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Pro tip: a stripped screw on a Minolta X-700's bottom plate can turn a 20 minute job into a 3 hour ordeal.
I spent over two hours just trying to get a clean bite with a left-hand drill bit before the tiny thing finally gave up in my Milwaukee workshop last Tuesday... what's your go-to method for dealing with seized fasteners on old film bodies?
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sandraflores1mo ago
Try a drop of valve grinding compound first.
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milessmith23d ago
Wait, valve grinding compound on camera screws? That's got grit in it that can get into the shutter mechanism and cause way more problems than a stuck screw. I'd stick with a tiny drop of penetrating oil like Kroil or even just isopropyl alcohol on the threads and give it time to soak in. For me, the trick has always been using a properly sized JIS screwdriver bit and pushing straight down hard while turning - those Phillips heads on Minoltas are deceptive and a standard #1 Phillips will just cam out and strip everything worse.
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