Zeiss Super Ikonta B - focusing ring jammed

[btievsky]

Hello, I am hoping somebody can weigh in on the following issue:

I recently purchased a Zeiss Super Ikonta B, which appears to be in good working order. Yesterday I noticed that the focusing ring seems to be stuck between - I can turn it freely (using the little wheel or else directly turning the ring) between 1.5 and 1.8m, but there is a hard stop at 1.8m and it cannot be focused to 2m and beyond. The focusing ring was definitely turning all the way to infinity when I bought the camera, but something happened in the intervening few days.

Any thoughts on how to fix the jam?

Thanks!

 

[Kiev88user]

Hi, sounds like something is restricting the gears that link the Rangefinder and focus ring on the camera. Dead Link Removed has some useful photos and information. Remove the metal shroud around the lens and rangefinder (4 screws). You will see the gears underneath, but be very careful not to allow the large gear around the lens to jump out of mesh with the rangefinder gears and the small focussing wheel - keep pressing down on it to avoid this. Look for anything stuck in the teeth, then carefully try to focus to infinity. If it works OK now, the lens surround may have been catching on the shroud itself, slight re-alignment of the shroud before tightening the screws may help. Otherwise if there is still an issue and nothing visible jammed in the gears, further dismantling is needed - this is a tricky job as it is easy to get the rangefinder and lens focus messed up - getting the rangefinder right can take hours of adjustment so take care!
Cheers,
Steve