lens wrench alternative?

[IAphotog]

I have to move my new lens from the linhof board it came on to the one that fits my Toyo D45M. Are there alternatives to a purpose built lens wrench or spanner?

Thanks,
Patrick

[IAphotog]

or am I just asking for trouble?

Patrick

[IanG]

Until I received a lens wrench with my 6x17 camera I just used a piece of wood (dowelling) to tap the retaining rings tight, or loosen them.

Other photographers I knew did much the same.

Ian

[salihonba]

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gvRcWa2LHhg/Sgj8zeYeThI/AAAAAAAAAcY/pgvNY4yfZpY/s400/SANY0361.JPG

My three tools.....

[jb7]

Fingernails...

[BetterSense]

Needlenose pliers, or big scissors that you don't really like.

[Dave_B]

For years I used the stamped metal wrench made by Toyo. Rodenstock also makes one. I've also used the wrench made up of two vertical rods with drilled holes for cross pieces. This last one is pretty sloppy. However, I just bought one of the wrenches made by SK Grimes. While the ones made by Grimes are not cheap, they are a work of art and will be the last wrench you will ever need to buy. If someone is looking for something to buy you for your birthday, I recommend this. There are two kinds, one with pins and one with flat blades. The one with the flat blades is the one you want for mounting most lenses.
Thanks,
Dave B.

[jeroldharter]

For years I used the stamped metal wrench made by Toyo. Rodenstock also makes one. I've also used the wrench made up of two vertical rods with drilled holes for cross pieces. This last one is pretty sloppy. However, I just bought one of the wrenches made by SK Grimes. While the ones made by Grimes are not cheap, they are a work of art and will be the last wrench you will ever need to buy. If someone is looking for something to buy you for your birthday, I recommend this. There are two kinds, one with pins and one with flat blades. The one with the flat blades is the one you want for mounting most lenses.
Thanks,
Dave B.

That would be a good gift for the man who has everything but I doubt it will find its way to many Christmas stockings. That would be a good post though:

Stocking stuffers $0 - $25, $25-75, $75-150 or something like that.

[Brian Ellis]

I used an ordinary table fork for many years, just stick one of the outside tines in the slot on the ring and push. But I used to wonder what would happen to my hand or the lens if it slipped. So I bought the Grimes wrench and have used it ever since. I also have one of the stamped metal kind, which work fine for the shutters for which they're designed but are limited to those shutters. They also don't work if the ring is recessed in the lens board.

[IAphotog]

Thanks all, I'll keep exploring.

[walter23]

You can sometimes do it with a screwdriver, but you have to be extremely careful not to slip and damage the glass on the lens. Better to get the proper tool, I think.

You can find a spanner wrench for $10 to $20 on ebay, or get the simple lens tool from badger graphic for close to the same (just a piece of metal cut to fit standard shutter sizes).

[walter23]

Just looked at the one SK Grimes makes - for $38 that's a pretty nice wrench. The one I got on ebay is a bit sloppy (two cross bars) - there's a lot of wobble and it's hard to secure to the correct spacing. Grimes' wrench looks simpler and better designed.

[Frank Petronio]

The big box hardware stores will sell a cheaper "General Precision" spanner sometimes. But I used a nail -- even tapping it with a hammer on some stubborn rings -- before I got a proper wrench. If you only use modern lenses in Copal or Compur shutters, the flat metal Toyo/Rodenstock $12 eBay ones are just as useful as the Grimes wrench.

[GPS]

You can sometimes do it with a screwdriver, but you have to be extremely careful not to slip and damage the glass on the lens. Better to get the proper tool, I think.

...

2 screwdrivers pressed against a ruler and used as a wrench hold better if the need is - still you have to be careful.

[venchka]

The Linos lens wrench doesn't work worth a hoot on Fujinon-W and Nikkor-W lenses. The ears are too short.

[Bob Salomon]

The Linos lens wrench doesn't work worth a hoot on Fujinon-W and Nikkor-W lenses. The ears are too short.

The wrench does not fit lenses. It fits 0, 1 and 3 size shutters on flat lens boards. Why doesn't it work? Are you using something other then Compur, Copal and Prontor shutters?

[venchka]

Copal & Kodamatic (X) shutters. I run out of wrench engagement before the lockring tightens. This is especially annoying with the Copal #1 and Zone VI boards which aren't flat. I encountered the same problem with Copal #0 and Kodak Kodamatic (X) shutters on Technika boards. It's a borrowed wrench. I'm glad I found out before buying one.

For the sake of accuracy, I will recheck tonight. The Zone VI boards cause a problem.

[Jon Shiu]

If there is no indexing pin sticking out of the back of the shutter, I just turn the shutter body itself to unscrew and usually the lockring will not rotate much against the lensboard. To tighten, just put your thumb on the lockring and turn the shutter body from the front.

Jon

[Aahx]

I got my wrench here (http://www.micro-tools.com/store/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=30) (allong with a couple of other tools) and it works fine.

[domaz]

There is usually some kind of hole or tab in retaining rings so just use two really small metal pieces like tiny allen wrenches. That's what I do and it works fine so far.

[Per Madsen]

I got my wrench here (http://www.micro-tools.com/store/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=30) (allong with a couple of other tools) and it works fine.

I can also recommend MicroTool's wrench. I have the keys from Toyo and Rodenstock, but sometimes the keys are either too thick for the slots in the retaining ring or the key is too short to reach the slots for a given lens.

[venchka]

I can also recommend MicroTool's wrench. I have the keys from Toyo and Rodenstock, but sometimes the keys are either too thick for the slots in the retaining ring or the key is too short to reach the slots for a given lens.

Exactly what I have observed.

[Keith Pitman]

Even though I have a Grimes wrench, I prefer the Rodenstock/Linos wrenches. As Wayne observed, they do not work well on wooden lensboards with a relief cut on the back; they are too wide to fit in the cut. Then you need a true spanner like the Grimes.

[IAphotog]

I was able to, carefully, rig up two tiny screwdrivers to loosen the nut. I got the lens switched over to the correct lens board. I made my first couple of shots this afternoon. My re-introduction to large format has begun. Yay Me!

[Ivan J. Eberle]

I found a combo putty knife/paint roller scraper for about $3 at an Ace Hardware store that had nearly the right opening for a Wollensak Raptar (#1?) lens retainer ring, dusted it down with a Dremel and it works great. Also made up a tool out of a block of aluminum, with two bores drilled for stubs of 1/16" music wire for the shutter cover retaining ring. (I've fashioned my own tools mostly due to time constraints.)

[Robert Hughes]

I found a combo putty knife/paint roller scraper for about $3 at an Ace Hardware store ...
Pfft! What a piker. I use my teeth:D