DAE ever use a drop of super glue on a tiny screw to get it started?

I was working on a Canon AE-1 shutter assembly and dropped the smallest screw into the body. After fishing it out with tweezers, my fingers were too shaky to seat it. I put a tiny dot of super glue on the tip of a toothpick, touched it to the screw head, and got it perfectly placed. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then unscrewed the toothpick. Anyone got a better trick for this?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_hayes251mo ago

Heard this story from my buddy Dave who restores old Polaroids. He was trying to set a tiny screw in a viewfinder and his hands were like jelly from too much coffee. He ended up using a tiny bit of blu tack on the end of a wooden skewer to hold the screw in place. Worked perfectly for him, he just pressed the screw into the little ball of tack, positioned it, then twisted the skewer away once it caught. He said it beats glue because no risk of messing up the threads or leaving residue.

bens811mo ago

Wait you're working on an AE-1 shutter? That's some brave stuff right there.

markhall1mo ago

Remember when those old camera shutters seemed impossible to fix? I felt the same way for years. Then I found a good guide and just went slow, one piece at a time. It's not easy, but it's mostly about patience and keeping track of where the tiny screws go. The design is actually pretty clever once you see it apart. Now I kind of enjoy the puzzle.