After powering up and running the camera for only a few seconds, I noticed that the camera was producing a horrible scraping noise. The noise was very similar to what you get on a Mitchell camera when the shutter blades scrape against the forward-most light trap. This, unfortunately, was a sign that I needed to take the shutter out of the camera and see if that was the problem. Taking this camera apart is quite an experience. I carefully followed the instructions in the maintenance manual, and they failed miserably at instructing me on how to remove the camera from the rackover cradle. I spent a day and a half puzzling over this.
I noticed 4 socket head cap screws holding the rear bearing assembly and rackover handle in place, and decided to back up a few steps and see if I could remove that plate from the camera. After much struggling, I was finally able to get the rear bearing assembly off of the rackover and free the camera from the cradle. I removed the shutter housing cover to inspect the shutter and the bearings that it runs on. Two things became clear: At some point in this camera’s life, someone of limited skill had taken this apart and left several of the screws that hold the shutter to its bearing assembly unseated just enough to scrape on the camera casting. And when they reassembled the shutter, they managed to ding the outside edge of the shutter blade itself. These two problems seem to be what was causing the scraping noise. I have been gently tightening and sanding down the problem areas, being very conscious to sand in opposite areas so I would not affect the balance of the shutter.
While I am still working on getting this shutter problem corrected, another fascinating bit of engineering caught my eye during disassembly. The main drive shaft of the camera has a rubber isolation coupling mounted on it. This is so the shutter can be driven by the main drive shaft, but isolated from any vibration or noise that the movement or the film make while the camera is running. Still amazed by the amount of thought and engineering that went into this camera.