Help taking apart lens cell

[Jody_S]

I've been worrying this for a few days and getting nowhere. Does anyone know how to remove the (incorrectly-installed) elements in this lens cell?



I assumed the threaded part that attaches to the shutter would unscrew from the barrel of the cell. I don't see how else to get the glass out, and I don't believe the elements were spun in as someone has had them out before and re-installed them wrong. I assume they're installed wrong because both outward faces of the glass are concave, and there's no way to get this to make an image at any focal length.

[Jim Galli]

Will it form an image if you just hold the whole assembly up with your hand against the shutter? If not you may have inherited someone elses junk drawer parts and pieces that may never work.

[Jody_S]

Will it form an image if you just hold the whole assembly up with your hand against the shutter? If not you may have inherited someone elses junk drawer parts and pieces that may never work.

When I try using it as a magnifying glass, it turns out it's actually a reducing glass. Yes it is possible it is junk, but I don't see why someone would deliberately make an unusable lens cell. Nor does it look like it has the wrong glass in it, I just think one of them is reversed.

It's for a display camera, I just want it to project an image on a ground glass. I can do that with the front cell by itself, but I would rather have both cells installed.

[winterclock]

It has not been taken apart it is a "spun" assembly with a negative diopter lens. You will need to find a front lens with a very short focal length to use it. It will give a wide angle look on the ground glass.

[Jody_S]

It has not been taken apart it is a "spun" assembly with a negative diopter lens. You will need to find a front lens with a very short focal length to use it. It will give a wide angle look on the ground glass.

I was afraid it was spun, especially after I took a 10x loupe and couldn't find a seam on the brass barrel. I got the 2 lens cells together in a box, I assumed they went together, but it's possible they were from different lenses. Everything else in that box was paired cells. I will try again to make an image on a ground glass, so far I've had no luck at any distance, but I haven't tried everything possible.

[winterclock]

The flange focal length with that cell will be longer than the focal length of the positive cell alone. A 10" cell might focus at 12" or even 20". Try using just the positive cell, if you don't have enough to focus it you will not be able to focus with the negative element added. If the camera is a shelf queen you could just show it with only the front cell installed.