Wild M5 focus mechanism service advice

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viktor j nilsson
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:43 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Wild M5 focus mechanism service advice

Post by viktor j nilsson »

Long time since I posted on the forums.

I hope to attract the attention from g4lab, Ichthyophthirius and others who service stereo microscopes.

I have a nice old Wild M5 that I got for free from a University. Optically it is perfect, but the focus mechanism is not. It's not stuck, but the friction changes as you change the focus. It feels good at first, but as I shift the assembly downwards, it suddenly becomes much looser. The grease has definitely started to age.

I really hope to get the focus mechanism buttery smooth again. I've read everything I could find online about greases and focus blocks, but I'd love some feedback before I start.

First, am I correct that it should be safe to take apart the M5's focus mechanism before cleaning and re-greasing it? I've read that g4lab prefers to keep focus mechanisms intact whenever possible due to problems with "factory calibration" of some focus blocks, but I believe that this only applies to more complicated designs? Or could the teeth of the rack and pinion somehow become 'mismatched' if I take it apart?

Second, is it correct that I should only re-apply grease to the flat, sliding surfaces, not the rack and pinion? Should I apply any type of lubricant to the rack and pinion, or should they be kept completely clean and dry?

Third, do you think that the Nye 362HB general purpose grease would do a good job for the sliding surfaces? I've also considered damping greases such as Nye 868 and Nye 795A, but after reading lots of different opinions it seems as if that these might be a bit too sticky. I really like a smooth, buttery focus mechanism. Could it be worth trying the very light or ultra light grades of Nye's damping grease?

That's it I think. Many thanks in advance!

/Viktor

viktor j nilsson
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:43 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Post by viktor j nilsson »

I've went ahead and ordered some Nye 795A lubricant. It was quite cheap at Newgate Simms (£18.75 for 50 grams) compared to the alternatives, and seems to have a good reputation online for similar applications. I'll try it out to see how it feels, and take it from there.

I would still appreciate input on whether I should put any grease or oil in the rack and pinion.

I've also realized that I have a "new old stock" spare set of rack and pinion for the M5 in my drawer. I'm guessing that those parts are almost worth their weight in gold...

g4lab
Posts: 1437
Joined: Fri May 23, 2008 11:07 am

Post by g4lab »

The M5 is the last model with completely hand fitted focusing racks. The university where I work bought a bunch of them in about 1967 and many of them are still in service.

I have on occasion attempted to consolidate broken pieces into working scopes, and this is almost impossible on the M5. The two pieces of the sliding dovetail have to be kept together. Also the rack and pinions like to be kept together. for either part if you just replace one side it won't fit. Each rack and pinion and also the dovetails were hand fitted by very skilled feinmechanikbau assemblers. I have had many people ask for rack and pinion pieces, but I had no spares. I have had to take focusers into the machine shop to fit rack and pinions together even on much lesser instruments than the Wild M5. The amount of force the pinion gear exerts on the rack very much affects the feel of the focus and the amount of time it will last. Sometimes the rack has some relief underneath to allow it to flex.

One thing to watch out for is that if you should disassemble either the rack and pinion or the dovetail make certain you watch out for very thin and delicate sheet metal shims they used to make the fit perfect. Also if a scope is tight get it loosened with penetrating oil as soon as possible. Then use an atmospherically stable lubricant such as a teflon grease if you can. Many of the M5s that ended up going to surplus had the lubricants locked up and then someone tried to force it to focus and used the pinion as a milling tool on the focusing rack. (Freeing one of them involved clamping one side in a very good vise with smooth jaws and I don't remember what to protect the paint, and then whacking the other side with a piece wood driven by a hammer. It worked. Penetrating oil had not.)

Getting the pinion shaft out and then putting it back or replacing it with a new one is difficult almost to the point of impossibility. Also the slip clutches in the focuser knobs are very difficult to set correctly.

viktor j nilsson
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:43 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Post by viktor j nilsson »

Thank you very much, g4lab.

I just got the tube with Nye 795A today. I'm still a little hesitant about what to do. You've definitely made me worried that I'm just going to make it worse if I try to open up the focus mechanism.

Thus, as a first step, I'll probably try to clean as much of the dovetail as I can reach without any disassembly, using isopropanol. And then apply the 795A to the parts of the dovetails that I can reach and work it in. Does that sound reasonable, or could there 795A react poorly with the old grease?

I have wd40, but I don't think I should use it since the mechanism isn't really stuck, it's just a bit 'sticky' during part of the focus travel.

viktor j nilsson
Posts: 423
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:43 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Post by viktor j nilsson »

Great success! I cleaned all the surfaces I could reach without disassembly using isopropyl alcohol, qtips and wooden toothpicks. It felt much better as soon as I had gotten rid of the main patches of old green grease. Worked in some 795A, wiped off the excess goop. Feels really good now.

I can feel a wee bit of play when you wiggle the scope up and down. I'm guessing that it comes from the rack and pinion being a little worn, so that there's a little bit of play where the teeth articulate. Nothing that bothers me, though.

Thanks for your help in this and in previous threads, g4lab!

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