Where to buy lens shims online?

[mcfingon]

I need a metal shim of .28mm thickness and inside diameter of 26.5mm with outside diameter 30.5mm. I stole one of these out of my J8 lens, but I need another of this size to put in my son's Canon Serenar. Pic of Serenar sizing attached.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I am not aware of a source of ready-made shims (though I'd certainly be happy to note it for future reference) but, like us, this eBay seller is based in Australia and lists a number of different sheets of shim stock in various listings. If I had to I would use one of the other shims you have as a template before cutting one to size and gently cleaning up the edges before installing. Of course depending on the precise clearance required you may well need a combination of more than one. If anyone knows how to tap into manufacturers/suppliers who provide these as OEM to manufacturers I would also love to know!
Cheers
Brett

 

[sevo]

I ordered mine from a CNC and laser cutting service. These will generally do individual items off DXF files for fairly reasonable prices. Google knows plenty of them in Western Australia, I leave it up to you to find one that has a suitable metal sheet in the strength you need.

 

[Dan Daniel]

I've seen paper and cardboard used as shim stock by camera manufacturers. Minolta, Kodak, and Zeiss come to mind as to where I've found them. Compression and water could be issues to watch out for in using paper.

 

[Mackinaw]

Years back, I used an old-fashioned "feeler gauge" to make a shim for a lens. I found a leaf that was the proper thickness, then cut it up. Worked fine as I recall.

Jim B.

 

[mcfingon]

Thanks for those leads Brett, sevo, Dan and Jim. I'd like to get this in aluminium or steel for the reasons Dan pointed out. I've done a couple in thin plastic material for between shims on Jupiter 3 and 8 lenses, but in the Serenar there were no other shims to hide behind. Maybe there's some pre-made ones in the Ukraine where they made the J8's and J3's, but there's a language barrier to consider.

 

[Gerry M]

Maybe try contacting Brian Sweeney via Photonet. I think he is somewhat active on the Classic Camera forum there. He is an ex RFF'r and has done a lot of lens shimming in the past. Best of luck with your project.

 

[mcfingon]

Good idea to try Brian Sweeney, Gerry. I downloaded several of his how-to articles when I wanted to know how to pull my Jupiter-3 and J-8 apart without damaging them. He is the one who advocated shimming to get the FSU lenses to focus nicely on Leicas, and that has worked for me. It's odd that the Canon lens seemed to be set up like a FSU lens, too, with the same shim size.

 

[mcfingon]

I ordered the steel shim stock Brett. I've only cut shims out of paper, alfoil and plastic so far, so this will be a step up in skills required. That may be where sevo's CNC laser cut idea could come in. Hmmm. Thanks again for suggestions.