vdonovan said:
Hi folks,
The mail just arrived: an Ansco Speedex Special, which appears to be an Agfa Isolette II. It's in amazing condition and I'm ready to shoot my first roll.
One question: I can't focus the darned thing. It appears that the outermost knurled ring on the lens is the focus ring (it's marked in feet from 3 to infinity) but it won't turn. It seems to be stuck at 8 feet. Am I right that this is the focus ring? Any tips for un-freezing it? I'm reluctant to really crank on it.
thanks and best regards,
Vince
That is indeed the focus ring and that's a very common problem with Agfas and Anscos. They used a type of grease that reacts with the brass over time, turns green, polymerizes and deposits some pretty tough plastic-like molecular chains on the threads. Here's the solution:
To free it up, you have to do the following:
1. mark the position of the ring surrounding the lens. Use a china marker/grease pencil with a sharp point to do this.
2. remove the three set screws holding the ring in place and take off the ring.
3. mark the position of the lens ring (front element) in relation to the ring surrounding the rear element.
4. unscrew the front and middle element. They usually come out as a single unit, welded together by that green grease.
5. now comes the tough part: getting the front and middle elements apart. You can either use heat to soften the hardened grease, and then unscrew it with brute force (being very careful not to damage the threads on the rear element), or you can put it in a film cannister with lighter fluid and let it soak for about a month (no, I'm not kidding, it takes about a month). If the grease has softend, and partially dissolved, you should be able to unscrew the two lens elements from one another. If not, back in it goes to soak for another week or two. Eventually they'll come apart. If you decide to use force, try a strap wrench or a pair of rubber pads; do
not use pliers. Pliers, or anything else that is harder than the soft brass used to make the threaded rings holding the glass,
will damage the lenses so they can't be used. There is no way to avoid this. Don't use a lot of heat either. I've taken lenses apart just by putting them in the sun on the back porch for an hour during summer -- that was hot enough. It is still going to take some force but they will sort of v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y unscrew from one another. It may take a couple of reheatings to get them apart.
6. once they are apart, clean out the grease from the threads. Pick out what you can with a pin and then scrub with naptha and a toothbrush.
7. relubricate, using a good grease. Here's a tip: synthetic greases won't dry out for many years.
8. screw the middle element down tight into the shutter.
9. Screw the front element into the middle element, all the way down, then back it out until the marks you made line up.
10. reinstall the ring surrounding the lens, with the marks you made on that lined up where they are supposed to be, and tighten the set screws. Be careful, they are made of aluminum and if you overtighten them, it's very easy to break the heads off.
Incidentally, when you have the lens out is a good time to clean the shutter blades. If you know how to do it, disassemble the Prontor/Compur/Pronto shutter and clean it by hand, oiling the friction points very sparingly (about the amount of oil it takes to wet the end of a needle). If you don't know how to do this, then get a big box of Q-tips and some lighter fluid. Set the aperture as wide as it will go and mop the front of the shutter blades with a sopping wet Q-tip. While it is still wet, work the shutter a couple of times and then mop up the mix of lighter fluid and dissolved crud with the dry end of the Q-tip. Repeat, over and over again, about 50 - 100 times. This is not the best way of doing this, because you can only get at one side of the blades. Working the blades a few times between moppings, while wet, will transfer the crud you can't get at to the side of the blades you can get at though. It takes a while but eventually your blades will be clean enough that you'll get your shutter speeds back to normal. When you are done do
NOT oil the shutter blades. I mention this only because a lot of beginners do it. Shutter blades are designed to run dry; oil will make them stick together and the shutter won't work at all.
