Can't get shutter off lensboard

[sully75]

Hi all,

I've been vexed by this lens for a while, but I finally got a speed so I can try it. Now's the time to get it off the lensboard it came on.

Only problem is I can't figure out how to do that. There's only one screw on the front, and it doesn't look like it has anything to do with the lens being attached. I unscrewed it, it didn't seem to help, so I screwed it back in.

The annoying thing is that I can see the screw that's holding it on the board, but it's on the base of the shutter and totally covered up by the rest of the shutter.

I took off the rear cell, nothing there. I've tried turning the shutter as if to unscrew it from the base, no luck there either.

Any suggestions? This lens wants to get used.

The markings on the shutter say Wollensack Optical Co, pat 1900 and 1901. It's Voigtlaender Dynar 6 1/2 inch lens.

Another question: The shutter is fried on this, and Carol Flutot says that even repaired the shutter wouldn't be that great. I'm thinking about removing both the air cylinders. I'm assuming that won't affect the aperture or anything else. Is that a sin?

Thanks
Paul

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_-42D8WL81rw/TGX8ZlKiLkI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/-cwWOKoc0Xo/IMG_0932.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_-42D8WL81rw/TGX8MI134QI/AAAAAAAAAoM/2FOn5amui80/IMG_0931.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_-42D8WL81rw/TGX8LqXXICI/AAAAAAAAAoI/NbR4lgo1zzQ/IMG_0930.jpg

[Bernard Kaye]

Does the front cell come off?
I have a 21cm. f 4.5 Tessar shutter that has been glued together but I got both front & rear cells off, am looking for a shutter: understand your frustration.
Remove rear cell and put it safely away from shutter.
Have you tried to remove front cell? You have not told us.
Bernie

[sully75]

yup. front shutter comes off easily. no obvious clues in there.

[Andrew]

my first guess is that the shutter is screwed into a flange secured to the front of the board [ie inder the shutter where you can't see it] the same as any number of brass barrel mount lenses.
have you tried gripping the shutter and turning anti-clockwise to see if just screws off ? Might take a little muscle if it's been there a long time.

as to pulling the shutter to bits: it looks cool as it is, just leave it alone.

[jnantz]

you can use a rubber bike tire to grip the shutter

[Richard Rankin]

I went to Ace Hardware and got a 417 strap wrench. Worked on my lens with the exact same problem.

Cheers, Richard

[Steven Tribe]

Looks like a glue assembly to me. There could be quite a large area on the rear face that of the shutter that is stuck to the hidden front surface of the lens board. Suggested procedure:
1. Remove the Dynar cells and store them somewhere safe. These are far too interesting to risk damage.
2. Use hardwood/hard plastic wedges to loosen the bond between the rear of the shutter and the front of the lens board. Move through the whole 360 degrees. It is easier to break the glue this way, rather than with a turning movement. If the board is a plywood construction, the first layer of the board will come off - especialy close to the hole. You might be able to use the lens board again.
3. IF this fails, then mechanical delamination of the board would work. You will be minus a lens board, of course.

[eddie]

there should be a flange screwed to the board. the entire lens assembly is then screwed to the flange.

i woould be very careful about taking out the glass elements from the shutter and then applying any serious force. IF you slip and somehow dent or damage the barrel the lens elements may never screw back in. better is to just leave them all in place and see if you can get the entire lens and shutter to unscrew from the board. it is bets to keep it attached to the board so you have some leverage.

what i do to protect glass from a slip of s screw driver or other damage is to put a piece (or 2) of clear packing tape right on the glass. this will give added protection. be careful about doing this with coated lenses etc etc. this lens should be fine with this idea.

eddie

[GPS]

...

Another question: The shutter is fried on this, and Carol Flutot says that even repaired the shutter wouldn't be that great. I'm thinking about removing both the air cylinders. I'm assuming that won't affect the aperture or anything else. Is that a sin?

Thanks
Paul



Carol is right. If you remove the cylinders you don't affect the aperture.

[sully75]

I'm trying to unscrew it.

Yay! I unscrewed it. That thing was tight. Thanks all.

Paul

[sully75]

Just for the record, as far as classy old lenses go, how classy is this?

[sully75]

oh and one more one more question: any idea what the aperture scale for this lens would be? Does anyone have a copy of this shutter I could copy off of?

[sully75]

I just realized I asked this once and the consensus seemed to be around f5.6 or 6. But if you had any idea about the whole scale or a picture of the aperture settings that would be awesome.

Thanks
Paul

[Steven Tribe]

The 6.5" is one size up from the 4x5" 6" Dynar - made for the old Postcard size. There was a 7+" for 5x7". It is basically the same design as the Heliar (variation on Cooke's triplet). It has reversed glass elements and had slightly wider coverage (63 degrees?) than the Heliar. Was given up by Voigtländer around the 20's, but the lens design was adopted by the later smaller Heliars. Only the Universal Heliar - variable softness - series continued with the original Heliar design. Voigtländer misused the "Heliar" name because it had really established itself as a product name.
This one of the series where F values change a little with focal length - perhaps cameraeccentric has a list?

[sully75]

Steven,

I maybe should have mentioned, it came off a 5x7 camera with a split back. So essentially a 3.5x5 camera.

Paul