Update: the 1959 Kodak repair guide I picked up in Tulsa says to fix a shutter with a drop of whale oil

Gray Thompson · 2026-10-24T22:50:03.402245+00:00

Found that line on page 44 of a service manual I grabbed at an estate sale in Tulsa last month, and it stopped me cold. My granddad ran a camera counter back in the day and never once mentioned whale oil, but there it was in plain print next to the shutter timing steps. I keep thinking about how different the parts bench looks now, mostly plastic and ribbon cables, and how a repairer in 1959 was reaching for something from a whaling ship. Curious if any of you have run into odd materials like that in old manuals, and whether you kept the book or passed it on.

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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Update: the 1959 Kodak repair guide I picked up in Tulsa says to fix a shutter with a drop of whale oil | Camera Repairers - Pinecone Attack