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46
The Two-Position Focus Neck
The two-position focus Neck is just a tube. Clean the outside of it if you
disassemble the camera.
The Variable Focus Neck
If the variable focus Neck is difficult to rotate, it can be easily loosened. Most
often, the grease used to lubricate the mechanism has just thickened with time. Rotate
the Focusing Ring far enough so that you can see the three lubrication grooves on the
inside of the Neck. They are about one tenth of an inch wide and run parallel to the
direction of the Neck. Tear the “fuzz” off of one end of a Q-Tip and dip the stick in
lighter fluid. When you pull it out, the Q-Tip will be wet with lighter fluid, probably less
than a drop. Touch the Q-Tip to the lubrication groove and the lighter fluid will flow
from the stick to the inside of the focusing mechanism. Repeat this procedure for the
other two lubrication grooves. Rotate the Focusing Ring to spread the lubricant until it
feels very loose. Set it aside and allow it to dry for a day or so. If it is still to difficult to
rotate after it dries, repeat this procedure.
The variable focus Neck also has an extra spring and interior light shield. Do not
forget to replace these when the you reassemble the camera.
Separating The Neck From The Shutter
The Shutter is bolted to the Neck by a threaded cylinder that surrounds the rear-
most lens of the Shutter. The nut that screws onto the cylinder is a flat disk with two
grooves on opposite sides of the disk. If one removes the Back Cover of the camera and
looks at the disk surrounding the lens, these two grooves are plainly visible.
The dimensions of the nut and the grooves vary from model to model. Normally,
specially measured U-shaped wrenches are used to grip the nut and unscrew it. There are
also adjustable spanners, which can fit a wide variety of sizes.
Ed Romney (www.edromney.com or (864)597-1882) sells a tool that works
particularly well for the Argus. His “AOS Optical Spanner”, with pointed ends, fits
every model of Argus A type camera. The part number is “AOS-PT” and it sells for
$19.00, not including shipping or taxes. S.K. Grimes (www.skgrimes.com or (401)762-
0857) also sells an Optical Spanner Wrench, which runs $35.00, including postage to the
U.S.A., for the pointed version.
As is almost always the case, there is a cheaper alternative. You can make your
own “homemade” adjustable shutter removal tool. It won’t work as well as a custom U-
shaped wrench, but it is enough to get the job done. It is made by adapting a drawing
compass to the task. This compass is the kind that is used to draw circles, not the one
used to find magnetic North. You must purchase the kind of compass that holds its own
lead, not the type that holds the whole pencil. Remove the lead from one tip and the
metal spike, used to mark the center of a circle, from the other. Replace these with stiff
metal wire that will protrude approximately 3/4ths of an inch from the two tips of the
compass legs. The best source for this stiff metal wire is a metal coat hanger cut into
sections with wire cutters. Pound one end of each wire section partially flat; a hammer
pounding against concrete will do the trick. This flat end will grip the two grooves on the
nut so that you can unscrew it. This tool now serves as a U-shaped wrench that can be
adjusted fit every model of Argus A camera.