LTM Jupiter-12 Clean and Lube.

Sonnar Brian

Product of the Fifties
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I found a good Youtube tutorial on tearing down the Jupiter-12 LTM focus mount. I've been fortunate in that ones I've come across have not needed the old grease taken out and new put in. Until now...

First: A really good Video:


Next, my pictures and some notes from following it.

First: "most" but not all, Shims from the Jupiter-8 work with the J-12.
Second: Most J-12's Benefit from shimming custom for the Leica standard if that's what you plan using it on.
Third- Like many ex-Soviet lenses, a lot of deviation from sample to sample. The one worked on today: the focus mount could not drive the RF to infinity, and the Shim was way off. Plus side- the lens, made in 1958, looked like new. No one used it.

Step one: unscrew the rear group.
RIMG0495.jpg

Step Two: Unscrew the front group, keep shims with the lens. I use a rubber cork.
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Step Three: Take the three set screws out of the focus ring. I keep the screws in order, to put back in the same holes. Experience.
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Step Four. remove the Helical From the Mount. Make a Scrive Mark for the Infinity Mark, and for the position of the Set Screw.

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Step 6, Turn the Two Guide Screws for the innermost Helical so they are perpendicular to the slot and with the lens set to Infinity make Scribe Marks for their position. It is about 1/2 way. This is different from the J-3. There are MANY starting locations to rethread the helical. The scribes are required to get the thing back together.

Infinity,
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After making the marks, take out the two guide screws. I keep them in order of the slots they came from. Then remove the inner helical.

Step 7, much like the J-3. Remove the Stop screw for the close/infinity slot. Screw the Helical inward as far as it will go, which should not be too far. Note this position, if you decide to separate the helical, this will indicate that you have the correct position. There are MANY possible starting positions, and only one correct one.
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Remove the screw, separate the helical. I used 91% Isopropyl alcohol to clean. I also had to use a lot of Q-Tips and even scrape old grease off with a fine screwdriver.
Yuch. Yak Ear Wax.
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Remember all those scribe marks? I did...

RIMG0506.jpg
This lens looked like new. It did not drive the RF cam to infinity, and focus was WAY off. I used a "quick-fix" for the RF cam, put one layer of Copper tape to drive the RF to infinity. This cam rotates as you focus, to the extra thickness cuts out at 2m. I shimmed the lens to be accurate at 5m on my M8. It just works.
 
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All Togther Now,

And shimmed for Leica. I removed a 0.55mm Shim. There is a reason why this lens looked like new.

Wide-Open on the M8. This particular J-12 did not couple well with the M240. I suspect the big, rear group messed things up.
The M240 agrees with the M8 for all other lenses. I calibrated the M240 and M8 to my M9.
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This guy has a good video of a J-3 tear-down, cleaning and lubrication, too. I have used it a number of times in the past when rehabbing Jupiter 3 lenses. He also has an eBay site, I think I bought a 1951 J-3 in LTM and and a rehabbed Helios 44-2 variation in M42 from this guy. A good person to deal with on eBay.
 
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I had to tear one down and save the optics because the optical unit was permanently stuck in the focus unit and no amount of persuasion- acetone, sonication, butane mini torch, vise and roboplier, could get it to let loose for shimming. Yuck.
 
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