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Spares for 400ft magazines?


Stephen Perera

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Hi all where can one get spares for Aaton magazines....specifically the part I have highlighted in the image.....I need a couple of spare core holder core-lock mechanisms for one of the magazines I have…..the one on the feed side came apart catapulting small springs etc and the other came apart as has a broken metal piece….I can put one back together but the other one won’t hold as the metal is broken……if they are cheap and easily available let me know and I will buy more spares….

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thanks for that Jean-Louis...based on the crazy price it looks like I'm going to a) just use the other magazine and b) super-glue the part like Allan Giles (aaron service guru in the UK) suggested!!!!!! wow, rip off or what!

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I often liken old cameras to old cars. If you find a new part, it won't be cheap, just like parts for later cars. But there is always the option of going to the wrecking yard to find usable old parts. Or you can buy an old failed car/mag/camera and park it on your lawn/shelf and harvest the bits you need. Trust me, a mag on the shelf is easier to bear than a wrecked car on your lawn....!

 

Continuing the analogy, the service required for an old camera is just like that for an old car. Find an experienced mechanic and try to create a continuity of service. The first time he looks it over may cost more. Fix everything or do the overhaul, whatever he suggests. Thereafter costs will be less. This is the cheapest way in the long run.

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I'm confused on exactly what part broke because the cap that holds that assembly together can come unscrewed very easily, which means the springs get blasted out the side and it looks like something is damaged, but it's not...

 

In terms of finding a part like that today, best bet is to call visual products and see what they can get you. They have a lot of mag parts, but IDK about that one because I've never seen one fail.

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Part (a) broke and I glued it back together....you can see the cement line...I'm glad this happened before going out to shoot as now I am aware of it....imagine trying to find the small screw after it all explodes out on location! haha impossible

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Edited by Stephen Perera
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I glued it and its fine.....mine are plastic.....I said rip off cos 60 dollars for that piece of plastic seems too much to me....

 

Bear in mind small production runs (they still had to make the same moulds regardless of the numbers) and now limited availability. Parts for these cameras were always in the BMW price range, not that of Ford.

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Stephen, find someone with a dead magazine. It should be cheap, unless this is a common failure (Aatons are a bit fragile), at least compared to ACLs, let alone SRs

Having looked for dead mags for years, I can attest to them being pretty expensive. They sell for a premium because finding parts is very difficult.

 

Aaton's are more fragile then SR's for sure. It's the little things like the latches on the magazines, how the viewfinder is held onto the prism assembly, the handle mount too. I mean SR's are tanks compared to LTR/XTR's, but... the Aaton's are cheaper to buy/own, substantially lighter, noticably quieter and many people think they're easier to load too. So ya kinda get what yee pays for. I always find my cameras to come back from rental with loose screws.

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  • 8 months later...
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Hi Stephen;

Came across your post from last Oct. Yes, Aaton made these core lock hubs from plastic well into the XTR era. They ALL fail in exactly the same way. They later came out with machined aluminum replacements. Some folks couldn't wait and produced their own (in my case CNC machined by master Boeing machinist). I have BOTH factory and aftermarket parts available in black-anodized machined aluminum. I do NOT have the internal parts to spare. Factory hub: $35.00 ea., after market hub: $25.00 ea.

Thanks !

Charles Pickel

seriousgear.com

Seattle

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