Refitting aperture blades help (please).

[Ecce]

This is my first attempt at lens breaking down and refitting. I got hold of a cheap Ensar anastigmat 105mm F4.5 (enlarging lens?) and opened it up to take a looksee but inadvertently let the aperture blades fall out.

The blades are pretty much in their correct shape (probably thanks to the oil on them) and my question is should I seperate them to clean/replace or try and wiggle them about? Either way I can forsee my patience being tried lol. I've watched a couple of youTube vids and weirdly the 'wiggling about' method was longer than the start from the beginning one.

[Ecce]

Harder than first thought however, since this is a for a project where dof isn't that important I'm glad to say I now own an Ensar anastigmat 105mm (FIXED APERTURE) F4.5. The aperture blades are in a bag for when I feel (much) more patient.

[domaz]

On a largish lens it's usually not that hard to put the aperture leaves back in. However, one problem might be the pins though, many aperture blades have a pin that is rivetted into the blade. If that pin falls out it requires some tools you probably don't have to get it back in. At least I don't have a mini-riveter lying around..

[Greg]

On a largish lens it's usually not that hard to put the aperture leaves back in.

Agree 100%. Was successful with a #5 ILEX years ago, but so with a lot smaller older Eastman Kodak shutter a few years ago. Two pieces of advice: 1. The blades are quite delicate. Practice on an older iris first. 2. Use the correct tools. MicroMark.com is a great place to buy small tweezers and other small tools from. I found their Double Bend Dental Tweezer a necessity. Honesty if I were to refit or repair aperture blades today, I would pay a pro repair person to do it.

[domaz]

Another part advice, part confessional about fixing aperture blades... I didn't have a way to rivet a broken pin in a blade on a Cooke f/2.5 Anastigmat 165mm. So I confess I carefully "sculpted" a new pin on the aperture blade out of JB Weld. It worked fine, I use the lens quite often to this day with no issues.

[Ecce]

Thanks for the replies and advice re tweezers etc. I've just purchased a Vessel Precision Screwdriver Set TD-56S (+0, 00, 000, 0000, -0.7, -0.9) and a Facom 5 Piece Watchmakers Precision Slotted Screwdriver Set - the most I think I've ever spent on screwdrivers lol.

First job was fixing the rear standard on my 4x5 Toyo Monorail and ended up using a cheapo screwdriver I had lying around as non of the new ones fitted the grub screw.