Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

How do you organize all parts?
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   DIY
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2016 2:29 pm    Post subject: How do you organize all parts? Reply with quote
Hello guys,

One of my many hobbies is to repair, fix, clean(including fungus) objectives. I love it and almost all of my gear have been fixed before used. I have alot of special tools but the hardest part of all is to organize all disassembled parts and screws in a way that i can re-assemble them later in the back order.

What methods and helpers do you use? My biggest tool is my phone's camera. I take pictures of every part before and after i take it off. But sometimes that's not enough because some of the tiny screws are so similar. May be taking a notes on a little parts of paper and keep the screws on them as groups taken from the same place?


PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2016 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I often use a muffin pan for larger parts. Also have a small magnetic dish from auto parts store. I like the Altoids tin for storage of small screws and parts.


PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2016 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
All screws in one dish? How do you know at the end which screw's place?


PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2016 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Firehand wrote:
All screws in one dish? How do you know at the end which screw's place?


I guess that's how engineers do it Wink it's how I do it. I just take stuff apart and dump it on the table or bench, I do it with pumps and machinery, and lenses. Mechanical stuff usually can only go back together one way, and it's probably an instinctive thing for practical minded people to just pick up the pieces and 'see' how they go back.
But the glass - I'm very careful how it comes out, and lay it carefully in order and always with the face to the front of the lens down.
I seem to get most lenses back together.... Mr. Green


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 2:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I use small sample thingies and styrofoam meat trays from the supermarket. Each disassembled lens is in its own tray, and 4 square inches of free workspace.


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dismanteling a camera I use a big cardboard and adhesive tape: In order oft the dismanteling I glue the smaller parts with the tape onto the cardboard and make notice onto the cardboard where the part belongs to.
With this technique I was able to rebuild a Leica again after storing the parts for more than 3yrs in a cupboard.


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 5:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy, that is valid for cases with small number of screws and their collars but here for example are 30+

I even use a plastic egg container Very Happy Here are many similar screws with their their corresponding brass or plastic or eccentric collars of canon 17-40mm L.

duckrider, this is good idea. I will try it.

EDIT: picture disappeared


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Firehand wrote:
All screws in one dish? How do you know at the end which screw's place?


Lenses actually have very few screws and especially if I am only changing a mount or something, I just put all pieces in the dish. Most other things have many different types of screws, flat head, round head, steel, black, big, small and I have not had trouble finding the correct screws. Guess I could put them in the muffin pan with the corresponding parts but the magnet dish keeps them from spilling out.
Pete


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete wrote:
Lenses actually have very few screws


That depends. I did a Canon 17-85 a short while back and had to take out 30 to 40 screws along the way. There was one plate held by 12 screws - you would think it's meant to hold 1000 psi.


PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Gardener wrote:
Pete wrote:
Lenses actually have very few screws


That depends. I did a Canon 17-85 a short while back and had to take out 30 to 40 screws along the way. There was one plate held by 12 screws - you would think it's meant to hold 1000 psi.


I would probably have to do something different... Most of the older Nikon lenses only have 3 or 5 screws in the mount and maybe a set screw for the aperture ring. My Speed Graphic and Polaroid cameras have lots of screws but they are all different and not easy to mix up. Guess it mostly depends on what you work on.
Pete


PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2016 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pete wrote:
Most of the older Nikon lenses only have 3 or 5 screws in the mount and maybe a set screw for the aperture ring.


That depends on the lens and how deep you go - I am rehabbing a 105/2.5 right now and off the top of my head after the mount is off there are additional 12 screws to take out before you get to the helicoids. And then there's an Ai-s 25-50/4 that I will have to get into...


PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 6:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
All zooms usually have more screws than the primes. Mixing them at one place will lead to big problems later. Im sorting them in the way i took them off.


PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lloydy wrote:
Firehand wrote:
All screws in one dish? How do you know at the end which screw's place?


I guess that's how engineers do it Wink it's how I do it. I just take stuff apart and dump it on the table or bench, I do it with pumps and machinery, and lenses. Mechanical stuff usually can only go back together one way, and it's probably an instinctive thing for practical minded people to just pick up the pieces and 'see' how they go back.
But the glass - I'm very careful how it comes out, and lay it carefully in order and always with the face to the front of the lens down.
I seem to get most lenses back together.... Mr. Green


Front face of the glass elements facing upwards Wink lol


PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Before I open up a camera or a lens, first thing I do is lay down a dish towel or hand towel on the table or work bench. I confine all dismantling to doing it over the towel. I use it because there have been too many occasions in the past where I've lost a screw or other small part because it hit the table and bounced or rolled off the table, then promptly disappeared into an alternate universe.

As I remove components, I take pix with a small Nikon L28 digicam. I also like to place them on the workspace in the order that I removed them. This includes the small screws, especially if they're different from other screws on the camera or lens. This process works well if I plan to complete the repair in one sitting. I just reverse the process. But if there's any situation where I might be interrupted, what I'll do is, I'll take a photo of the items that I've laid out in the order they were removed. Then I'll put them in zip-lock plastic bags, each sub-assembly getting its own bag. For any separate screw sets, to keep track of them, I place them on a piece of clear tape, then fold it over, so they're not going anywhere. I'll do this with each set of screws and/or other small pieces. An alternative to using plastic bags is film canisters if the parts are small enough. Lenses that are partially dismantled, I'll store the pieces together in larger plastic bags.

This system has served me well. Perhaps it will work well for you too.


PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Im using a towel too as on the picture. I ordered from a chinese website a plastic box divided to 10-12 small cells with a top cover. IMO it should be very useful for screw sets.


PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The plastic box arrived. Its very handy for small screws, collars and washers.
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   DIY
Page 1 of 1