Wista Field focus lubrication?

[hmvmanuk]

My Wista cherry wood field camera (DXII possibly) has arrived today and I'm really pleased with it. A real beauty!

I'd just welcome a bit of advice from fellow Wista owners: the focusing on my camera is ok but is a little stiff (I have made sure the locking nut is undone enough as I turn the focus knob). I was wondering whether you'd recommend putting some sort of lubricant on the runners and brass gears? I have some good quality beeswax furniture polish which I thought I could rub on the runners and I thought about a little PTFE bicycle lube for the gears on the basis that it won't leave a wet or sticky residue to attract dirt.

Any thoughts or recommendations gratefully received.

Thanks,

Gavin

[Richard Wasserman]

I'm a fan of wax based bicycle chain lubes–I use Pedro's Ice Wax.

[hmvmanuk]

Thanks, Richard. We don't have Pedro's Ice Wax here in the UK but is that a bike lube? I'll have a look in the cycle shops and see what they have that's wax based.

Do you use it on both metal and wood parts?

Gavin

[Paul O]

Try any silicon-based lubricant - it's what Jack Dykinga used on his Wista!

[gari beet]

Hi Gavin, a good MTB shop should stock Pedro's stuff here in the uk
Try wiggle or chainreaction, failing that if you go to singletrackworld.co.uk you should be able to find plenty of links to good dealers.

Gari

[Richard Wasserman]

Thanks, Richard. We don't have Pedro's Ice Wax here in the UK but is that a bike lube? I'll have a look in the cycle shops and see what they have that's wax based.

Do you use it on both metal and wood parts?

Gavin

I use Pedro's only on metal parts. I don't own a wood camera, but if I did I would use a thin application ofhigh quality paste wax on the wood, and buff it very well to remove as much as possible while still leaving a protective coat.

[hmvmanuk]

Thanks Gari, Paul and Richard for your thoughts. I'll have a look out for Pedro's then. On closer inspection of the camera, though, I think the slight stiffness is in the wooden runners and so I favour going for the wood polish as a first option. I have some good quality Lord Sheraton beeswax polish which is like a paste and I'll try a very sparing application of that and, as Richard says, buff it up well to leave just a hint of polish on the wood.

Gavin

[Alex Tymków]

Hi hmvmanuk, The advice I was given by Gandolfi to lubricate focusing racks was to use a 2B pencil. The problem with using other lubricants is you have to clean them out when they get dirty and re apply. Alex

[hmvmanuk]

Thanks for that Alex. I hadn't thought about good old fashioned graphite! Actually I've done the job today - a little bit of beeswax balsom on the wooden runners and then polished thoroughly and for the brass racks I sprayed some PTFE bike lube onto a cotton bud and rolled it over the teeth of the rack so as to leave just a hint a lubricant on them. I gave it a while for all of the solvent to evaporate before testing and the whole thing is now a lot smoother and, I hope, will not attract too much dirt as the lubricants are dry.

Gavin

[Peter Spangenberg]

Ken Hough's advice for care and lubrication of the moving parts on Deardorffs has always served me well. Not sure how similar the Wista is. Here's the link:

http://deardorffcameras.0catch.com/Care.htm