How to open Polaroid 180 - Tominon 114mm lens front or front elements for cleaning ?

[fototattoo]

I'm finding no solution or thread to this problem anywhere on the net..
Can any one help or has the answer or tried cleaning this lens front or front elements ?
Just picked up this old Polaroid 180 land camera from an old shop.
Its in great working condition..but lens has lot of fungus within its first two front elements.I've tried everything from removing bellows and taking off back element.
but seems no answer to taking off the front.
Just want to know how you take off the front element
Please help..

 

[Wayne]

I'll take a look at mine when I get home later today...I've never tried to take the lens apart. If I forget, reply to this tonight or tomorrow so I am reminded when I see the thread again...

 

[Wayne]

Hmmm. Good question, and the answer is...I have no idea! Sorry. I;d have to really mess around with it to figure it out and since mine doesnt need to come off I'm afraid you are on your own. It doesnt seem to come off easily....Good luck!

 

[John Koehrer]

Typically the decorator ring unscrews and the elements drop out.
The decorator ring is the one with the lens info on it. I use rubber stoppers of different sizes for different lenses. You press the edge of the stopper onto the ring & mutter obscenities under your breath until it loosens. Sometime a small drop of alcohol will help.

 

[fototattoo]

Thanks John.
Let me try this out with your suggested method...i will keep you informed if it worked..I hope it does..

 

[fototattoo]

Hi John...i tried everything but lens doesnt seem to move a bit..is there any other way..? if you have pictures of yours how you opened it woulkd really help..

 

[fototattoo]

Hi John...i tried everything but lens doesnt seem to move a bit..is there any other way..? if you have pictures of yours how you opened it woulkd really help..

 

[Wayne]

I could be wrong but I'm guessing from the generic nature of John's comments that he doesn't actually have one of these. They seem to be a bit different from most lenses. Looks like the element is actually threaded inside the barrel structure of the lens, almost like a tube inside a tube. I dont think taking the outer ring
off will do it, and besides, that wont come off! I could try to force it but I wont since mine is fine.

Couldnt you get at the back of the front element when you took the rear element off? I have the same lens and I'm pretty sure there are only two elements, from shining a light in there.

 

[John Koehrer]

Yup Wayne is correct, I don't have one at hand.
Lenses that don't come apart from the front are few and far between. I'm not sure that I've ever seen one. I have seen lenses with groups burnished into the barrel, Those are a PITA.

 

[fototattoo]

Hi Wayne..thanks for your suggestion..I think you are right..its a tube within a tube..and there is no way it can be pulled out.I wonder how they put it in.
Since your lens is still clean you wouldn't notice the front two elements..
my lens has most fungus between front and second element which are sandwitched and they look like one front element..
even when i open back i can only reach back of second element..
I'm surprised there is no info at all or pics for this on the net on this issue..I'm sure there are lots of people using POLAROID 180,195 formats again with new Impossible films.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Steve Smith]

I had the same problem with the Rodenstock 127mm lens from a Poaroid 110A and never did find a way to get the front element out.


Steve.

 

[BobCrowley]

The Rodenstock is a PIA to get started, but once you break loose the front beauty ring the entire front cell screws right out. Same with the rear cell. If it is really stuck, I would suggest gently warming the outside of the housing with a hair dryer. Hold the lens securely with something like a padded vise or a lens board. I have placed mine in the jaws of a six-jaw lathe chuck covered with tape to protect the finish.

I find that having a very secure way to hold the outside of the lens is as important as finding the right rubber to turn it. A collection of different sized O rings is what I use. Viton material, wash it with detergent to give it more traction and clean any oils that might make it slip.

 

[dirphil]

Tominon 114mm f/4.5 opened

Hi, I don't know if anybody will still read this, but I had a problem with my Land Camera 180 myself, one of the aperture blades was stuck right in the middle. Probably from the WD40 I got in it when I tried to make the gears work again... bad mistake but it is working again now.
Anyway, I was looking for instructions on how to open the front of the lens to get to the aperture and stumbled over this thread. It turns out (there was a url link here which no longer exists) was almost right. You need to unscrew the decorations ring. It does not come off but it actually IS the barrel containing the two front elements. I could turn mine just bei pushing to the outside with my two fingers and turning it. It takes quite a few spins.
Theoretically you could then also remove the rear of the two front elements but it looks like there is some glue in the thread. Made me think they might be glued to stay in a certain position, so I didn't try, although there is some dust in between. Probably would have required some gentle violence since I don't have the right tools. I was quite happy I could put the aperture blade back in place (basically just pushing it out gently until it "clicked" back into place) and didn't want to take any more risk. Maybe I wil try some other time. Just removing the front elements is quite fast when you know how.