lens cells stick in shutter - any tips?

[koh303]

I have a lens which i bought for the shutter. But the cells are locked in place.
At least on the rear cell i can see what appears to be some glue/locktite type smear around the edges of the threads.

Is there a simple way to get this off the shutter without breaking the shutter?

Not worried about the lens so much.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Depending on what type of glue/locktite was used, this may require some heat and/or solvent to soften. I would first try taking a small sheet of innertube material or one of those rubber jar lid openers and use that to attemp to loosen. More often than not, it's a question of getting a good grip. If that fails, you might put a drop of acetone on the area where the threads meet the shutter. Let capillary action do the work and don't flood the area with solvent as this will dissolve paint. Wait a bit and try the rubber sheet again. It may take a few tries, but eventually, the acetone should reach the glue and soften it.

[koh303]

will try - thanks!

[Oren Grad]

I would first try taking a small sheet of innertube material or one of those rubber jar lid openers and use that to attemp to loosen. More often than not, it's a question of getting a good grip.

In a similar vein, I once needed a rubber strap wrench to free a cell that was frozen in a barrel mount. Took a fair amount of tugging and fussing, but in the end it came free, and without marring the finish or otherwise damaging anything. Same idea as the inner tube or jar gripper, but sometimes having it in the form of a strap wrench allows a firmer grip and a bit of leverage.

[Will S]

I'll second what Oren says. Once had to use a oil filter strap wrench and apply a really large amount of force to a lens to get it to loosen. That was a barrel so I wasn't so concerned with breaking it, but it took a lot more coaxing than I would have believed.

[koh303]

In a similar vein, I once needed a rubber strap wrench to free a cell that was frozen in a barrel mount. Took a fair amount of tugging and fussing, but in the end it came free, and without marring the finish or otherwise damaging anything. Same idea as the inner tube or jar gripper, but sometimes having it in the form of a strap wrench allows a firmer grip and a bit of leverage.

Unfortunately, the PO has pretty much "marred" this lens to a point where UG definition would no longer apply, so i am not worried about that so much...
Just trying to save the shutter...

[jnantz]

have you tried the freezer yet ?

[EdSawyer]

heat gun would be a good thing to try. In addition to a strap wrench or two at the same time.

[Tracy Storer]

Be careful with your grip......grab one cell and the shutter at a time, twisting the front cell against the rear cell will put rotational shear forces on the shutter, and could harm it. Strap wrenches are great for barrel lenses, but the controls on the shutter may get in the way. Sometimes it takes a drop or two of penetrating oil at the joint per day, for a couple days, before things yield. In extremely tough cases with one cell out and the other cell stuck, I have "snuck through" the barrel or shutter to get a drop of oil on the threads from the inside, being very careful not to use too much.(rear cells are often too close to the aperture to do this)

[koh303]

Update:
Acetone loosened the rear cell enough to remove with hand force.
Front cell has been immersed for hours, and no such luck yet.

I will try Tracy's suggestion now.