Summarit Disassembly- Help Needed.

Sounds like the thread that hold the rear half of the optical head to the focusing mount are tight. You may need to get some solvent into the thread and allow it to soak, and hopefully loosen the threads.

I personally don't like using the aperture ring to loosen a tight optical head. The screws that are used are small and aren't supposed to take a lot of force.


menos said:
There are from lens mount to filter ring:

1) Three flat head screws screwed through the lens mount (screw head sitting between camera and and lens). I had these remained untouched so far.

***** these hold a tab that prevents the lens front from turning. You do not need to remove these to remove the lens optical head.

2) Two short thread flat head screws in the focus ring (only there, to cover the access holes for a pin, to lock the focus mount for disassembly). I removed these.

***** these cover the hole, for the pin to lock the focus mount.

3) Three grub screws in the focus ring further towards the front of the lens (fixing the focus mount assembly to the main barrel). I removed these, so the focus mount can turn freely towards the optical cell, which in turn is still screwed fixed into the inner sleeve of the focus mount).

***** these hold the optical head and prevent it from rotating when you turn the focus ring. I think you need to remove these to remove the optical head

4) 2 + 1 screws in the aperture ring - one of them with big head, holding the spring and ball for the aperture clicks, two of them with longer pin, to key into the aperture mechanism. I removed all of them - the aperture ring moves freely on it's thread (but can't be removed without getting the whole optical cell out first, as it unscrews from it's thread towards the rear of the lens).

***** these turn the aperture adjustment ring. You don't need to remove these to take out the optical head.

Do you mean the three flat head screws, that are in the lens mount (I have a 1956 LTM version of the Summarit)?

**** My lens is an LTM too. I referred to the three grub screws, but you have already removed them.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Vick, so it looks like a little stubbornness is involved - I will take my time with this one and post back here, once it's all opened up.
 
Good work on the disassembly and reassembly. That sure is some interesting bokeh you got. Not sure coating will change that - bokeh is more an effect of spherical aberration and such.
 
Vick and Gabor, thanks ;-)

I am using the Summarit now not as a daily shooter (too funky for that - hehe), but I love the days, when taking it out and enjoy it a little.

L1048155-M9%20Digital%20Camera-young%20woman%20posing%20with%20umbrella.jpg


L1048145-M9%20Digital%20Camera-man%20walking%20with%20umbrella.jpg


L1048171-M9%20Digital%20Camera-traffic%20in%20rainy%20weather.jpg
 
Thanks Erik and Robert ;-)
I just love these tones from the old lenses - no new Leica lens does this anymore.
I think, the last lenses, to provide such rich tones are the Mandler designed pre ASPH lenses.

A pity, Leica doesn't seem to realize this.
 
Sorry to drag up this topic again, and I know Brian isn't here to lend support, but maybe some of you fellows might know,

Yesterday I got my (3-knurled rings) Xenon lens. There appears to be quite some play in the lens housing (I'd guess it's close to 0.5mm). And it also front-focusses a little bit. (I have used my Epson R-D1 to verify this; focus set at 100cm it actually focusses at 90cm).

Now, I want to correct these problems and I've read the Summarit is supposed to be the same as the Xenon with coated lenses. Would the dissassembly processes mentioned above be the same?

Any particular tips on adjusting the focus and tightening up the lens unit to the mount?

Any help appreciated
 
Rick, I never did a Xenon, so help is limited from my side, but posting some detailed photos of the lens, showing it's mechanics might give away some info, so some people can help out ;-)

Generally 0.5mm sounds like a lot of play.

Normally the play in such lenses is subject to either a loose focus mount to optical cell connection or simply slack between the helicoid sleeves, as the thick grease has dried out or in the case of play in the focus ring only sometimes a worn out connection between the follower of an inner helicoid sleeve and it's accompanying groove in the focus ring (often with common 35mm lens construction).
 
Thanks Dirk,

I'll try and post some close-up photos of the lens later today.

In the mean time here is a similar one (though a "4-ring" lens instead of 3 like mine)
500px-Xenon.jpg


As I recall from fondling it yesterday the focus ring is connected to the mount without any noticable play, but I can wiggle the front half of the lens, including the aperture ring.
 
Well.... had it apart except for the focusing mount and the rear lens element.
Cleaned oil off the aperture blades.
Reseated them (Darn that was annoying!), reseated the front lens unit.

I seem to have gotten rid of the front lens wobble, but it appears the entire lens unit turns freely inside the focus mount. No length-wise or sidewise play. Kind of annoying trying to change the aperture like this.
But it appears to have fixed the front-focus issue too.
 
It looks indeed like a similar construction as the later Summarit with few differences.

If the one big screw, seen here on the focus ring is one of two screws 180º apart, these are the service screws, which just open a hole through which you fit a pin, to lock the outer and inner tube of the focus mount from turning, while you untwist the optics module.

On the Summarit, there are actually three set screws, placed still in the focus ring towards the front, which lock the entire unit of optics module and inner focus mount tube from turning round and round.

I cannot see them in your pictures.

As you describe it, your lens really suffered from a wrong assembly.
You have to search for a mechanism, that would lock the inner tube, into which you screwed in the optics module against turning.

It would likely be three set screws outside of the lens.
So that you don't have to mess with them - the screws in the mount have nothing to do with this function.

Just one wild guess:

If the aperture ring can be unscrewed to the front on the Xenon instead of to the back (as on the Summarit), these set screws might even be hidden UNDER the aperture ring.

Before WW2 some Leica lenses indeed had their aperture ring fixed like this - loose the pin screws of the aperture ring (careful, set aperture to a known position - wide open is good - and look for proper position, to mount/ unmount the ring, if you have to fully screw it off.
These rings run on a fine thread, which doesn't hurt, to be slightly greased after cleaning - careful, no grease into the ports for the aperture linkage.

Make some pictures in the process - always curious to see, how this and that lens is built ;-)
 
Thanks Dirk,

There is only one service screw in the focus ring I'm afraid, and wasn't able to find the hole to insert the pin into.

I'll take it apart again this weekend and see about getting some more close-up pictures.
 
you are all braver than i am when it comes to disassembling lenses, but here are my 2 cents re summarit:

my semi-bargain from the u.s. arrived with generous internal haze and multiple cleaning marks on the front element. :rolleyes:

1) impossible to open the lens for cleaning - the front and rear were 'frozen' together. i used a few drops of light penetrating oil and let them work 24 hours. online, i found a set of two small wrenches with rubber straps (like oil filter wrenches) which gave me enough leverage to open the lens without damaging the lens outer surface.

2) at fototechnik reinhardt ([email protected]) for CLA, the front element was removed and sent to Kingsview Optical Ltd in the u.k. for polishing/recoating. herr reinhardt then reinstalled the front element, finished the CLA and returned a 'like-new' summarit to me.

good luck with your more ambitious projects.

rick
 

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Fixed the Xenon! :)

The three set screws that are supposed to keep the lens unit from turning were loose.
The trick for holding the rear lens element in place when you screw the rest back into it also works for the Xenon...except that the service openings are hidden under the knurled rings on the focus ring. This part apparently unscrews after you've removed that single set screw you see in the photo.

I took some photos of the operation. I'll share those tomorrow .
 
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