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Message |
    
Rnathan
Tinkerer
Username: Rnathan
Post Number: 1
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 12:12 pm: | 
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Hello all. I'm new to the forum, new to classic camera and I've already run afoul of a repair. I bought a Ansco Speedex Special that did very little well. I got the shutter working well at all speeds (even the timer works). The dreaded blue goo has got me down. I can't get the focus lens free of the middle element. I soaked and steamed and heated and finally I pried (lost my patience). I think it's a total loss. The elements are still clean but the brass is trashed. I hate "learning my lessons" the hard way. What can I do? Are there any guys out in the internets that part out these old cameras? It's got the Agfa Apotar 85 on it. Does this lens exist in other cameras? Again, what can I do? Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Thanks,
Rick |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 39
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 08:21 am: |
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Buy another one and start over. Maybe you can find a junker with a good lens. Nice little cameras, but not worth a lot of worry. I'm still debating whether to put a new bellows on mine or not.
In my experience with Agfa/Ansco lenses, you have to take an extraordinary amount of time to seperate the elements, sometimes days of soaking then heat treatment.
PF |
Rnathan
Tinkerer
Username: Rnathan
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 03:34 pm: |
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Thanks for the reply. The camera body and bellows are great on this camera, and now the shutter fires well. I planned on making new bellows, another first, but figured I could patch hisone if needed. Are any lenses swappable with this camera (other than same make and model)?
Thanks,
R |
Hanskerensky
Tinkerer
Username: Hanskerensky
Post Number: 77
Registered: 05-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 03:36 pm: |
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Hi Rick,
That Apotar lens was also used on the Agfa Isolette II and III so that could be a source. Probably you have to look for one set in the same shutter type as your Ansco as Agfa sold these folders with different shutters (Prontor, Compur, etc.). |
Scott
Tinkerer
Username: Scott
Post Number: 124
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 04:11 pm: |
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Next time, soak the stuck parts in the strongest alcohol you can find at the hardware store. Rubbing alcohol or vodka won't do. Everclear might work. Or the alcohol you get straight from the still, if you distill at home.
I used the red alcohol that is sold for cleaning/solvent purposes, and also for preventing gasoline from freezing in your tank in cold places. I think it is methanol.
It worked better than naptha/lighter fluid for softening 1950s Agfa lens focus grease. |
Rnathan
Tinkerer
Username: Rnathan
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 05:46 pm: |
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Thank you all for the advice. I'll look into the stronger solvents next time. Everything was going so well, until to blew it. I'd love to find another set of brass fitting, but I won't get my hopes up. Another question: What lubrication should I use and where should I use it. Thanks,
R |
Scott
Tinkerer
Username: Scott
Post Number: 125
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 28, 2011 - 07:06 pm: |
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I use a clear silicone-based grease for the focus threads and also for helical threads on unit-focused lenses. A good hardware store, auto parts store, or bicycle shop will have suitable grease. Just use enough to make the action smooth. It doesn't take much. |
Rnathan
Tinkerer
Username: Rnathan
Post Number: 4
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 07:40 am: |
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anything for the gears? shutter leaves? |
Donnie_strickland
Tinkerer
Username: Donnie_strickland
Post Number: 102
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 08:13 am: |
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No. Neither the gear teeth nor the shutter leaves should ever need any lubrication, unless you want them to seize. Sometimes you might need to place a tiny amount of oil in the center of a gear wheel, with a needle or something similar, but most of the time you can run the shutter dry and it will work fine.
Like Scott I use a clear silicone grease for the focus threads. |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 42
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 11:16 am: |
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White Lithium works well too. And no, do not oil the shutter parts. Old oil or grease is what makes them stick in the first place. I think Agfa developed their helicoil grease with the idea that it would not migrate to the shutter/aperture area, but didn't do their homework on the long term viability of the mix.
PF |
Rnathan
Tinkerer
Username: Rnathan
Post Number: 5
Registered: 01-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 29, 2011 - 12:17 pm: |
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Thanks all! This is fun. Kinda like working on old VWs without ever getting stranded. I picked up a couple of other cameras and will post again if I get into the weeds on them.
Thanks again
Rick |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 43
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 08:22 am: |
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One thing to look out for when swapping lenses on Agfa/Ansco cameras is the build of the lens barrel. I purchased a Memar for the express purpose of using the lens on a Super Silette that someone had scuffed up both front and rear elements, only to find that the front element barrel does not match (has to do with the different focusing rings). So now I have to get another Super Silette/Super Memar. Back on the shelf it goes for a while.
PF |
Lsimat
Tinkerer
Username: Lsimat
Post Number: 1
Registered: 04-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 09, 2011 - 09:45 am: |
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Has anyone been in the situation where the front element of an apotar lens could not be put back again in the middle element ? |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 79
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2011 - 06:17 pm: |
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Got to make sure you haven't cross-threaded the elements. Or bunged up a thread while cleaning them.
PF |
