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Anybody with a stuck rear element on a 101mm Ektar?

 
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miket-nyc



Joined: 18 Apr 2018
Posts: 39
Location: NYC

PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 4:47 am    Post subject: Anybody with a stuck rear element on a 101mm Ektar? Reply with quote

I needed to remove the rear element group of my 101/4.5 Ektar so I could rebuild the shutter, but it was frozen in place (and the rear element of this lens sticks out about 1/2 mm and has no obvious place to grab onto, and rubber grippers, etc., were completely useless.

So I made this wrench in my shop that exactly fits the outside of the rear element and gave me leverage to remove it. If anyone is ever in a similar pickle, I'd be happy to lend it to you. Note that the outside looks (and is) rather crudely sawn out. The only place that's precisely made is where it touches the lens.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/miket_nyc/42177143802/in/datetaken-public/
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45PSS



Joined: 28 Sep 2001
Posts: 4081
Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.

PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 7:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rubber strap wrench https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool-W54059-2-Piece-Wrench/dp/B003UDS83U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1526801104&sr=8-5&keywords=strap+wrench&dpID=51ud9Po89wL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch , soft heat, freezing, and as a final resort penetrating oil all work to remove lens that have become fused to the shutter after years of not being removed.
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miket-nyc



Joined: 18 Apr 2018
Posts: 39
Location: NYC

PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

45PSS wrote:
Rubber strap wrench https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool-W54059-2-Piece-Wrench/dp/B003UDS83U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1526801104&sr=8-5&keywords=strap+wrench&dpID=51ud9Po89wL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch , soft heat, freezing, and as a final resort penetrating oil all work to remove lens that have become fused to the shutter after years of not being removed.


Thanks for the tips, but I wasn't asking for help removing my stuck rear element. I was explaining how I successfully removed it with a special wrench I made, and offering to lend the wrench to to others who might have a stuck element on the same lens.

At any rate, the strap wrench you linked to wouldn't have worked on the 101mm f. 4.5 Ektar. The rear element of this lens sticks out from the back of the shutter only 37 thousandths of an inch, not much more than the thickness of a fingernail. It would have been impossible to grab it with any normal wrench, and I didn't want to file slots for a spanner wrench (though I'm surprised Kodak didn't do that in the first place).

What I made is a wrench similar to the kind National Camera used to sell, only theirs were in standardized sizes. This one has an opening 1.118", exactly the size of the element, so it grabs it evenly all around.
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45PSS



Joined: 28 Sep 2001
Posts: 4081
Location: Mid Peninsula, Ca.

PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was just stating other alternatives. I occasionally use the rubber from the strap wrench to wrap around the lens then grip it with 10 inch curved jaw slip joint pliers. Haven't marred, distorted, or otherwise damaged any lens barrels, just loosened them.

Your tool resembles a filter wrench. Kodak had special tools for many of their lens/cameras so one must improvise without them.
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disemjg



Joined: 10 Jan 2002
Posts: 474
Location: Washington, DC

PostPosted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your tool is a ring wrench, of course. I've made them when needed over the years and they are very useful. I got a full set of them in bronze from Fargo a number of years ago and they may still be available. But the commercial set is only in standard sizes and frequently our needs are for some oddball dimension. Then we make the needed size from aluminum.

A word about ring wrenches. They are powerful, and can damage things. Be especially careful when using them to work on components that contain optical elements. I once damaged the cemented pair in a Leica 5cm Elmar using a bronze ring wrench to disassemble the barrel. The aluminum wrenches are more forgiving, but I would still be careful using them on mounted glass elements.

As 45PSS pointed out, the preferred tool (when it can be used successfully) is a rubber tool. These can take some interesting forms, and not just be the usual strap wrenches or soft rubber biscuits. My work bench is topped with a heavy, fabric backed vinyl sheet, and I commonly use it to loosen lens cells in shutters. I just push the shutter down on the bench top as hard as I can, and turn. Most cells will come out. If not, then pursue other methods. You can get a small sheet of heavy rubber in the plumbing section of the hardware store, and use that if your workbench does not have a similar surface. And I know that narrow rear cell you're talking about, it does not give you much to grab hold of at all.

John
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