Filter stuck - help!

[michali]

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21 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

........There is a small deformation now on the filter ring, but just a little - apparently enough to sick the filter to the lens so hard I can’t shift it......
 

If there's a deformation or dent on the filter, it's jammed in place. I've had this happen before.

If there's enough grip on the edge of filter ring, use a small pair of flat nose pliers and try to gently bend the ring back into shape at the point where the dent is. This may loosen it.

 

 

[250swb]

4 hours ago, AndreasG said:

And when the filter has been removed successfully, most probably the lens thread needs to be recut:

https://www.jackthehat.co.uk/lens-repair-vise-tool-fixing-filter-threads-p-1186.html

Yeah and while doing it you cut your finger and get tetanus and die. Good grief, what is it about the Leica forum that breeds woe?

[Peter Kilmister]

Tetanus is usually a result of getting a cut or even a scratch while gardening without gloves where horse poo has been present as a fertiliser.

If you get a cut or scratch then go to the local doctor and ask for a jab, or a booster. 

How likely is it to find horse poo on on a lens filter? Cow sh*t isn't a problem. I am told only equine species are a problem: Horse, Mule, Ass (Equus Asinus, not the pathetic American definition which should be arse), Onager, Zebra, Zorse, or Donkey.

Blimey, fixing a stuck filter could mean Lockjaw. How weird!

Edited February 18, 2020 by Peter Kilmister
Predictive text changed Zorse into Horse

[jaapv]

Whatever happened to the time-honoured method of removing a stuck filter ? :

Take your rubber-soled shoe  off - wipe clean - press the filter firmly against the sole and twist. Not a joke - I guarantee a 98% success rate.

 

 

[Jeff S]

18 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Whatever happened to the time-honoured method of removing a stuck filter ? :

Take your rubber-soled shoe  off - wipe clean - press the filter firmly against the sole and twist. Not a joke - I guarantee a 98% success rate.

 

 

Post #7

Jeff

[jaapv]

Yes, but it got ignored, hacksaws, tweezers and technicians all over the place.

[Kwesi]

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On 2/17/2020 at 4:25 PM, Harpomatic said:

Hi, I have a B+W filter stuck to a Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.5 VM, the black version. I use these filters on all lenses and never tighten them hard, but the camera bag fell from the table when closed and the lens was mounted on my M240. There is a small deformation now on the filter ring, but just a little - apparently enough to sick the filter to the lens so hard I can’t shift it. 
 

I tried by hand on grippy surface but I am afraid of ruining the lens itself, I wouldn’t want to unscrew/break the optical cell gripping the whole lens. I bought filter wrenches for the purpose, they are not bad but it doesn’t budge. I put the lens in the freezer for 10 minutes and tried agai, thinking that the shrinking with the low temp could work - no luck. 
 

Any ideas? 
 

Thanks!

If its a clear/UV filter and its not showing up in your photos even when the lens is stopped down, then perhaps just leave it on?

[Jeff S]

Could be worse... if these became stuck...

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/06/good-times-with-bad-filters/

Jeff

Edited February 19, 2020 by Jeff S

[Harpomatic]

6 hours ago, jaapv said:

Whatever happened to the time-honoured method of removing a stuck filter ? :

Take your rubber-soled shoe  off - wipe clean - press the filter firmly against the sole and twist. Not a joke - I guarantee a 98% success rate.

 

 

That was the first thing I tried, I had success with that trick before...but no luck this time!

[Harpomatic]

12 hours ago, michali said:

If there's a deformation or dent on the filter, it's jammed in place. I've had this happen before.

If there's enough grip on the edge of filter ring, use a small pair of flat nose pliers and try to gently bend the ring back into shape at the point where the dent is. This may loosen it.

 

 

I did try to do so gently, didn’t make any difference: the filter looks less bent, but it’s still sticking to the lens!

[Harpomatic]

6 hours ago, Kwesi said:

If its a clear/UV filter and its not showing up in your photos even when the lens is stopped down, then perhaps just leave it on?

I thought about that, but what about screwing on its own hood when needed? Here in UK it rains every once in a while...the hood saves me wiping the glass for every shot!

[Harpomatic]

17 hours ago, jaeger said:

hair dryer?

That one is a good idea, I thought that trying to expand and shrink the filter ring could help - that’s why I tried to put the lens in the freezer for 10 minutes. Unfortunately I have no hair dryer here! 😂

[Harpomatic]

Many thanks everyone for all the input! I need to try a couple more things and then the technician it is...I certainly don’t want to risk damaging the lens!

[250swb]

8 hours ago, Peter Kilmister said:

How likely is it to find horse poo on on a lens filter? Cow sh*t isn't a problem. I am told only equine species are a problem: Horse, Mule, Ass (Equus Asinus, not the pathetic American definition which should be arse), Onager, Zebra, Zorse, or Donkey.

What about bullshit? There's plenty of that in this thread.

[Harpomatic]

6 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Could be worse... if these became stuck...

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/06/good-times-with-bad-filters/

Jeff

That was an interesting read, thanks!

Still, doesn’t dissuade me from using a good quality one with every lens: I don’t use hoods unless it rains, and this time the filter saved the lens itself, as it’s supposed to - if it comes off, that is! 🤔

[Gelatino]

Not a problem according to Peter Kilmister, if one assume cow and bull are equivalent regarding sh*t .😷

[Gelatino]

12 minutes ago, 250swb said:

What about bullshit? There's plenty of that in this thread.

Not a  problem according to Peter Kilmister, if one assume cow and bull are equivalent regarding sh*t.😷

[pgk]

1 hour ago, Harpomatic said:

That one is a good idea, I thought that trying to expand and shrink the filter ring could help - that’s why I tried to put the lens in the freezer for 10 minutes. Unfortunately I have no hair dryer here! 😂

I don't know what the filter mounting ring on your lens is made of but good quality filters such as yours are often made of brass. If the lens is also brass then heating the filter ring will bind it on tighter as it expands and the lens filter mount does not, and if you've tried cooling it to contract it and this hasn't worked then heating is obviously unlikely to help either. I can't remember the differential expansion/contraction of aluminium/brass but on a small lens its going to be minuscule. If your filter is brass then its relatively soft and sounds like its deformed and is no longer round. Its done its job of protecting the lens so will probably need to be sacrificed and destroyed when removed. I'll try a lot of things but what would worry me is that this will probably involve saw cuts as has been suggested. I know that if I sawed the filter then some of the metal dust generated might well find its way into the lens, giving me another problem (no not being negative, just realistic). Get a repairer to sort it - any further problems will then be taken care of by someone with the knowledge and equipment to do so. Stuck filters are a pain - I had one (of brass) on a Nikon lens years ago which resulted in the lens completely unscrewing in the middle - off it went and was sorted. reassembled and checked.

[AndreasG]

vor 53 Minuten schrieb pgk:

I know that if I sawed the filter then some of the metal dust generated might well find its way into the lens, giving me another problem (no not being negative, just realistic).

Put the rear cap on the lens, cover the lens body with masking tape and don't use a saw, but a small rectangular file and blow the shavings carefully away.

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[Harpomatic]

1 hour ago, pgk said:

I don't know what the filter mounting ring on your lens is made of but good quality filters such as yours are often made of brass. If the lens is also brass then heating the filter ring will bind it on tighter as it expands and the lens filter mount does not, and if you've tried cooling it to contract it and this hasn't worked then heating is obviously unlikely to help either. I can't remember the differential expansion/contraction of aluminium/brass but on a small lens its going to be minuscule. If your filter is brass then its relatively soft and sounds like its deformed and is no longer round. Its done its job of protecting the lens so will probably need to be sacrificed and destroyed when removed. I'll try a lot of things but what would worry me is that this will probably involve saw cuts as has been suggested. I know that if I sawed the filter then some of the metal dust generated might well find its way into the lens, giving me another problem (no not being negative, just realistic). Get a repairer to sort it - any further problems will then be taken care of by someone with the knowledge and equipment to do so. Stuck filters are a pain - I had one (of brass) on a Nikon lens years ago which resulted in the lens completely unscrewing in the middle - off it went and was sorted. reassembled and checked.

The B+W filter is brass indeed, and the lens is aluminium - that's why I thought a temperature variation could help in getting a bit of movement in the threads in order to unstick it. My idea with the blow drier would be to heat up mainly the brass, blowing from the front onto the filter, and then putting the lens back in the freezer for 10-15 min: the expansion and subsequent contraction of the brass might give just that small movement that would then allow me to unscrew it with the filter wrenches, which are designed for the purpose. I just need to find a good soul to lend me the blow drier to try that! 😄

I'm not very keen on bringing a file/hacksaw to the filter/lens, although the dust concerns me a bit less - if it doesn't budge now, it won't that way: the weak link is still the lens and how well I can grip it! It will break/unscrew the assembly if I try rotating so hard. The wrench allows me to just hold onto the filter ring and the other wrench on the filter itself, counter-rotating. I applied a lot of torque already that way, and there was no movement at all - slots and a stronger torque on the filter is of no help because I can't hold onto the lens any harder than that! And I can tell you, the wrenches really allow for a lot of torque to be applied, with no damage whatsoever to lens or filter.

Anyway, thanks again for the input!