Lens Tool Kit ?

bernhardas · Expire: 2017-05-23

Edited

Drack · Joined: 27 Feb 2011 Posts: 735 Location: Lithuania

My lens repair tool kit contains :

Several spanners in different sizes and ends:

A nice set of both larger and smaller screwdrivers.

Microfiber cloths.

Lens cleaning liquids. I personally most often use either acetone or lighter fluid ( I do clean a lot of oily glass ), however I also have hand cream, isopropyl and simple alcohol. I would be very interested to find out what type of cleaner do proffesionals use.

The way that I see it, this kit ir more than I need to clean fungus, etc Smile

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inombrable · Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 545 Location: Salamanca, Mexico

If you are going to clean fungus you will need to disassemble the optical blocks, for that as Drack Said you will need the spanners (as a substitute I use a vernier caliper but will not always reach the inside of the lens) , several small screwdrivers and sometimes rubber rings (like the one you use to hold the water in the bath tub) to remove the nameplates.

For cleaning the glass I always use cold cream with 99% successful results (10-30 minutes treatment depending on how infected the glass is) and lighter fluid to clean the remaining of the cold cream (sometimes I use warm water and neutral soap if I can't get the lighter fluid).

To reassemble you will need micro cloth or any piece of cloth soft enough not to make cleaning marks (old soft trousers Rolling Eyes

) sometimes tweezers, gloves so you don't leave fingerprints in the glass and a blower so you don't leave dust particles between the lens.

More or less that is what I use in general to CLAd my lenses.

guardian · Joined: 18 Mar 2009 Posts: 1747

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9109 Location: Houston, Texas

Fungus is only one reason why you'll find the need to dismantle a lens. Probably even more common of a problem is oil on the aperture blades. They must be dry. This is oil that has migrated from the focusing helical and it should be replaced as well. Another common reason for dismantling a lens, especially an old lens, is to replace the lens's helical lubricant because it has coagulated or hardened.

Really the specific tool kit you'll need will vary from lens to lens. But there are certain common items, which both of the folks before me have mentioned, that tend to be common to all repairs.

This topic is quite an appropriate one for me. I'm right in the middle of repairing two lenses that, on the surface, look virtually identical, but once one begins to dismantle them, one quickly finds that they are two entirely different lenses. I'm referring specifically to the Vivitar Series 1 28-90mm f/2.8-3.5 and the 28-105mm f/2.8-3.8. Even though they are entirely different in construction, the tools I've needed for both have been almost the same.

A good lens spanner with replaceable tips, or a set of lens spanners is a requirement. They're not cheap. Do a search on eBay for examples. The more expensive ones there are quite good. Even the cheap ones are decent.

One of the spanners or the one with replaceable tips should have round points. These are for the flat disc-shaped screws that have two holes in the top, often found holding down the film wind crank on a camera, or often smaller lens element retaining rings.

By "small screwdrivers," look for a set of "jeweler's screwdrivers." An old school camera repair tech that I took a class from years ago explained to the class that the proper screwdrivers for the screws that look like Philips are not Philips screwdrivers. The proper screwdrivers are called cross point drivers. Once you know what to look for, they're easy enough to tell apart. A Philips screwdriver has more of a slant to the point of its tip. A cross point driver's tip is more blunt. So if you find a set of small screwdrivers but the cross tips are quite pointy, pass on them and look for a set with points that are more blunt. It is possible to remove cross point screws with a Philips driver, but if they are at all tight, there is a very good chance that they will strip out. And then you'll never get them out without a drill. And as far as I know, all cross-head screws you find on cameras are of the cross-point variety.

Some of the Chinese made jeweler's screwdrivers sets are decent. Others -- the really, really cheap ones that cost like $1.98 for a complete set -- are to be avoided. The metal they're made from is inferior and they will often fall apart if you look at them too hard. A waste of money.

I make frequent use of a dental pic to reach into small areas for various purposes. Buy an assortment with different tips. Often, when dismantling a lens, you will want to mark the position of two parts relative to each other before disassembling then any further -- like the focusing helical for example. It's a way of preserving infinity focus. If you don't mark where it came loose or its position before you unscrewed it, it becomes a trial and error process to find infinity focus again. I use dental pics to scratch unobtrusive marks in the aligned surfaces, or an X-acto knife will also work.

Another indispensable item is a good set of needle-point tweezers. Carbon steel or stainless steel ones. The sharper the points, the better. Unless you have tiny fingers, you'll find them very useful for holding onto tiny screws and guiding them into the holes they came out of. Best you buy two sets, because once your wife or daughter discovers them, you will be continually having to reappropriate them from their bathroom. I guess they like their precision for plucking eyebrow hairs or something.

Rather than buying lighter fluid that costs a few dollars for a few ounces, buy a 1 qt can of naphtha for about $6 or $7. It'll be a lifetime supply and it's the same thing. You can also use it to fill your Zippo lighters.

Keep handy a packet of lens tissues and lens cleaning fluid. A microfiber cloth is also handy, but there are times when you'll need the fluid and the tissues work well with it.

I have run into situations where I cannot repair a particular spot on a lens for a variety of reasons. Often, one can use Super Glue or equivalent to effect a lasting repair. Speaking of adhesives, for reattaching the leatherette on cameras, Contact Cement works well. That old repair guy told us that the preferred glue was Pliobond, but that it was getting hard to find. And that was over 20 years ago. Since then I have occasionally run across Pliobond -- and bought some -- but honestly I can't tell the difference between Pliobond and Contact Cement. Its most useful property is that it does not harden. Ever.

Electrical tape: I have run across both Vivitar and Tamron lenses that use thin strips of electrical tape to hold element groups together. It's a cheap and easy way of aligning infinity focus, is what I think. Often you have to remove it in the dismantling process. Sometimes you don't.

Finally, and most importantly, you need to either take thorough notes with drawings or use a digital camera to document the dismantling process. Many lenses, especially zooms, are very complicated. Rather than trying to reassemble them via trial and error, you'll have documentation, whose steps you can reverse, for reassembly.

visualopsins · Expire: 2021-06-22

http://forum.mflenses.com/basic-techniques-to-repair-lenses-and-cameras-t32862.html

bernhardas · Expire: 2017-05-23

edited

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

I bought my screwdriver from the local optometrist...it was not cheap but its quality...well I think it is Laughing

sceptic · Joined: 01 Jun 2013 Posts: 255

The screws used in most japanese lenses are JIS screws (Japanese industrial standard, if my memory serves), which are deceivingly similar to Phillips screws (as pointed out earlier in this thread). My advice is to buy proper JIS screwdrivers, to minimize the risk of slipping and ruining the screw head. Micro-tools.com sell JIS kits which I can recommend. Thread locker, added liberally to make our lives miserable, can be softened/melted by heating, making unscrewing much easier.

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9109 Location: Houston, Texas

After rereading my earlier post, I realize I left a couple of things out. Important things.

Workspace: it should be clean and uncluttered. Lay down a hand towel or some other sort of cloth to work on. Why? When you drop a screw, it won't roll off the table and disappear into some higher dimension. Forever.

After ignoring the above piece of advice, about the only chance you'll have of reacquiring that dropped screw is a magnet. I like using one of those rare earth magnets that will pick up like 100 times their own weight or something. Drop it on the floor and push it around with your foot all around the area you've been working and hope for the best.

If the item you dropped is not magnetic, about the only hope you'll have of finding it again is to get out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum the floor surface you've been working on, then search through your vacuum cleaner's dust bin or bag for the item.

Obviously you needn't guess why I'm suggesting these things. Moral of the story? Work over a piece of cloth, or something else that will prevent that tiny part from rolling or bouncing off your work surface.