Mechanical assistance req'd: Have just purchased a set of Fotodiox (nikon fit) extension tubes. These were very hard to unscrew, and I hadn't separated them all when I tried them on an...

dibdab Loc: Newport, S.Wales

Have just purchased a set of Fotodiox (nikon fit) extension tubes. These were very hard to unscrew, and I hadn't separated them all when I tried them on an old 50mm. Sods law- cant get the b things off. Any ideas before I WD 40 and sledge them
Regards

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

dibdab wrote:

Have just purchased a set of Fotodiox (nikon fit) extension tubes. These were very hard to unscrew, and I hadn't separated them all when I tried them on an old 50mm. Sods law- cant get the b things off. Any ideas before I WD 40 and sledge them
Regards

Yes..they are weird to try and get off aren't they?

You move the little "steel button" thingy sideways to unhook them....

dibdab Loc: Newport, S.Wales

Magic. I tried undoing the bolt,but nothing happened, I will now have another go without the sledge.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

You have to move it sideways....be patient...when you get it you'll be surprised at how easy it is.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

here you go...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZeOzyS3pUk

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

Sounds familiar, on mine I found a tiny screw that was sticking up a bit. After I tightened it with a eyeglass screwdriver, it worked better. Still kind of stiff and rough, but not stuck on.

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

I guess I should say that the screw sticking up was on the tube, not the camera.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

dibdab wrote:

Have just purchased a set of Fotodiox (nikon fit) extension tubes. These were very hard to unscrew, and I hadn't separated them all when I tried them on an old 50mm. Sods law- cant get the b things off. Any ideas before I WD 40 and sledge them
Regards

First of all they shouldn't "screw" together. Should be what's called a bayonete fit. Probably didn't spell that right. Second thing. Never get WD-40 near a camera! You would not believe the trouble that can cause. :thumbup:

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

My extension tubes do screw together with the Nikon bayonet mount screwing on each end. I guess with the same diameter tubes, you could have several different ends having different camera body and lens mounts, meaning you could even mix and match lenses and bodies.

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

do you mean you can't get the coupling ring off the lens or do you mean you can't unscrew each section of the rings from each other?

If it's the couple ring that mounts to the lens you have to push the little screw to the left and then unscrew the ring from the camera (do not turn the screw, it's not really a screw).

If you can't unscrew the rings from each other, remove them from the camera and the lens and heat them up a little with a hair dryer, it should help loosen them a little and allow you to separate them.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

bikinkawboy wrote:

My extension tubes do screw together with the Nikon bayonet mount screwing on each end. I guess with the same diameter tubes, you could have several different ends having different camera body and lens mounts, meaning you could even mix and match lenses and bodies.

I can see how that would work. The only set of ext. tubes I ever used had the Canon mount on each. Both front and back. Features like auto focus and aperture control might be a problem.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

MWAC wrote:

do you mean you can't get the coupling ring off th... (show quote)

Heating and cooling helps on a lot of things. The expansion and contraction thing will loosen things up in a lot of cases. To loosen some screws that had been Loctited. (Is that a word?) :lol: I would heat then give a blast of freon from an inverted can of Dustoff. Also applied a shot of acetone. Worked every time. Unless the screw was left hand threaded and I broke the head off. The counter dial on the old Pentax K1000 comes to mind. Took me forever it seems to remember that. :roll: