Let me start by apologizing once again for using English on a German forum. I'm trying to improve, but my German just isn't good enough yet.
Here are some photos from the restoration steps of my RM. I didn't keep full record of each step, just few pictures taken with a smartphone here and there.
The housing was acquired about three years ago, with no camera, turret or focus adaptor. A prism was shipped with the RM but unfortunately the fixing screws were missing and two were seized up and broken. I was however able to carefully drill out the old material and tap new threads. (the stainless allen head screws in the photo were just used to help align the tap since this was done by hand)
Everything got stripped down and cleaned in warm soap water. Smaller parts placed in ultrasonic bath to remove years of crusted old grease.
The RM was reassembled and left aside for a long time, wondering if I will ever be able to find all the missing pieces and bring her to a more complete state. At some point, I decided to start trying again and got my hands on a 3.5F Rolleiflex for a reasonable price. Almost by chance this spring I met Franz Rothbrust who connected me to John Wild and both helped source the needed parts. Within the space of a month I had everything necessary to get this little beauty in shape!
This morning I received amongst other things a NOS hose from Franz to replace the cracked grey one.
Puzzle: how to change the hose, but preserve the old rope.
Examining the stopper knot (red circle) and measuring the longest distance from join to aluminum attachment I realized it was about equal to the length of the hose. The trick is to undo the knot, cut the ropes, slide the hose over, join the rope back together and then tie the knot again. It is a bit fiddly, but certainly possible.
"Measure twice, cut once"... then join again by melting, add some nylon thread to ensure everything stays in place. I also added a piece of white shrink tubing.
Not too sure I like the white shrink tubing, maybe it's something to think about.
Here is what the restored RM looks like on display.
/GKAM