stuck step down ring?

[Dennis Stevens]

I have the brevis35 on my JVC GY HD 100, which gives me great joy and dof.

This requires a step down ring to from 72-82mm.

The other day I took off the brevis35, and found the step down ring is on so tight I can't get it off. Wont even budge. 3 different guys tried. I tried latex gloves to get more traction, nothing. Like it's superglued on.

I've taken the step down ring off before, and I know I didn't put it on all that tightly. I'm guessing putting the adapter on screwed it on even tighter?

Anyone have any tips on getting the step down ring off?? I'm worried about so rough with it I'm going to break it.

An odd question I guess, but I figure people must have encountered it before.

[James Hooey]

I suppose depending on how the barrell and ring of the Brevis are you could use two rubber strap wrenches like a plumber would use on pipe.

Wish you the best.

[Bob Hart]

Is the stepdown ring jammed on the Brevis or in front of JVC lens?

[Dennis Stevens]

It's jammed on the jvc lens, thanks.

So I'm worried about getting rough on it, and it's attached to my lens.

[Andrew Kufahl]

Never really had to deal with the problem to the extreme you are, but here are two things...

Once I was struggling with a "stuck filter", but I calmed down and I tried real gently and it came off (I did find one other website that recommended this same thing, so I'm not totally crazy recommending that).

The other is to maybe check these out, I've never used them, but it sounds like you are getting desperate:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=filter+wrench

Heck... after reading some of these other posts I'm thinking it may be worth your time to read it too:

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008M2j

[Rich Hibner]

sounds like you've crossed threaded it.
try the back of a mouse pad. the flimsy kind. i do it all the time. you've probably stripped the threads. life will be okay.

[Dennis Stevens]

Thanks- I might hold off now trying to remove it, as I'm going to need to keep the adapter for another week. I'm worried I won't get the ring back on.

[Chris Medico]

The key to getting it off is to not squeeze it.

Something that I've done many times is to take something with lots of grip (the soft mouse pad or even some of the rubbery shelf liner) and put it against something hard and flat that is larger than the ring. Gently press the rubber up against the ring and give it a turn. It should come right off.

My camera has nothing sticking beyond the lens so I take a piece of shelf liner and place it on my kitchen counter then "nose" the camera with the stuck ring down onto the liner and give a twist. Works for me every time.

This happens pretty often when I use polarizers. A days worth of twisting can get the rings pretty tight.

[Bob Hart]

Chris has pretty much got it covered.

Another trick you can try is to freeze the mouse mat or rubber sheet and whatever it is you are resting the mouse mat upon. A copper based cooking pot is a good contender

Place the face or front-edge of the step-up ring against the bottom of the upturned cooking pot to chill the step-up ring, then lift it off, place the mount mat on the bottom of the pot, then press and twist the lens anticlockwise. Maybe put a small wad of Kleenex tisue against the front glass of the lens to avoid shock cooling.

If this does not work, you can try fitting the Brevis back up to the ring until it comes up snug, maybe even a little bit tight. Have somebody hold the lens for you. Then wedge your fingers in between the Brevis body and the face of the step-up ring and use the Brevis itself plus your finger pressure to turn the ring anticlockwise. The object of having your fingertips in there is to add edge pressure to load the threads to higher friction between the Brevis and the step-up ring.

The extra friction of the Brevis threads on the inside plus your finger wedges and the Brevis body keeping the ring round, may be just enough for you to shift it.


Good luck with it.

[Philipp Straehl]

freezing might be the key word. I don't know if it will work, but I would try to use the different physical properties of the different materials. I am not familiar with the parts you have problems with, so I can't tell more.

Metal has a bigger expansion coefficient than e.g. plastic. So when you cool down metal, it will shrink more, while plastic will shrink less. Also, different metal alloys have different expansion coefficients. Changing temperature will give you some nanometers of difference.

It really depends on that expansion coefficient, maybe the opposite (heating) is the answer.

Sorry about my broken English, but I think you get the point. Good luck.

[Bob Hart]

Another desperate measure I hesitate to suggest is to find a stainless steel carpenter's rule. Make it absoutely clean of any oil or grease.

Find yourself a very fine art brush.

Find yourself some canola or olive oil, no mineral oils at all.

Make paper disk to cover the lens glass and cover the glass over with the paper and bits of stickytape to hold it there.

Buy yourself some superglue.

Paint a very fine line of the oil along the junction of the front of the filter ring and camcorder front face. This is to prevent the superglue from getting at the plastic on the camcorder if there is an accidental spill.

Give this oil a half-hour or so to creep in under the ring. This may be enough to enable you to turn the ring by the previously mentioned methods.

Squeeze out a drop of superglue onto some inert surface you can throw away afterwards.

Use a pin head to pick up a covering of superglue. Put several spots on the ring over an area the ruler would contact. Do not let it roll over the edge onto the threads as it will wick along into the junction. The oil will only confer partial protection which is why you have to be very sparing with the superglue and not use too much.

Place the ruler on a flat surface.

Place the camcorder face down with the stuck ring contacting the rule and maintain pressure until the glue sets.

Allow the glue to mature then hopefully there will be enough bond between the ring and the ruler for you to be able to screw the filter ring out, using the same method of face down onto the mousepad. This will avoid failing the glue joint progressively by peeling off as the ruler flexes.

Once the ring comes out, you may be able to peel the ruler off by bending it slightly. If the ring looks like becoming bent, you can try instead to dissolve the superglue with some acetone or shove the ring and the rule in an approx 180degree oven for a while to fail the glue with heat.

Whatever you do, keep the superglue away from the glass. The vapours may damage the optical coating on the lens.

[Richard Alvarez]

If you have a 'zip tie' or 'cable tie' you can wrap that counter clockwise around the ring. Grasp the loose end with a pair of needle-nose. Pull counter clockwise - works just like an oil filter wrench because as you pull, it tightens evenly.

good luck

[Dennis Stevens]

just an update sort of.... I tried everything mentioned, including supergluing a ruler to the ring. Nothing worked. The ruler came right off. Cable ties, plumbers wrenches, nothing. Doesn't even begin to budge.

[Rich Hibner]

mouse pad?

[Chris Medico]

Originally Posted by Dennis Stevens

just an update sort of.... I tried everything mentioned, including supergluing a ruler to the ring. Nothing worked. The ruler came right off. Cable ties, plumbers wrenches, nothing. Doesn't even begin to budge.

Wow.. I'm surprised. That ring must be really stuck!

The rubber mouse pad or shelf liner always worked for me. I have no idea what to recommend next. A dremel comes to mind but that is a scary proposition.