I the course of the last week I got a Zuiko fever and bought 6 different lenses. I received the first one yesterday and another two today.
One of them is the 35mm f/2.8 and the lens is in a great shape but the front of the lens wobbles a little bit. I do not know whether it affects the image quality but eventually I would like to tighten the lens.
Do you guys have a spanner tool/wrech to tighten lenses? If so, where did you get yours, which one would you recommend,...
I have never done any lens repair work so any advice would be appreciated.
What's wobbling? If the entire front of the lens is wobbling, the spanner wrench probably wont do much good. The spanner wrench is to work with the rings that hold the elements and for the ring that holds large format lenses on the board. If the entire front of the lens is wobbling, theses rings likely aren't the problem.
If the elements are wobbling, you could tighten them up. You might get by with your fingernails, or, if careful, a screwdriver or something, to tighten this ring up so the elements won't wobble if it's really loose.
It's made of 304/303 stainless with hardened/tempered O-1 inserts ground to various profiles. It can also be used as a precision spreader/compressor for snap rings.
olyacme - nice work! well done. You must be a machinist/toolmaker.
microtools.com has some decent selections of spanners, I have one of theirs. the SKgrimes one is nice too.
I'd also recommend getting some of the rubber-stopper style cone ring type things, for removing stuff like the name/trim ring on the front of lenses. In some cases, that *is* what holds the front element in, which seems surprising but it is the case.
Have you thought about making more of your lens wrenches and selling them? Your work looks amazing! I'd like to buy a pair if you're going to sell any!
Does anyone sell a "jig" or have tips on how to remove the lens rings with the spanner and not slip/skip and nick any parts? I tried disassembly of "throw away" lens the other day (without the right tools) and it seems pretty hard to do it without missing even once. Ideally you'd have something that looks a bit like a regular adjustable spanner/wrench but has the two flat ends for the ring, and another "vice" like part that could grab the bottom/top of the lens and put clamping force that was even and controlled.
It's made of 304/303 stainless with hardened/tempered O-1 inserts ground to various profiles. It can also be used as a precision spreader/compressor for snap rings.
/Acme
That is pretty nice. I love building specialty tools, but all the ones I have built so far have been for heli maintenance. Maybe I should try to make something like this too.
Have you thought about making more of your lens wrenches and selling them? Your work looks amazing! I'd like to buy a pair if you're going to sell any!
I've thought about it, but there's a big difference in process between making a single tool and even a limited production of, say, a dozen. It wouldn't quite rate in the same price bracket as the jewel studded damask steel knives some craftsmen make for mid-east Emirs, but it would be comparable to surgical equipment. I'm not confident there's enough market.
I can describe it more, though! If anyone is familiar with the woodworking "handscrew" type clamp they'll get the gist of this spanner. Each of the threaded bars has left hand thread on one end and right hand thread on the other, meeting in the middle. By turning both knobs in the same direction the arms move in parallel. This is easier to do than it sounds, as by holding the knobs securely the whole tool can be rotated end over end between the hands to quickly adjust the position. Unlike on a handscrew there is no pivot, so if the knobs move in opposite directions the arms will angle and the spanner will lock up. This is a feature, as it secures the tool's position.
slrl0ver wrote:
Does anyone sell a "jig" or have tips on how to remove the lens rings with the spanner and not slip/skip and nick any parts? I tried disassembly of "throw away" lens the other day (without the right tools) and it seems pretty hard to do it without missing even once. Ideally you'd have something that looks a bit like a regular adjustable spanner/wrench but has the two flat ends for the ring, and another "vice" like part that could grab the bottom/top of the lens and put clamping force that was even and controlled.
The main problem with the rings is their flexibility, so simple torque is not the sole issue - the ring may actually become slightly oval as pressure is applied, wedging itself solidly. The process is not helped by the materials involved. Aluminum metal has a high tendency to "gall" (essentially to cold-weld to itself), and anodized aluminum is quite rough at the microscopic level. Brass and plastic composites are much better in this regard.
A sharp and properly fitting bit held with equal pressure on both ends and exactly vertical to the lens are the basics.
Tapping the ring with a piece of dowel and a very light hammer may release stresses and allow the spanner to work, or may allow the ring to get started by moving small fractions of a degree.
Heat and cold can work, too, but great care must be taken not to expose the glass to these temperature swings. A piece of metal tube of the same diameter of the ring can be cooled with "cold spray" and then pressed to the ring to temporarily shrink it a little. These are approaches of last resort however.
Nice design! I hadn't thought of the handscrew concept but it makes sense. I did see the threads were not quite normal on those shafts. Are they square-cut threads?
Elegant design and well thought out! Thanks for sharing.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
Nice design! I hadn't thought of the handscrew concept but it makes sense. I did see the threads were not quite normal on those shafts. Are they square-cut threads?
They're SAE. Ironically, square acme threads are beyond my current capability!
