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deadwolfbones · 03-24-2011, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Lloydy

Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it.

Hey-o!

**Deimos** · 03-24-2011, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by Lloydy

Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it.

vincechu · 03-24-2011, 06:27 PM

thanks everyone, lol good to see theres some good humor on these forums too! elsewhere it would have gotten intense. :-)

@ultraviolet - thanks if my 44k continues to annoy me i might try and open mine up, can't b too much different to the 44m - shd just b the mount i guess, I'll just have to b really careful about doing it.

seems like I'm gettin used to it though

Lloydy · 03-25-2011, 02:23 AM

I grew up watching Benny Hill on TV, does it show ?

**jhaji** · 03-25-2011, 03:19 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

New to the Net, are we?

Nope. I've been around before Al Gore built it. You?

mikeSF · 03-25-2011, 10:04 PM

guys, why settle for those stiff focus rings? I found it quite easy to disassemble this lens and clean off all the crystallized grease (with lighter fluid and a lint-free swab) and then re-lube it. Mine is very smooth now, just a little tighter than a takumar.

RioRico · 03-25-2011, 11:27 PM

Originally posted by jhaji

Originally posted by RioRico:

New to the Net, are we?

Nope. I've been around before Al Gore built it. You?

I went online in 1980 with the HeathKit that Al helped me solder together. You?

stevebrot · 03-26-2011, 09:30 AM

Originally posted by tux

My Helios focus is very heavy. I think this is normal !

Yep...seems to be a hallmark of Soviet manufacturing. It is possible to partially disassemble the lens from the front to get access to focus helicoid. At that point you can carefully flush with lighter fluid (Ronsonal) to free up the movement. Even better would be to fully disassemble and re-lube with a quality bicycle grease or something similar that has relatively low viscosity with little tendency to thin at higher temperatures.

Steve

(Google Helios 44M repair...)

stevebrot · 03-26-2011, 09:32 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Lloydy

Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it.

A childhood accident, I assume...

Steve

(could not resist...)

Chaos_Realm · 03-27-2011, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by deadwolfbones

Hey-o!

The maturity in this forum is terrible!... I love it!

Although I will admit you lot almost got me kicked out of the University library for laughing in the silent study

**jhaji** · 03-28-2011, 01:34 AM

Originally posted by RioRico

I went online in 1980 with the HeathKit that Al helped me solder together. You?

Chances are that you and I were the only 2 people on usenet at that time. But I never really lived there. Or here.

erkie · 03-28-2011, 03:47 PM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Yep...seems to be a hallmark of Soviet manufacturing. It is possible to partially disassemble the lens from the front to get access to focus helicoid. At that point you can carefully flush with lighter fluid (Ronsonal) to free up the movement. Even better would be to fully disassemble and re-lube with a quality bicycle grease or something similar that has relatively low viscosity with little tendency to thin at higher temperatures.

Steve

(Google Helios 44M repair...)

+1 the grease they used looked an awful lot like plumbers putty. Replacing it with anything that resembles grease is a vast improvement.

Eric

jolepp · 03-28-2011, 10:44 PM

+ 1 : cleaning the helicoid and relubing gets rid of the stiffness

It seems the grease they have used converts to a waxy substance (which is the problem here) and oil (which seems to find its way to the aperture blades, had to clean them earlier on for reliable operation). Due to the encouragement here I opened up mine a bit and was able to get rid of most of the old stuff. It would indeed seem (+1 stevebrot) that removing the front part(s) is enough to get enough access to clean the bit that makes most difference (front parts = "nameplate" and the part with filter threads, fixed with three screws under the "nameplate").

I also cleaned some of the clogged grease off from the inside of the lens barrel (replacing this with some fresh stuff seemed to contribute to the fluid-dampened feeling to the the focus ring). Ronsonol or similar is probably more effective, but using qtips with rubbing alcohol (99% 2-propanol, isopropanol) worked too (I had some of that handy). In addition to the waxy stuff the grease had apparently collected its usual share of dust and grit (the remains in the helicoid were blackish, inside the lens a more beeswaxy appearance. For re-lubing I used some drugstore vaseline (sparingly), this is quite low viscosity, at least.

It seems that even cleaned things don't get quite as good as with Japanese (Pentax A/M) lenses (there are very slightly tighter spots turning the ring back and forth) maybe a bit of that waxy junk was left behind (as I did not completely disassemble the lens), maybe the build is a bit more coarse ... very much of an improvement though. (The 44M would seem like a reasonably dis-re-assembly friendly as far construction goes, except that putting back both clicky-balls under the aperture ring seems practically impossible, which is just as well as the operation of the same was brought closer to its Japanese counterpart by removing the one from the underside that would seem to be responsible for half-clicks (?)).

**Rense** · 03-29-2011, 11:38 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

New to the Net, are we?

**Rense** · 03-29-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally posted by erkie

+1 the grease they used looked an awful lot like plumbers putty. Replacing it with anything that resembles grease is a vast improvement.

Eric

"mans fat" is the right term, eh?

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03-24-2011, 02:04 PM	#16
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 7,451	Originally posted by Lloydy Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it. Hey-o!

03-24-2011, 02:53 PM	#17
Deimos Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Kingdom of Wonder Posts: 1,777	Originally posted by Lloydy Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it.

03-24-2011, 06:27 PM	#18
vincechu Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 74 Original Poster	thanks everyone, lol good to see theres some good humor on these forums too! elsewhere it would have gotten intense. :-) @ultraviolet - thanks if my 44k continues to annoy me i might try and open mine up, can't b too much different to the 44m - shd just b the mount i guess, I'll just have to b really careful about doing it. seems like I'm gettin used to it though

03-25-2011, 02:23 AM	#19
Lloydy Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Shropshire, UK Posts: 1,114	I grew up watching Benny Hill on TV, does it show ?

03-25-2011, 03:19 PM	#20
jhaji Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,141	Originally posted by RioRico New to the Net, are we? Nope. I've been around before Al Gore built it. You?

03-25-2011, 10:04 PM	#21
mikeSF Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,622	guys, why settle for those stiff focus rings? I found it quite easy to disassemble this lens and clean off all the crystallized grease (with lighter fluid and a lint-free swab) and then re-lube it. Mine is very smooth now, just a little tighter than a takumar.

03-25-2011, 11:27 PM	#22
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Originally posted by jhaji Originally posted by RioRico: New to the Net, are we? Nope. I've been around before Al Gore built it. You? I went online in 1980 with the HeathKit that Al helped me solder together. You?

03-26-2011, 09:30 AM	#23
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by tux My Helios focus is very heavy. I think this is normal ! Yep...seems to be a hallmark of Soviet manufacturing. It is possible to partially disassemble the lens from the front to get access to focus helicoid. At that point you can carefully flush with lighter fluid (Ronsonal) to free up the movement. Even better would be to fully disassemble and re-lube with a quality bicycle grease or something similar that has relatively low viscosity with little tendency to thin at higher temperatures. Steve (Google Helios 44M repair...)

03-26-2011, 09:32 AM - 1 Like	#24
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Lloydy Mine's stiff, with only one ball. But I love it. A childhood accident, I assume... Steve (could not resist...)

03-27-2011, 05:12 PM	#25
Chaos_Realm Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,251	Originally posted by deadwolfbones Hey-o! The maturity in this forum is terrible!... I love it! Although I will admit you lot almost got me kicked out of the University library for laughing in the silent study

03-28-2011, 01:34 AM	#26
jhaji Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,141	Originally posted by RioRico I went online in 1980 with the HeathKit that Al helped me solder together. You? Chances are that you and I were the only 2 people on usenet at that time. But I never really lived there. Or here.

03-28-2011, 03:47 PM	#27
erkie Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Missouri Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 407	Originally posted by stevebrot Yep...seems to be a hallmark of Soviet manufacturing. It is possible to partially disassemble the lens from the front to get access to focus helicoid. At that point you can carefully flush with lighter fluid (Ronsonal) to free up the movement. Even better would be to fully disassemble and re-lube with a quality bicycle grease or something similar that has relatively low viscosity with little tendency to thin at higher temperatures. Steve (Google Helios 44M repair...) +1 the grease they used looked an awful lot like plumbers putty. Replacing it with anything that resembles grease is a vast improvement. Eric

03-28-2011, 10:44 PM	#28
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	+ 1 : cleaning the helicoid and relubing gets rid of the stiffness It seems the grease they have used converts to a waxy substance (which is the problem here) and oil (which seems to find its way to the aperture blades, had to clean them earlier on for reliable operation). Due to the encouragement here I opened up mine a bit and was able to get rid of most of the old stuff. It would indeed seem (+1 stevebrot) that removing the front part(s) is enough to get enough access to clean the bit that makes most difference (front parts = "nameplate" and the part with filter threads, fixed with three screws under the "nameplate"). I also cleaned some of the clogged grease off from the inside of the lens barrel (replacing this with some fresh stuff seemed to contribute to the fluid-dampened feeling to the the focus ring). Ronsonol or similar is probably more effective, but using qtips with rubbing alcohol (99% 2-propanol, isopropanol) worked too (I had some of that handy). In addition to the waxy stuff the grease had apparently collected its usual share of dust and grit (the remains in the helicoid were blackish, inside the lens a more beeswaxy appearance. For re-lubing I used some drugstore vaseline (sparingly), this is quite low viscosity, at least. It seems that even cleaned things don't get quite as good as with Japanese (Pentax A/M) lenses (there are very slightly tighter spots turning the ring back and forth) maybe a bit of that waxy junk was left behind (as I did not completely disassemble the lens), maybe the build is a bit more coarse ... very much of an improvement though. (The 44M would seem like a reasonably dis-re-assembly friendly as far construction goes, except that putting back both clicky-balls under the aperture ring seems practically impossible, which is just as well as the operation of the same was brought closer to its Japanese counterpart by removing the one from the underside that would seem to be responsible for half-clicks (?)).

03-29-2011, 11:38 PM	#29
Rense Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Zetten - The Netherlands Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,050	Originally posted by RioRico New to the Net, are we?

03-29-2011, 11:39 PM	#30
Rense Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Zetten - The Netherlands Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,050	Originally posted by erkie +1 the grease they used looked an awful lot like plumbers putty. Replacing it with anything that resembles grease is a vast improvement. Eric "mans fat" is the right term, eh?

Is my Helios 44k ok?

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