Heliar Front Element Won't Unscrew

[Ari]

Hi all,
I have a 30cm Heliar in barrel, barrel is black.
The rear element unscrews easily, but the front element won't unscrew at all.
Maybe that black tar they used to coat the barrel has got them elements all glued up!
Is there a good solution, or a few tricks I can try that won't endanger the lens?
Thanks in advance.

[Ari]

Alex saves the day again!
http://collodion-art.blogspot.ca/2011/08/how-to-unscrew-stuck-lens-element.html

One more question: is the 1cm wide "lens hood" also capable of being unscrewed from the front element, or should I tackle them both at once?

Thanks

[Fotoguy20d]

I have the same problem with a velostigmat. I'll try this tomorrow, I think.

Dan

[alex from holland]

Glad it worked for you!

[EdSawyer]

Rather than that jailhouse kludge of a method, get a normal strap-wrench. Much safer, easier, just as effective, more adjustable, etc. Sometimes heating the lens with a heat-gun helps a lot too.

[Jon Shiu]

I've tried strap wrenches, but they just slip without providing enough torque. The hammer and clamp method is more powerful.

Jon

[alex from holland]

Thank you Ed.....:confused:
Heating a lens with a heat gun. Ever thought of balsam problems with older lenses?

[EdSawyer]

I only usually heat the edge of the thread areas, and not hot enough to melt balsam. It's just one technique - really stuck lenses usually require multiple techniques. The only upside of the hammer method would be the shock-torque, sort of like an impact wrench. I could see that being useful, maybe.

[Ari]

My Heliar was really stuck, and it took a lot of patience as well as several attempts.
In the end I managed to get the lens elements unscrewed using Alex's method.

For anyone interested, my Heliar has a mini "lens shade", about 10mm wide.
It is part of the front element, so that's where you should unscrew the front.