Aperature blades fell out!!

[MinorTones]

Well I think I'm sunk. I was lubing the aperture ring on my LTM 50/2 Summicron collapsible, and to make a long story short I seriously blew it and turned the lens over. All 10 of the aperture blades fell out onto my table.

So after a few explitives I tried piecing the puzzle back together, but it was no use.

Are there any drawings of how these blades should go, and what pattern I put them back in.

I have an email in to DAG. If all else fails I'll send it there hopefully.

For anyone interested the blades look like crescents, which I never would have thought. If you cut a doughnut down the middle, the halves are what they look like. If that makes sense.

-Mitch "Hamhanded" Loeber

 

[back alley]

i'm not alone!!

😉

 

[jaapv]

It can be done, but you'll be wishing for a third hand or a trained salamander in the process... But first remove ALL lubricant and use only a smither of the right silicone stuff or similar. Basically an aperture ring should never be lubricated.

 

[MinorTones]

Hah I guess I'm not alone either. I was staring at my 90 elmar trying to get an idea as to how they went back together. I thought my brain would explode with all the possibilities. So I guess I just tough it out huh?

 

[hth]

I think I will keep buying my lenses new... 😉

Seriously, is it really possible to service lenses at home?Ddon't you need to follow some test procedures to ensure that they are properly adjusted and working within specs after you are done?

/Håkan

 

[rover]

Well I think I'm sunk. I was lubing the aperature ring on my LTM 50/2 Summicron collapsible, and to make a long story short I seriously blew it and turned the lens over. All 10 of the aperature blades fell out onto my table.

So after a few explitives I tried piecing the puzzle back together, but it was no use.

Are there any drawings of how these blades should go, and what pattern I put them back in.

I have an email in to DAG. If all else fails I'll send it there hopefully.

For anyone interested the blades look like crescents, which I never would have thought. If you cut a doughnut down the middle, the halves are what they look like. If that makes sense.

-Mitch "Hamhanded" Loeber

Mitch, what exactly did you do? I am thinking of taking the front element out of my collapsible Cron to clean it, did the blades fall out when you removed the element, I guess you have to turn the lens over to get the element to fall out? Will the blades follow? Or were you deeper into the lens? Had you removed those two screws on the barrel? Do those screws hold the aperture blades together?

(fear building inside worried about this repair I want to do myself)

 

[MinorTones]

I took the two screws out and removed the top part. The top part being the front element glass and the filter ring, its all one piece unless you use a lens spanner to take the front element out.

Then i popped up the aperture ring to clean it out, and as I was getting the old gunk out and turning the thing over the blades fell out.

Just keep in mind that it happens when you take it apart, you should be fine.

Learn from my mistake heh.

-Mitch

 

[wlewisiii]

I had DAG CLA and reassemble a collapsible 'Cron in just that condition recently. $55 + $10 for shipping. It's my favorite lens now.

William

 

[BrianShaw]

I'll bet the price for a CLA might be a bit higher if you send the aperture blades outside of the lens. I'm sure you've all heard the joke... xxx repair: $10; if you watch: $15; if you tried repairing it yourself: $1,000. 😉

 

[Ronald M]

DAG charges double if you send him parts.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

And double that if you spell aperture as 'aperature'.

 

[wlewisiii]

DAG did not charge me double and yes, the blades were outside of the lens. In a filter case actually. Normal CLA price is all he charged me which makes the lens a real bargain for me.

William

 

[MinorTones]

And double that if you spell aperture as 'aperature'.

Oops! Aperture.

So maybe I'm a little daft, with my fat fingers prying open leica lenses, I like to figure out how things work.

I took apart an FED-2 to replace a nasty viewfinder. I figured if I was careful I could do this as well, just loosening that aperture ring, how hard could it be?

Lesson learned.

-Mitch