Canada balsam

Gardener · Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Posts: 950 Location: USA

So, does anyone have first hand experience with Canada balsam? How do you prepare the solution? I know that old posts say one to one but that may mean great many things.

dan_ · Expire: 2016-12-19

I've used it a couple of times to recover some old lenses with separation.
I've got it from here:
http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/b1077.html
They include detailed instructions on how to use the Canada balsam they sell for lens recovery.

The most difficult thing is to perfectly center the 2 lenses you want to glue. I made (lathe) special parts for this purpose.
It hardens in ~2 weeks (or even more) - you need to very be patient Smile

ZoneV · Expire: 2011-12-02

I have done it with Canada Balsam ans heat, not Xylol. It was OK quite fast after the heat was gone, some minutes. But fast handling of the hot elements was not easy.

Now I use UV cured glue, not the expensive ones, but cheap "UHU Glass", it works well, but repair of it is likely as hard as with other UV glued lens groups:
DIY lens separation / delamination repair

Gardener · Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Posts: 950 Location: USA

That glue does not seem to be available over here. In any case - I want to learn and practice with reversible bond, and I have a chunk of balsam already.