el nikkor problem

Hi all !
I got El Nikkor 2,8 / 50mm enlarging lens ( old version )
that looks as new outside, but has a whole bunch of
black paint's bits and chips inside. Not one or two, but a
whole lot. So my questions are :
What could provoke this kind of problem ?
Is it possible to clean it ?
Thanks in advance,

--
Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop

In article ,
"iga" wrote:

Hi all !
I got El Nikkor 2,8 / 50mm enlarging lens ( old version )
that looks as new outside, but has a whole bunch of
black paint's bits and chips inside. Not one or two, but a
whole lot. So my questions are :
What could provoke this kind of problem ?
Is it possible to clean it ?
Thanks in advance,

Bad internal paint job, bad keeping conditions, bad handling
if the lens does not make bad prints- no weird problems then
it might be worth having someone internally clean it, most likely that
can be done.
--
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918

www.gregblankphoto(dot)com

Hi !
Could you please explain the procedure ?
Thanks,

--
Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop

"Mike" escribió en el mensaje
news
On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:34:17 -0500, Gregory Blank wrote:

In article ,
"iga" wrote:

Hi all !
I got El Nikkor 2,8 / 50mm enlarging lens ( old version )
that looks as new outside, but has a whole bunch of
black paint's bits and chips inside. Not one or two, but a
whole lot. So my questions are :
What could provoke this kind of problem ?
Is it possible to clean it ?
Thanks in advance,

Bad internal paint job, bad keeping conditions, bad handling
if the lens does not make bad prints- no weird problems then
it might be worth having someone internally clean it, most likely that
can be done.

If you are brave, taking apart El-Nikkor lenses is pretty easy.
Everything just screws apart and screws back together.

Taking apart a screw mount enlarging lens is much easier that say a camera
lens. The only small part in the small metal ball that makes the aperture
detents "click". (Loose that, the lens will still function but you'll have
to set apertures visually (not a problem if you always use a meter).
Everything is pretty straight forward, use only compressed air to blow out
paint flakes (gently)--your breath is too moist. Use naphtha (Ronsonal
lighter fluid) to remove dried lubricants. And stay away from the diaphragm
unless sticking (unless you like small puzzles). For lens cleaner use a
high grade lens cleaner (not Windex!) or 91% Ethanol or Isopropanol.

This is one place where a small digital camera works well, take photos as
you go and lots of notes, reverse sequence when you reassemble.

There are camera fix groups (on Yahoo for example) that can give your
additional advice if you need it before starting.

And if things go horribly wrong there's always that online auction thing.
(Hang onto the carcass in case you ever need a Leica screw thread or parts
for some gadget.)

--
darkroommike
"iga" wrote in message
...
Hi all !
I got El Nikkor 2,8 / 50mm enlarging lens ( old version )
that looks as new outside, but has a whole bunch of
black paint's bits and chips inside. Not one or two, but a
whole lot. So my questions are :
What could provoke this kind of problem ?
Is it possible to clean it ?
Thanks in advance,

--
Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop

"iga" wrote

Could you please explain [how to take a lens apart]

Been there done that. So you know what is coming up,
I have pre-posted the follow-on questions for you:

Could you please explain [how to put a lens together again]

And the ever popular:

I have this part left over, it looks like a half-moon with a
bite out of the outside ... is it important?

I can't find the thing that goes from the aperture ring to
this little notch in the ... do I really need it?

There are already web sites to help you:

http://www.hermes.net.au/bayling/repair.html

===========

Don't mean to be all that sarcastic, but for most of us
the training is OJT: "On The Job". You just start taking things
apart and putting them back together again until you don't
have any parts left over and everything seems to work.

There are sites, though not many, that do offer help:
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/foru...rd-topics.html

If you have one, or can get one, use a broken throw-away lens to
practice on.

Here is what I have learned in general practices:

As you take the lens apart:
1) Take lots of notes. Make sketches.
2) Take more notes. More sketches.
3) A video will help, because you didn't
take enough notes or make enough sketches
These are _very_ important if you are working on a shutter.

Work on a white fuzzy towel so that when something sproings
or drops it doesn't roll away.

Vacuum the floor before you start working to make it
easier to find parts that sproinged and rolled away.
A magnet can be a good thing to have for 'sweeping' the
floor to find lost parts.

Use only the best quality tools you can find/but/beg/borrow/steal.
http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/repairtools.html

There will be a tool or two you don't have. A small grinding
wheel or dremel tool can help make the right size screw driver
or can be used to make a special spanner wrench.

Use _exactly_ the right size screwdriver. You will not have
the right size screw driver so get used to grinding down
screw drivers to make an exact fit. Push in hard when
unscrewing so the screw driver doesn't slip.

Don't use a lot of turning force on screw head. If the head begins
to go bad stop work and give the whole thing to a repair shop.
To continue working on a bad screw head without practice [or even
with practice] will make things worse.

Sometimes a drop of WD-40 and a 48 hour rest in someplace
warm will let a screw loosen. It won't hurt to put a drop
of WD-40 [with a toothpick] on all the screw threads
and ring threads you can see and let the lens rest for
a few days. Clean off the WD-40 with Ronsonol before
putting things back together again. _NEVER_ put screws
back on with oil on the threads: you can then exert too
much force and strip the threads.

To work on a lens you will need a good 'spanner wrench'.
http://www.skgrimes.com/span/index.htm
You probably don't have one. You can make one from an old
cheap metal vernier caliper by grinding down the tips.

And on, and on ...

The only way to do it is to start doing it...

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm

Done !
15 min job. Thanks to all !

Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop


"iga" escribió en el mensaje
...
Hi all !
I got El Nikkor 2,8 / 50mm enlarging lens ( old version )
that looks as new outside, but has a whole bunch of
black paint's bits and chips inside. Not one or two, but a
whole lot. So my questions are :
What could provoke this kind of problem ?
Is it possible to clean it ?
Thanks in advance,

--
Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop

"Mike King" wrote

For lens cleaner use a
high grade lens cleaner (not Windex!)

Kodak lens cleaner is dishwashing detergent
in tap water. It is _cloudy_. I find it
leaves a residue if a drop evaporates. FWIW,
the last time I used KLC was 20+ years ago.

I know 'Windex' sounds bad but I have found it is
the best lens cleaner around: alcohol; ammonia;
a bit of wetting agent and something blue.
I think it is the 'something blue' that makes it
a pariah.

The alcohol/ammonia combination will remove
grease faster than alcohol will. Try cleaning
the stove top with alcohol after frying bacon.
Now try it with Windex.

What kills lenses is _rubbing_. The less
rubbing the less damage -- so the faster the
cleaner gets the greasy gunk off the better.

My experience 'flushing' a lens with 99%
alcohol is that in common conditions it
doesn't work. The gunk caught under the
lens retaining ring gets deposited on
the lens. The alcohol sucks dust
[greasy skin flakes] out of the air
and glues it to the lens where
they dry and form little rings of crud.

My vote: Windex and Q-tips. Lots of Q-tips and
a very gentle hand. Dip the Q-tip in the Windex.
Don't sop Windex over the lens or it will get under
the ring and make a mess. Don't try and get
the last bit of crud off, 90% is plenty good enough.

Before cleaning blow the dust off. Costco sells
Dust-Off cheap. Spit is better on a lens than
grinding in sand particles. I did some experiments
at getting dust off and the most effective regime
I found is blow with Dust-off, dust lightly with
a Staticmaster and blow again.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm

"iga" wrote
Done !
15 min job. Thanks to all !

You took all the fun away....

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm

Nicholas O. Lindan spake thus:

"Mike King" wrote

For lens cleaner use a high grade lens cleaner (not Windex!)

Kodak lens cleaner is dishwashing detergent
in tap water. It is _cloudy_. I find it
leaves a residue if a drop evaporates. FWIW,
the last time I used KLC was 20+ years ago.

I know 'Windex' sounds bad but I have found it is
the best lens cleaner around: alcohol; ammonia;
a bit of wetting agent and something blue.
I think it is the 'something blue' that makes it
a pariah.

Yes, Windex works find on even high-quality coated optics. As the man
said, the key is to rub the surface as little as possible. I prefer to
use clean tissue (actually toilet paper), applying a little cleaner on
the lens by spraying, then carefully wiping it.

I agree that "flushing" a lens with *anything* is a recipe for disaster,
as all the dissolved oils and gunk will wash over the glass. (OK to soak
the lens components minus glass, however; any good petroleum-based
solvent will work, like paint thinner or naphtha--no need to spend big
bux on little bitty bottles of Ronsonol either: just use garden-variety
charcoal lighter.)

I've cleaned some very high-quality lenses with both Windex and alcohol
(denatured or methanol) with good results.


--
God willing, the many crimes of the Bush Administration
will eventually be printed in a nice leatherbound,
multi-volume edition that will look fantastic on my bookshelf.

The real fun was to get brand new Nikkor for 27 Euro !
One more time - thanks to all ,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

--
Igor
http://www.arrakis.es/~igapop

"Nicholas O. Lindan" escribió en el mensaje
nk.net...
"iga" wrote
Done !
15 min job. Thanks to all !

You took all the fun away....

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm