The stuck filter ring debate - heat or freeze first?

Had a 67mm Hoya UV filter get stuck on a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 last Thursday (a customer's lens, naturally). Tried the freezer method first, left it in there for 45 minutes. Nope, still locked solid. Then went with the gentle heat approach using a hair dryer on low. The glass cracked on me after maybe 90 seconds. Felt awful. Ended up having to carefully break out the glass and cut the ring off with a jeweler's saw. So now I'm wondering, in a scenario like that where neither extreme works cleanly, do you guys lean toward cold shrinking the metal or heat expanding it? Is there a trick I'm missing with these older brass filter rings that seem welded on?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix_coleman871mo ago

Heat is the way to go every time. I've had more luck with a careful warm up on old brass rings than any freezing method. The trick is to not aim the hair dryer directly at the glass for too long, wrap the lens body in a cold pack or something to keep the heat focused on the filter ring. 90 seconds is way too long, I do like 20-30 seconds max and check if it moves. Freezing just makes the brass shrink tighter on the glass anyway, that's asking for cracks.

tessap981mo ago

Honestly a filter wrench saved me after I cracked a cheap UV filter doing the heat method.