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c/camera-repairerskarenhendersonkarenhenderson12d agoProlific Poster

The penny trick for tightening loose helicoid rings - real or placebo?

I had a vintage lens where the helicoid grease had stiffened up and the ring was slipping. Tried putting a penny behind the set screw for more pressure and it actually held steady for 3 months now. Does anyone else do oddball fixes like this or is it just asking for trouble later?
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ben827
ben82711d ago
That penny trick is one of those "if it works it ain't stupid" kind of things. Had a buddy use a beer can tab to shim a loose tripod head mount once, and it's still going strong years later. Funny how we'll dig through junk drawers for stuff that costs way less than the actual replacement part. Like using a zip tie to fix a broken drawer slide or a piece of cardboard to level a wobbly table. It's just human nature to fix things with whatever's lying around, even if it looks janky. The real question is if it's a permanent fix or just buying time, but three months is pretty solid for a penny.
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wood.zara
wood.zara11d agoMost Upvoted
Oh man, totally! I used a folded up piece of a soda can once to fix the latch on my car's glovebox. That was like two years ago and it's still holding. It's kinda satisfying actually, like you outsmarted the whole system with trash.
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