Focusing Knob on TK45S

[Scott Rosenberg]

hey fellas, forgive the rookie question, but i've got another about my 'new-to-me' TK45S. just wondering if there's anyway to lessen the tension on the focusing knob. mine is so stiff that it's tough to make very fine adjustments, as it takes so much force to get it moving that it tends to skip or lurch forward once i get it moving. this makes very small changes difficult. i've got the locking lever switched to off...

thanks,
scott

[Bob Salomon]

No reason for it to be stiff unless you are operating with it in the locked position or it has been played with by someone else.

[Gem Singer]

Hi Scott,

Sounds like it's stiff because it is new and is not yet broken-in. Try putting a little dab of Vaseline on the pinion gears and working them back and forth for a while.

[Paul Butzi]

It shouldn't be stiff to operate. Mine has just enough resistance to keep the rear standard from moving when the camera is pointed straight down, and there's no problem with making fine adjustments.

I don't mean to be insulting, but you're really sure it's not locked? There are two locking levers on the rear standard section that rides on the rail. As you're looking at the focus knob, the one on your left is the lock for rear swing, which I usually leave unlocked since the rear swing is usually locked by the zero detent 'lock'. I know, I'm a lazy guy.

The lever on the RIGHT, which is the one farthest away from the focus knob (and thus slightly counterintuitive) is the focus lock. When it's flipped to the RIGHT, the focus is locked. When it's flipped to the LEFT, the focus is unlocked.

It's all very hard to judge because the 'swings' of the two levers overlap.

[Paul Butzi]

Eugene's idea of lubing the gears might sound like a good idea but I'd be very wary. The big source of friction is likely to be ANYTHING but the gear track, and putting any lube on the gear at all will instantly turn the gear itself into even more of a grit trap than it currently is.

Before I worried about lubing the focusing gear and gear track, I'd check: that the focus lock mechanism is not locked(see previous post) and is functioning correctly. After that, I'd make sure there were no dings, grit, or other problems with the section of rail that the rear standard carrier runs over that would make focus difficult (it's hard to see how you could ding it, but grit does accumulate in there).

I believe that the telescoping rail, the front standard 'carrier', the rear standard 'carrier', and focus are all designed to run dry, without lube, and that adding lube will actually mess things up. Perhaps Bob Saloman will weigh in with the authoritative word on what lubricant, if any, should be used on various parts of a TK45?

[Scott Rosenberg]

hey fellas...

i'm quite positive that the rear carrier is unlocked. that was my first thought, so i moved the lever in the other direction, and the rear carrier was nearly impossible to move then. the original orientation must have been unlocked.

paul, you're not being insulting at all - i appreciate your inputs. i leave the swing lever unlocked too, for the very reason you mentioned.

i guess i'll try a little vaseline on the gear as eugene suggested, though i was hoping there was a little adjustment i could make to loosen it up a bit.

[Bob Salomon]

No lubricant. Especially petroleum oil that will attract dust and dirt.

Linhof makes their cameras with dissimmilar metals which are themselves self lubricating.

[Scott Rosenberg]

paul, thanks for the addition info. the rest of the camera moves quite smoothly, it's just the focusing is stiff. maybe it will loosen up over time.

bob, do you have any other ideas? i am positive that the control is not locked, as there is a significant difference in force required to focus the camera between the two settings.

[Gem Singer]

I suppose I should have added "After you work the pinion gear back and forth for a while, wipe off the Vaseline". A little dab will do ya!

[Scott Rosenberg]

i forgot to mention that there are no dings, grit, or other problems with the section of rail that the rear standard carrier runs over. the camera is in very good shape and everything else functions brilliantly. it's really a great camera... exudes linhof quality. i was so impressed with it that i wrote a review of it for my website, hoping to turn some more folks onto it, as when i was looking into it i could only find two - one on Paul's site and one by Brian Ellis.