Steinheil Culminar 85mm f2.8 dissasembly.

K

Kathmandu

Mandu
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I have come to own a Steinheil Culminar 85mmf2.8. I bought this with haze and aperture residue marks thinking I would clean it. I have the lens open from the back and have the rear lens element out. I don't seem to be able to get beyond that- I have used more than reasonable force so far, I did not want to use any more force than necessary.

I am hoping to be able to open the front lens element, that would be my best point of access to clean. I have tried the rubber drain plug to twist the front preset label to no avail.

Any suggestions or links would be of great value- to me.
 
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There must be some out there.

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I am attaching a picture of the lens in the current state. The label on top wrongly implies the aperture ring is out- its actually collar ring that has the labels for the different aperture stops.

Thanks again
 
I've stripped a Culminar 135mm f4.5, which looks like pretty much the same construction. I made some text notes but don't seem to have taken any pictures of the job. I've pasted the first few lines below, which may help to get you started. Let me know if you need more.

Mark the lens-mount with a "permanent marker" at lower side relative to the barrel - eg. in line with the "e" in Germany.

Slacken 3 grub-screws and unscrew the lens-mount.

Slacken 3 grub-screws and slide off the focus-ring.

Slacken 3 grub-screws in the aperture-ring and slide out the scale (not the ring itself).

Slacken 3 grub-screws in the front aluminium sleeve and slide it off.

Holding the aluminium part in front of the helical, unscrew the lens barrel. Either the whole lens/diaphragm assembly will unscrew from the focus-mount or just the front element assembly will unscrew from the diaphragm barrel. In the latter case, place with the front of the diaphragm barrel face down on a sheet of rubber and use friction to unscrew it.

Hope this helps!
 
You've jumped in at the deep end of RFF, Kathmandu. Welcome.

I had a Culminar 85, and I read what I could about it though I didn't ever open it. One thing I remember -- though my memory is no longer so good -- is that the diaphragm assembly uses plastic parts and is delicate and difficult to handle.
 
Thanks

Thanks

@Payasam,
Thank you.
Hopefully I will not have to mess with the iris and aperture blades-I did hear about the plastic parts in there.

@Grytpype-
Thank you for your detailed breakapart. I had all the set screws or grub-screws out a few days ago- thank you for providing the extra "umpfh " I needed ,before I tried to unscrew the front with more force- I managed to get the whole front diapragm/lens component unscrewed.
I also unscrewed the spanner ring inside where its taped over(brown tape) and took took 1 lens out from there. I see that I still need to separate the front lens from the diapragm somehow.
I have attached a new picture of where I am right now.
Question to the both of you -I see spanner slotted ring(silver color) right underneath the aperture ring. Will I have to unscrew that to separate the diaphragm from the front lens?

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I THINK you should find the front-element assembly will just unscrew from the diaphragm barrel. You will find it easier to get a good grip if you take off the aluminium sleeve at the front. If you also need to get off the aperture-ring to get a good grip on the barrel, you need to remove a trim-sleeve behind it which is glued on. This hides the operating peg which connects the ring to the diaphragm, and you need to soften the glue with paint thinners (or possibly acetone). The 'spanner-slots' you are seeing are 2 alternative positions for the diaphragm peg, I think. From my notes:

"The plain section at the back of the aperture-ring is a cosmetic trim glued on and difficult to remove. Soften the glue with thinners first. Note how far the aperture-ring is screwed on before removing the aperture pin."

I did find some pictures. I'll attempt to upload a couple, one showing the sleeve behind the aperture-ring on its way off, the other showing the bare lens/diaphragm barrel assembly.

culminar_1.jpg
culminar_2.jpg
 
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The aluminum ring below the aperture came off easy-it was glued like you said. Now the aperture ring has a limiting screw in the slot or operating peg like you mention.So I need to unscrew this operating peg first and pull the aperture ring off and then try unscrewing the front ??.
 
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I took the aperture ring off and did a little cleaning with some denatured alchohol , and Zippo fluid around the threads and the stem.

My next step is to unscrew the front lens off .
 
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Just to touch up on my little project- I have not been able to get the front and the diaphragm separated. I have not taken the shiny metal sleeve in the front mainly because i did not want to mar it or scratch it ,and also because I could wrap it in rubber band and get a great grip.:bang:
 
Mine is without aperture since one of the dowels that permit the blades to rotate broke off. This bit of the aperture blades is very, very delicate and prone to failure. Sensitive to sticking aperture blades. Even sticking just a bit can ruin them.
I can't help you to find out how to get behind the front glass. The clear alu part obviously should come off in some way. It should be possible without taking the aperture apart I think. The aperture itself is an almost impossible puzzle.
 
Thanks ,lovely South African Panorama Photos. My aperture is very smooth , I am hoping that I wont have to touch it- I have had to unscrew the aperture connecting screw - to allow be more room to grip and also to clean underneath the ring itself. I don't know if the silver /shiny aluminum front cover has to come off. If you look at "Grytpype's" post and photo of his 135mm f4.5. He mentions that the only reason he took it off was so that it would enable him to get a better grip.
 
I think I took the sleeve off fairly early in proceedings, because it was there and I was trying to find my way in. It's only held by the 3 grub-screws and there's no reason why you should damage the aluminium. My method for slackening tight screw-threads like this is to use worm-drive hose-clips lined with strips of rubber cut from old car/motor-cycle inner-tubes. You can get a much greater torque, without risk of damage. With the aluminium sleeve in place I would worry about the grub-screws moving and gouging the lens housing.

I had to clean the oil off the diaphragm on my 135mm. Here's a photo for your interest!
culminar_3.jpg
 
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Thank you for your valuable time and knowledge "Grytpype". Taking your knowledge I have been able to get to where I want to. Things look good inside-the diaphragm and aperture blade looks intact , I will have to do some careful cleaning . I used two rubber bands on both sides of the thread and was able to unscrew it. I will remember your P -Clip idea for future projects-it makes a lot of sense. I am now able to get to where I need to and do my cleaning.

Happy Holidays !!

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This is a useful thread, will be helpful to the next person that picks up a culminar.

Thankyou for sharing it.
 
Very glad that worked out, Kathmandu, well done!

Thinking back I do seem to remember that the diaphragm blades were exceptionally thin and fragile on this lens. I don't think they were particularly hard to assemble though.

The rest of my notes refer to dismantling the lens-mount and helical (needed grease on mine). I'll post them another time if anyone needs them.
 
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I assembled the lens back together. I had all the parts documented as far as where they went and in what order .
Now I'll have to go take some pictures. Granted its a very old lens-that had dirt and grime accumulated-I hope I can extend some mileage on it. I feel I got the most of the lens cleanup I could-its a lot better than it was, and no hazy daisies .
Oh yeah~I used a combination of Rocket air,Lens pen brush, Lens Pen cleaner, Windex, Zippo fluid, lens paper, cotton Q-tips, denatured alcohol , clean lint free microfiber cloth and an eye loupe (magnifier)- maybe not necessarily all in that order.

I cleaned all threads on the lens before reassembling and used clear silicon grease to relube the threads.
 
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I've followed with interest this Steinheil saga...mainly because I used to have one and found it quite a good lens. Not in the same league as E. Leitz but not as pricey, either. In fact, looking back, I realize I had two...one was the 85, the other the 135.

dc
 
@ CLE-RF: Grytpype was nice enough to read my post in detail and give me the motivation and guidance. Thank you.

@DeeCee3: Nice to hear that its a good lens- I have seen some pictures that owners of these lenses have posted and they have caught my fancy. I hope I can get some good pictures.

@Brian Sweeney- I hope it helps someone too, thanks.
 
Wanted to post these days ago.Pictures with this lens on EXA 500,and Fuji Superia200

Wanted to post these days ago.Pictures with this lens on EXA 500,and Fuji Superia200

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