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Michalis_dk
Tinkerer
Username: Michalis_dk
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 03:09 am: | 
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Recently I bough an Isolette III in 'like new' condition but both the rangefinder and lens needed attention. The rangefinder is clean and accurate now but I have problems with a stuck front set of the Solinar. I have tried warming it up and dissolving the green 'glue' with acetone. No luck. Any suggestions?
regards
Michael |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 113
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 08:23 am: |
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i don't think acetone is as effective as lighter fluid - probably because it evaporates too fast. what has worked for me is to get the threads as wet as possible with lighter fluid and then grip the front cell with pliers and apply slow, firm, steady pressure counterclockwise. don't expect it to go fast or easy, the harder you push the harder it will resist turning. with patience it can be done.
warming the lens up first can't hurt.
i sharpened the teeth in a pair of pliers dedicated to this kind of job: the sharp teeth don't slip so that the only marks left are fine knife-edge grooves, and you don't have to squeeze too tightly to get a grip and risk damaging the lens cell. i would not try it with regular off-the-shelf pliers. |
Reiner
Tinkerer
Username: Reiner
Post Number: 20
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 08:45 am: |
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Some days ago I unscrewed a completely froozen front cell of an Isolette by warming it up in a baking oven. I have unmounted the lens and shutter combination from the bellows and placed the combination in the oven. The oven was still quite warm after use being used for baking but it was not working any more. To avoid a shock I had placed the combination in a box. After a quarter hour I had reached app. 40°C to 50 °C and it was very easy to unscrew it. For this issue heat is more effective than a solvent.
By the way: lighter fluid evaporates faster than acetone! But acetone stinks more. |
Michalis_dk
Tinkerer
Username: Michalis_dk
Post Number: 2
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 01:02 pm: |
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Thank you both for your advice. I tried warming it up with a hairdryer because it has helped with an Apotar but Solinar has en fourth element...
Rick are you sure about using pliers? The front element has a quite thin 'frame' and I'm afraid that it cannot take much pressure. I refer to the ring with the Solinar name on.
Will it help to use petroleum?
regards
Michael |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 114
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 04:01 pm: |
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on the one that i had, the visible part was removable first so that you just had the cell itself to deal with. it might not have been a solinar.
lighter fluid evaporates faster than acetone? what kind of lighter fluid are you using, butane? |
Reiner
Tinkerer
Username: Reiner
Post Number: 22
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 02:35 pm: |
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I have looked it up. The boiling point of octane - the main component of lighter fluid - is 126°C. The boiling point of acetone is 56°C. Shame on me!
But I still can't believe that the boiling point of lighter fluid should be higher than that of water. The fast evaporation of lighter fluid is the worst side of this solvent in my eyes.
I rarely use acetone and not for the same purpose as I use lighter fluid. Maybe I did not note the fast evaporation because of my rare use. |
Mel
Tinkerer
Username: Mel
Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 07:57 pm: |
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A Warning: Many years ago I warped the blades of a shutter, The blades were plastic, not metal. I think I used acetone or MEK. The camera was an Ansco 120 folder.
Mel |
Rick_oleson
Tinkerer
Username: Rick_oleson
Post Number: 116
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 09, 2006 - 02:11 pm: |
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that's the reason for using lighter fluid. it doesn't attack any plastics that i've ever been able to try it on |
Reborn
Tinkerer
Username: Reborn
Post Number: 5
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 05:36 am: |
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I used a rubber band to remove the front element of my Solinar after using lighter fluid and it went off quite easily |
Michalis_dk
Tinkerer
Username: Michalis_dk
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - 03:08 am: |
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Warming it up worked in this case BUT I still managed to destroy the lens. Squeezed too much the ring holding the second element which cracked. Stupid stupid stupid!
I guess I'll be looking for a new front cell... |
