richardHaw
junk scavenger
damn, even the junks I see online costs a lot 😱😱😱
W-Nikkor 3.5 f/1.8 disassembly and cleaning
- Thread starter Peter Jennings
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richardHaw
junk scavenger
mine is arriving tomorrow from Saitama. complete with fungi 😱😱😱
I'm sure you'll have it cleaned up in no time! This link might help. Its for the LTM version, but the process for removing the rear optical group and then separating the optical cell from the focus helical is the same for both LTM and S-mount.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
Oh my Buddha i will need to mill one of those tubes again! I needed one for a sonnar and thought that it was too much bother for a sonnar so I F'd it!😱😱😱
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
I just use a pinset from Daiso bent to the right shape and with tips modified to fit the two grooves. Not the "correct" tool but it works well enough. Just have to be very careful not to slip when using it.
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
I just use a pinset from Daiso bent to the right shape and with tips modified to fit the two grooves. Not the "correct" tool but it works well enough. Just have to be very careful not to slip when using it.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
I just looked at it and it seems like it will come apart like the usual W-Nikkors for Nikon-S 😱😱😱 I am going to post one for the 2.8cm one of these day on the blog🙄 but I have to update the one for the 5cm tonight with info for the iris blades.
I hope that I won't need to fabricate anything else. I am also considering buying a table-top lathe
W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f/1.8 Photos!
I just looked at it and it seems like it will come apart like the usual W-Nikkors for Nikon-S 😱😱😱 I am going to post one for the 2.8cm one of these day on the blog🙄 but I have to update the one for the 5cm tonight with info for the iris blades.
I hope that I won't need to fabricate anything else. I am also considering buying a table-top lathe
Peter Jennings
Well-known
When cleaning my copy, I followed Jon's advice and used pointed tweezers filed down to fit the tight space. Worked very well and I've used them for several other lenses since.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
Peter Jennings
Well-known
Mine is an S mount lens.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
just done overhauling mine 😱😱😱
the fungus damage cannot be helped but what's annoying me the most is the squeaky helicoid :bang: I changed the grease to a thicker one and I still get it. I do not want to use one of my thicker greases for this as it will case stress on the 3 tiny set screws holding the focus ring together.
The rear element is a bit yellowish but I do not know if the glass itself turned yellow or if the cement is the one that did 🙄
As for that retainer ring, I have a pick that was long enough to reach it so I didn't have to fabricate something just to get that thing out.
I will write a guide on my blog one of these days for this lens. it is probably the most complicated W-Nikkor that I took apart.
I tested it with my NEX-3N and an Amadeo adapter and it is indeed sharp. I will run a test roll tomorrow and see how it goes.
the fungus damage cannot be helped but what's annoying me the most is the squeaky helicoid :bang: I changed the grease to a thicker one and I still get it. I do not want to use one of my thicker greases for this as it will case stress on the 3 tiny set screws holding the focus ring together.
The rear element is a bit yellowish but I do not know if the glass itself turned yellow or if the cement is the one that did 🙄
As for that retainer ring, I have a pick that was long enough to reach it so I didn't have to fabricate something just to get that thing out.
I will write a guide on my blog one of these days for this lens. it is probably the most complicated W-Nikkor that I took apart.
I tested it with my NEX-3N and an Amadeo adapter and it is indeed sharp. I will run a test roll tomorrow and see how it goes.
Highway 61
Revisited
Did you carefully clean the two parts of the helicoid with some triple zero steel wool then a toothbrush and dishwashing soap before applying (on two perfectly dry helicoid parts, of course) the new lithium grease ?
Most of the times the squeak is caused by both some old dried up grease residues and a layer of corrosion on the helicoid surfaces, which only the ultrafine steel wool will remove.
Peter Jennings
Well-known
That's from the lanthanum glass used on the rear element. It can yellow with age. They say that letting it sit in the sun for a day will clear the yellowing. Mine isn't that yellow, so I've yet to try it.
A W-Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8 2005 lens I got ("destructively" because the conversion is irreversible) converted to M-mount by Miyazaki-san came back to me with a rough focus action despite having a super smooth action when I sent it in. Felt like there was sand in there! I ended up having to pull the focus helical to pieces and spend an hour working with steel wool on a scratch he'd left on the helical thread. I got there eventually, but oh man what a hassle. The steel wool trick works well. I also had to spend several hours filing down the plastic handmade focus cam (that sloped face on the part in the top left corner below) so the lens would focus correctly on an M-mount body, but that's another story.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
I dremeled it 😱😱😱 with a brush wheel. this is SOP for me on all helicoids, also dunked it in the alcohol bath to pickle 🙄
the helicoid felt like it was a bit rough on one part and my nails snag a bit. I suspect that the guy who worked on this before damaged it. If I get really pissed off, I will sand this part next time!
richardHaw
junk scavenger
Thanks. I can live with that, i just take it as a free yellow filter 😱😱😱
Nikon is getting fancy here with that rare earth glass🙄
richardHaw
junk scavenger
A W-Nikkor 3.5cm F1.8 2005 lens I got ("destructively" because the conversion is irreversible) converted to M-mount by Miyazaki-san came back to me with a rough focus action despite having a super smooth action when I sent it in. Felt like there was sand in there! I ended up having to pull the focus helical to pieces and spend an hour working with steel wool on a scratch he'd left on the helical thread. I got there eventually, but oh man what a hassle. The steel wool trick works well. I also had to spend several hours filing down the plastic handmade focus cam (that sloped face on the part in the top left corner below) so the lens would focus correctly on an M-mount body, but that's another story.
I cried a little inside but the Leica version is almost 2x the price of the Nikon-S version so I understand.
I wonder what's up with this rough helicoid syndrome with this lens. what was the cause of the problem for you? I hope that it's just some gunk left over from him. I sanded mine a bit and it helped a bit but still there! The dremel usually does a great job on this and no old grease is usually left behind and if there are any, the solvent bath and toothpick usually takes care of it.😱 😱 😱
The lens pictured is the 2005 reissue lens that came as part of the Nikon SP Limited Edition kit released in 2005. It's originally a Nikon S-mount lens, but was converted to Leica M-mount by Miyazaki-san at MS Optics in Chiba. This S-mount reissue lens usually sells for more ¥$¥$ than the Leica LTM version.
The cause was the scratch Miyazaki-san left on the focus helical when he converted the lens from S-mount to M-mount.
richardHaw
junk scavenger
wow, I would return it to him and demand that he correct it 😱😱😱 if this was mine 🙄
oh my, there were only 2500 copies of this lens 🙁
Not a chance! Miyazaki-san did enough damage to the lens as it was. He also broke an internal lens element while he had the lens, which luckily Nikon replaced for him (its a reissue lens so Nikon still had/has parts for it). There was no way I was sending it back to him for a second round.
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