jeweler to put it back together. A thought anyway.

Dennis

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

I have a Yashica 635. The same as all the other twin lens models but able to shoot 35mm film with an adapter which was gone to adapter heaven when I bought the camera with the advance mechanism jammed at a flea market. That was years ago and it's still jammed. I'm only 77, so one day...

Just a suggestion for your problem. You and I are old enough to remember feeler gauges that were used to set the distributor points on a car back in the day. Those are pretty thin and relatively useless today. If you have a set laying around somewhere or can scrounge up a set, figure out which one will go into the joint and file or grind the rounded end flat, it might work. Good luck!

flathead27ford Loc: Colorado, North of Greeley

I'll be interested to see the responses. I hanne two of them.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Good news and bad news! The Yashica Mat is a nice od camer and it will yield nice medium format negatives and transparencies. More good news- the dirt or whatever is on the viewing screen will not affect your images and unless it is makg focusing and composing impossible- do not attempt to take the camera apart.

I have several Yashca-Mats. Long stor- Rolleigflexes were popular back in the day but the boss at the studio I worked for found them too expensive for us "junior staffers"! So, he purchases Yashica Mats directly from the distributor- a dozen to a box. The 6 guys on staff were rough on the gear and we used them 'till they disintegrated.

Those models had a thin shim that helps keep the ground glass in place and maintains focus accuracy. If you take that apart, chances are, the camera will NEVER focus properly again- the viewing lens will not jibe with the taking lens.

I too am 79 years old but fortunately and thankfully, my hands are still rock-stead and the eyeballs are working well with glasses. I consider myself a handy guy and a DIY kinda person but probing around in a camer with a screwdriver or pick- NOT GOOD!

So, In the old days, we bought Yashica TLR cameras for $75. I have noticed a few being sold for big bucks- possible for collectors? If you want to restore it, send it to a good repair shop and have the ground glass replaced by a BRIGHT SCREEN or ACUMAT viewing screen. Otherwise, If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Seabastes

I was fortunate enough to buy Three Yashicamats in Japan when I was on active duty in the Navy. I think I paid about $25 for each.

I bought one for my Dad and if I recall properly I think it used 126 film. I had bought the Yashica 635 which used 120 film and used 35 MM with an adapter.

I was working as a newspaper photographer in Eureka, California and tried to photograph a heavy rainstorm in a 70 mile per hour windstorm. I backed into the scene, then turned around and pressed the shutter button. The storm was so strongl the camera was soaked and I gave up on the idea of getting the photo.

I took my camera home after removing the film, wiped it down then put it in my oven and baked it at a low temperature until it was dry.

The camera worked perfectly when I checked it out after the oven treatment.

RLSeipleSr Loc: North of Boston

Dennis,

Facebook has a great site "Yashica MAT 224G" ... it has a wealth of information on the YM124G ... look for posts from Mr. Bob Sara of CLA Studios ... Bob is a trained Yashica Tech and always provides great information.

If you decide to have your camera CLAd Bob is the man to go to!

BobS

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

here you go -

https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+a+yashika+mat&oq=clean+a+yashika+mat&aqs=edge..69i57j0i22i30j0i15i22i30j0i390l2j69i64.5846j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thanks for your knowledgeable comment. My vision is still rated at 20/20 so I see pretty well. But the dust under the focusing screen is so bad I cannot see through to focus properly. That is why I want to clean the focusing screen. I have since re-thunk my original thoughts and it looks as if removing the 4 screws that hold the viewfinder to the top of the camera can come off, the focusing screen lifted out and cleaned and then replaced. IF this does not work then I will send it to be repaired or have a different screen installed depending on price.

Dennis

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That sounds like it should work. I don't know if it will make a difference, but Japanese screwdrivers aren't Philips. They're JIS. If you want to be super careful, get a set of JIS screwdrivers.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jis+screwdrivers&crid=1TSUV5A9GGQTD&sprefix=jis+screwdriver%2Caps%2C488&ref=nb_sb_noss

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Thank you Jerry for the comments. Much appreciated.

Dennis

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I ask all of you to forgive me for taking so long to finish this project. Truth is I wasn't sure I was going to find somehow to clean the screen at all. There are special Japanese type tiny screwdrivers that seem to be used for these tiny screws. I had no idea what size to purchase and had no other use for that type of screwdriver.

This afternoon while going through a kitchen drawer I noticed an eyeglass repair kit I had purchased last year at Walmart. A light bulb shined brightly in my head. I checked the screwdriver and it had a tiny flathead driver on one end and the OTHER end was a very tiny Phillips type screwdriver head. I thought, what the heck. Turns out the Phillips driver fit perfectly. I unscrewed the four screws holding the entire viewing screen set up to the top of the camera was off in short order. I did not want to release the clamps, one on each side holding the screen in but was able to get a cleaning cloth with lens cleaner in to clean both sides of the screen. As the mirror is fully exposed I cleaned it too with no problem. the mirror was covered with dust so needed cleaning. I was able to get everything put back together and looking through the viewing screen I discovered it was all well worth the trouble. I could see through it to take a photo perfectly.

A CAUTION: The four screws that need to be taken off are very tiny as in smaller than any I have ever worked on except for eye glass frames. I was able to find a long pair of very inexpensive tweezers and lift the screws out and then back in for tightening. I then set them on a white Kleenex so they would be easily seen and out of the way while the cleaning took place. When placing the screen assembly back onto the top of the camera there are two wings, one on each side that fit down into a groove. Initially I had trouble getting one in the groove but not the other. If only one side is in the screen can be tightened on that one side but the other side will not fit flush to tighten the screws. I gently pried the wings outward and then both fit inside the groove and the assembly was tightened.

All in all it was not very hard to do the cleaning and cleaning it again would be simple. It just takes care not to lose the tiny screws and be patient to be sure the assembly fits properly before tightening the screws. Good lighting helps too.

For those wanting to do this I wish you luck. It really was pretty easy.

Dennis