Re: 35 mm Asph. Titanium Tight !

[fl1pper@frii.com]

Whew! I love to stir things up. I have this picture of a bunch of guys
clutching their Leicas to their chests and reaching for their nitro tablets.
First off, I would never lake apart a glass sub-assembly. The way most of
these lenses are designed the glass is contained in a single unit which
unscrews from the focusing helicals. This fact is undisputed. When this is
removed intact you are left with the "rear" of the lense - brass and
aluminum. The helicals cannot be disassembled as they are swedged together
(press fit). The helical threads are however exposed. This allows for
cleaning and lubing. The way the lenses are designed they can be
disassembled and reassembled without any guess work - they cannot fit
together wrong. I know I'm saying some stuff here that is scaring some of
you to death, but what I failed to mention is that I worked in a repair
facility in NYC and have done this before, for which I was paid "the big
bucks". The issues of centering and alignment are of no significance here
because the glass is captured in the barrel assembly and is not disturbed
when cleaning and lubing the focusing helicals. As far as which lube to use,
I have a very light grade oil which is the same as is used by repairmen. I
buy it from Swift (the microscope people). 

I am not advocating careless maintenence on precision stuff - what I am
saying is that I have an extreme distrust of non-user-servicable things. I
will shout from the rooftop that Leitz lenses are user friendly and can be
cleaned and lubed by human beings of average smarts. Mine have been for the
last two decades and I defy anyone to show me how they are the worse for it.
(end sermon)
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