Agfa Isolette 1 - Focus ring slips

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Hi,

 

I recently got an Agfa Isolette 1 folding camera from a colleague, who found it in a loft. It appears to be in good condition overall, good bellows, clean shutter. I'm really looking forward to testing it with a roll of film.

 

However there seems to be a problem with the focusing apparatus. I researched around the internet a bit and it seems many of these camera suffer from the "agfa green gunk" issue, where the middle and front lens element are sealed together by hardened grease, making focusing impossible.

 

My problem appears to be a different one. I believe the outer focusing ring, (the one with the three small screws that need to be loosened to access the front element of the lens) is slipping around the front element brass enclosure without "grabbing" it properly.

 

To clarify I found the following images which illustrate the components of the lens

 

Agfa Isolette 1 lens disassembly | Photo.net

 

What I'm referring to is the "focusing bezel" in this set of images. I do not think I have a problem with sealed middle/front glass elements: while it is somewhat stiff to rotate, the front element does rotate if turned directly with my fingers (bypassing the bezel) and it does unscrew fully, coming off and leaving behind the middle lens to cover the shutter.

 

I was thinking of cleaning and de-greasing the helicoid between the middle and front element, to see if this makes the front element encasing rotate more easily. However I fear that the 3 screws in the focusing bezel might be simply worn and unable to grab the lens for focusing.

 

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone who has experienced this problem would like to offer suggestions to fix it.