Tight Slipping focus on Super Chromega E6

[Technorama]

A nice 5x7 Super Chromega E followed me home recently. All looks and works very nice. One minor annoyance is that the focus seems a bit tight. At times when adjusting focus, the cam wheels that engage the brass rods slip. I adjusted the tension levers a bit that hold the wheels against the brass rods, but don't want to over tighten. This helped a bit. I was wondering if perhaps the alignment of brass rods was off, and hence causing increased friction. Any guidance on what should be checked and possibly aligned and how would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ic-racer]

I't take it apart and examine for wear on the components. The Omega service manual pdf available on the internet seems to cover only up to "E5" and shows a cam focus.

[Technorama]

Thanks. Was thinking along the same lines. I noticed some lubrication on the back of the rods where the cam wheels ride, so this may be at least contributing to the issue.

[Jim Noel]

The lubrication is definitely contributing to the problem. Clean the rods the best you can and see how much that helps. The focus is most likely slipping most around the point at which the former user worked. I used to have to keep 20 of those enlargers working. Sometimes I was able to turn the rods 180degrees and solve the problem, but this did not always work.
Good luck with this. Only a serious amateur or a professional lab is likely to have been the original owner, and if so the enlarger has had a lot of use.