retaining ring for old lens

[Percy]

Hi.
I've come across an ancient turner-reich triple convertible lens that I'd really like to use on
my 8x10 camera. Unfortunately, it has no retaining ring. It is a rather large lens; 18 inches and 14 inches. When both elements are fitted, it is pleasantly wider than my Fuji 300; I do not know what focal length exactly.

I have tried numerous times to find a ring. The ring for my Fuji would fit perfectly, if not for the fact that the thread on the turner-reich is much coarser. I don't want to spend a fortune having one custom made.

Suggestion?

[Nick_3536]

Glue ? -) I wonder if it has imperial threads in TPI versus the fuji in metric?

[ronald moravec]

S K Grimes keeps stock of these old rings in various sizes. If you can`t tell them the diameter and pitch, you will need to send the shutter.

A caliper will get the OD easily. Measure the tops of the threads on the shutter.

Rub pencil lead on the threads and transfer the marks to paper. A mm scale should tell you if the marks are 1 mm apart, 2 /mm , or 3 in 2mm.

If you are not confident, send the shutter in. They don`t charge a lot for existing stock.

[Vick Vickery]

If you have or can make a wooden board for your camera, you can use that age-old stopgap measure that many of us old-timers have used for years: drill the hole to be a snug fit on the threads and simply screw the unit into the board, using the metal threads to cut their own path into the wood. A soft wood like pine works best, but I've even done it on plywood on occassion; I have two lenses mounted this way now that I've never gotten around to finding a proper flange for.

[David Van Gosen]

Equinox Photographic advertises a stock of retaining rings. Nice folks to deal with, too.

[David Richhart]

Gee whiz Vick... I thought I invented that trick...

[medform-norm]

Milan from Pacificrim might also have some. I've been looking for one in the unusually large size of 96 cm in diameter and threaded as a metric size 1 - so if someone here has one of those lying around somewhere....neither pacificrim nor equinox could help me with that one. I'm sure Grimes could, but he's too pricy compared to the lens needed mounting. The wood method suggested above won't work with a lens this heavy, alas.

[Paul Schilliger]

I have an old Tele-Xenar 360 on Compound for which I couldn't find a retaining ring at a decent cost (intl. shipping is prohibitive). I cut a 1cm wide strip of thin hard cardboard, made two turns over the thread and fixed it tight with some thin wire and screwed the assembly until it was tight against the lensboard. "Painted" then the whole thing in black with a marker. Not as tight and elegant as a proper retainer, but if it get's loose I just have to turn it until it is tight again.

I was wondering if a step down ring for 62mm filters would have the same thread spacing as the Compound shutter. Does someone know?

[Ole Tjugen]

Paul, the Compound #3 takes a 60mm x 29 1/13 t.p.i (a.k.a 50 degrees pitch) retaining ring. Filters have fully metric threads.

Medform-norm - I'm sure you mean mm, not cm? A lens with a 90 cm mounting thread would be a sight to see...

Percy, I have a TR convertible with thrashed lens threads. Unfortunately mine has different focal lengths from yours, so I doubt my uselss retaining ring would fit.

I got rid of that whole problem by getting an universal iris mount...

[Percy]

Vick...
your age- old suggestion worked like a charm! Thanks to a great little hardware store on
3rd street in Detroit.

[medform-norm]

"Medform-norm - I'm sure you mean mm, not cm? A lens with a 90 cm mounting thread would be a sight to see... "

and wouldn't you like to see it! :)

No, you're right, it's mm not cm - but still, rather large...and hard to find.

BTW Struan is also looking for a large one, 94mm IIRC . It's a real pain that there's no cheapo way of finding these flanges, like going to a general hard ware store and getting a ring normally used for 'tying fly balls to the back of reverted kitchen sinks' and which only cost a little under $5...

I've set my hopes on the next photographica fair in Holland, although the large format section is largely absent there :(

[Struan Gray]

I'm looking for 93 and a 132 mm rings if anyone has a box of the things lying about. I actually crawled all over a junked electron microscope the other day looking for flanges and threaded connectors that might fit, but all I found was bunch of septums only a lunatic would want :-)

I'm working on plywood bodges for now.