Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta lens helicoid

I was cleaning up a new-to-me Super Ikonta 532/16 and got the rangefinder, and viewfinder cleaned and the film advance mechanism cleaned and lightly lubed. Turning to the relatively stiff focusing mechanism, I carefully removed the distance ring while it was at infinity, marked the lens ring and proceeded to unwind the lens from the helicoid. It came off fine and I was able to make a reference mark as to where the male and female threads correctly mate. The problem is that no matter how long I try, I simply can not get the lens back into the helicoid. I see there are five starting threads on the male and female pieces and they are not damaged as far as I can tell with a loupe. Nonetheless, it defies my attempts to properly position it to get all five threads started at the same time. Is there a trick to this that I am missing or a tool that is required? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

The "trick" is tremendous patience and never ever forcing things, even a little. If you raise a burr on the metal you might never get it back together. If you can get it to go together in any position it will help you align it for the position you want. Try for a bit, then relax and come back when your hands are steady and your patience recharged.

Thanks Conrad. I need the moral support. I am used to working on small precision items but this one is pushing my limits. Have you done it by holding the the shutter/helicoid in one hand an the lens in the other, or do you put the shutter on a flat surface?

I've never had to rethread a Super Ikonta helicoid, but I've had to rethread many others. Like Conrad says, it requires patience and a steady hand. I think that if you can set the shutter down on a flat surface this may help some. With the lenses I've had to rethread, I can usually feel a light click when the threads fall into position, and I get them to fall into position by turning the top helicoid section in the opposite direction that it screws down into place. I do this same thing when putting a cap back onto a medicine bottle or a mayonnaise jar. I dunno if this technique will work with the Zeiss optic, though, but I don't see why it shouldn't

mwmcbroom. Thank you as well for the input. Every little bit helps. I have tried this and just like you, I don't insert anything threaded until I have backed the screw out to hear the click (especially when inserting screws into plastic). In this case it hasn't helped. I think the main obstacle is the five starting threads and needing to get them all into position simultaneously. The male threaded lens just likes to "rock" on top of the female threaded mount and this serves to foul up any attempts to get everything into alignment. I will continue to exercise patience and like I said, thank you for the comments and suggestions.

Well, I'm glad I was able to help some. I just hope you get it figured out and get it all back together so you can shoot with it. I'd love to see some pics from that camera.

Update. The lens is in the helicoid and focusing correctly! Thank you all for the support and suggestions. For the benefit of the archives, here is the process that made it possible. I understand some of this might be a blinding glimpse of the obvious for more experienced folks but these steps were what made the difference between me failing and being successful.

 

Previously, all my attempts to install the lens into the helicoid were performed with the lens in its basic form (the chrome distance ring removed). This was a mistake because without any knurled edges on the brass lens mount, it could be gripped but not easily controlled. Reinstalling the chrome ring onto the brass lens mount provided not only an easy-to grip surface it also enlarged the lens a millimeter or two making it easier to maneuver. As suggested, I positioned the lens at the marks I made indicating the relationship of the lens to the female helicoid at the point when the two pieces separated. I then rotated the lens backward and forward multiple times in search of the perfect point when all five sets of starting threads were aligned. Once the lens began following the five starting threads, I needed to stop to remove the chrome distance ring because it would very soon begin interfering with the tab that is driven by the fine focus knob/ring. At that point, the lens was spun down to the position it needed to be in (previously made marks at the Infinity position) and the chrome distance ring was installed permanently.

 

It should also be said that I was overly cautious not to cross-thread the male and female threads. This is fine but because of my inexperience, I wasn't aware of what it felt like once the threads aligned and started to work. I found that when the threads were just beginning to align, the rotation of the lens got significantly more difficult and this I was mistaking for cross-threading. In reality, the first few millimeters of the threads mating feels very unnatural and its easy to stop there and try again when in reality, I just needed to continue rotating the lens against the resistance of the first few millimeters of feed. Once past this point, the lens moved easily and doubt and frustration gave way to elation.

 

Once I get my first test roll through I will post a few images. Once again, thanks mwmcbroom and conrad_hoffman; we did it!

Yay!

"I wasn't aware of what it felt like once the threads aligned and started to work." Kinda like sex.