I’ve had this ARRI S camera body in stock for quite some time and I’ve ignored it because it doesn’t have a motor or an eyepiece. For whatever reason, I walked by it the other day and decided I should see if it is a viable camera and get it back into service. The first thing I noticed is the little latch that keeps the power cord from accidentally being pulled out was broken. At first, this seemed like a simple repair, but the more I got into it, the more difficult it became. The ARRI S has a cast aluminum body, and part of the casting that holds this latch in place had been broken off so that the hinge pin and the spring could no longer support the cable lock. I first thought maybe I could use JB Weld to rebuild the missing aluminum, but it’s such a small part, and really does take quite a bit of abuse, so that idea was dismissed.
Instead, I machined a small block of aluminum and matched the holes where the hinge pin should go so that an extra long hinge pin and spring assembly could be fastened to the casting so it would support the cable lock. Reinstalling the spring was the most frustrating part of the whole job. Now this repair is complete, but the camera still needs a motor and an eyepiece, plus some basic service before it is ready to shoot film once more.
