A guy in a Tulsa pawn shop showed me a trick for stuck lens barrels

I was picking up a cheap Nikon F3 body last month and got talking to the guy behind the counter. He had a box of junk lenses, and he pulled out an old 50mm with a focus ring that wouldn't budge. He said, 'Watch this,' and grabbed a hair dryer from under the counter. He warmed the barrel for maybe two minutes, not too hot, then put on a rubber glove and gave it a firm twist. It popped free. He told me the old grease inside gets gummy, and a little heat makes it flow just enough to break the seal without cooking the glass. I tried it on a stuck zoom at home and it worked like a charm. Has anyone else used heat for this, and do you have a favorite tool for it?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_carr561mo ago

That hair dryer trick is brilliant for old grease. I've used a warm heating pad wrapped around a lens barrel for the same slow, gentle heat. It's saved a couple of my dad's old manual lenses from being paperweights.

campbell.logan1mo ago

Ever try a rice sock for a more even heat spread?

wade76714d ago

That hair dryer trick worries me, I've seen heat warp plastic barrels. Patricia_carr56's heating pad idea sounds safer for slow warming.