Lens spanner wrenches

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Great thread, and very helpful. I'm in the same position as the OP; I can rip apart a car or bike (and even get it back together sometimes!) but a camera scares me. Nevertheless, the price of repairs and the lack of good repair people locally is pushing me to consider doing some work myself. It seems almost a necessity when you shoot with old junk, er, I mean "vintage classics".
I'm coincidentally looking to invest in some basic tools, and there are some good pointers here! It makes me realize again what a great resource and community RFF is.

I know it drives my wife nuts, but every morning I go thru the GW site just looking at all the 'good' cameras people have 'donated' to them. My latest 'find' was just calling out to me since I could pick it up locally. No shipping = money saved [even if it did cost me a few pennies in gas].

 

[JeffS7444]

haze in my Voigtlander 28 SC

I had no trouble extracting the rear elements out of that lens, but the haze in mine seems to be due to the optical adhesive used to bond two of the lens elements together.

 

[JeffS7444]

I just ordered the Newer two bar style wrench off Amazon.

I bought a Neewer spanner #10074623 and it's not bad, though there are 4 screws which need to be tightened, versus just one for my older Fargo-branded wrench. But fix enough stuff, and you'll wind up with a bunch of different spanners anyway.

 

[former member]

https://www.micro-tools.com/products/sp1

I do not have the above, but can see that this design would have helped with a number of front rings. For inner rings- not so much. I have an inexpensive spanner with two parallel bars for stability, and an extremely heavy spanner from the 1950s for tough jobs, made by Weber.

 

[aizan]

These ones that come with socket head screws are sturdy and easy to tighten down. No twisting!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174876851369?hash=item28b778fca9:g:YvoAAOSwk~BhDUwP

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I was just wondering, has anyone tried using snap-ring pliers for the pin type wrench?

 

[former member]

I use Craftsman Needle Nosed Pliers for small pin type retaining rings. I have used Snap-Ring pliers as well, but filed the tips down.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've resisted the urge to file some tips for my snap-ring pliers. Might have to look into it more now.

 

[peterm1]

I was just wondering, has anyone tried using snap-ring pliers for the pin type wrench?

I have and it works, though because the pliers move open and closed very readily, great care is required to avoid damage to the lens body or its optics. For this reason I gave in and bought a proper lens wrench on eBay. It was cheap enough and works OK though it could itself be better designed I feel (there is some unwanted movement in the arms).My advice though would be to buy from China not USA at least if buying from outside USA. I just checked again and noted that the USA ones seem identical to the China sourced ones. But you pay up to $20+ for the wrench itself plus up to another $20+ for shipping. For something this small that is a disgrace - as are USA delivery times which are often both unpredictable and slow. (I have kind of given up on buying from USA for most things when a reasonable alternative exists for just these reasons. Especially low value items like this where the shipping cost often outstrips the buying cost of the item bought. The other day I searched for a Nikon "rabbit ears" prong - something weighing a couple of grams and small enough to slip into an envelope. The item cost was $13 and the postage fee was $20 from USA. Off topic I know but I thought it worth mentioning.

Another measure that can be adopted is to use a pair of engineer's dividers - often available in hardware stores. These work better than the snap ring pliers in my view as they can be adjusted to a specific width (lens diameter) and locked there. The disadvantage is that you really need two of these - one with a pin type end point and one with a screw driver type end. And both of these really need to be filed by hand to match the holes / slots typically found on lenses. But having said that they work fine in a pinch.

 

[rfaspen]

I use Craftsman Needle Nosed Pliers for small pin type retaining rings. I have used Snap-Ring pliers as well, but filed the tips down.

I have done both of these things as well. With success.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Quick update here.
Tools arrived about an hour ago.
Let the fun begin!

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

OK, thought I should update this thread.
Suffice it to say it's not exactly going to plan shall we say.
I got the rear optics out OK and they cleaned up nicely.
Front element group is another story.
I think the name plate ring is gauling with whatever it threads into.
The aperture blades are OK, but do stick on occasion when I'm messing around trying to get the aperture ring to even turn now.
I've resorted to flooding the lens with 99% IPA since I haven't been able to remove the front group.
Today I ordered some JIS screw drivers so I should be able to take the back end apart once those arrive.
The rear group came clean and the q-tips were brown when done with it. Same for the rear of the front element which I got to via the fully opened aperture.
So, the glass is clean(er) and the blades snap via the lever when closed down, it's just the aperture ring itself that seems to be the 'problem' now.
Oh, and the focus has 'lost' it's nicely damped, well lubed feel, unfortunately, but I got a lot of crud out of the helicoid so that is a good thing. Right?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Which lens is it?

Phil Forrest

 

[newsgrunt]

they're kinda spendy, but couldn't do with out my SK Grimes spanner set. Rock solid and built like a tank.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Which lens is it?

Phil Forrest

Minolta 58mm f1.4.

 

[bluesun267]

I just got this woodworker's compass. It was the thickest I could find. Beware: the tips are very, very sharp.

I haven't had a chance to employ it on any major lens repair but for basic spanner tasks it's much quicker-adjusting than those four-piece spanners and I'm very satisfied with the stability

 

[Fjäll]

Quick update here.
Tools arrived about an hour ago.
Let the fun begin!

I have the same and they have been well used. I'd recommend to swap out the tighteners for the ones you tighten with the hexagonal wrench as they seem to come loose.

 

[RObert Budding]

I found this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEcDaCC3MyI
which I found to be very good and informative. He recommends a wrench by SK Grimes which is @$70.
I don't think I'll get that much use out of it, but I like the design.

I have the SK Grimes spanner. Highly recommended!

 

[former member]

Look for hidden set screws holding the front namering on before forcing off with a Spanner. First hand knowledge with a wartime Sonnar. Pre-war, no set screw. Wartime- must remove the barrel from focus mount. Same with rear group.

Post some photos. I use a rubber ring to remove the namerings from the modern Voigtlander lenses. Same is true of several 1960s~1980s manual focus Japanese lenses. I do not have the 58/1.4 Minolta.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I have the same and they have been well used. I'd recommend to swap out the tighteners for the ones you tighten with the hexagonal wrench as they seem to come loose.

That is what I've found also. Hence my idea of milling some 'flats' on the sides of the bars that the screws clamp onto. I think that would help them stay tight.