Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: tsinsf on October 20, 2018, 12:21:01 am

Title: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: tsinsf on October 20, 2018, 12:21:01 am

 I just got back from a shoot in cold weather and had to use a filter wrench to remove a step up ring four times, and each time it would only come off after it warmed up. Do brass rings really expand and contract less and therefor stick less? Any materials engineers out there who can verify there is some science behind this? Thanks.

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: Aram Hăvărneanu on October 20, 2018, 05:35:40 am

Brass rings stick less, yes. It's not only the matter of thermal expansion, but an inherent material property.

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: rdonson on October 20, 2018, 03:44:56 pm

If you really have to use aluminum threads then put a drop of anti-seize on the threads before screwing them on.

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: chez on October 20, 2018, 10:26:15 pm

Brass might stick less...but none the less, they still stick as happened to me on Kauai this past week.

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: Alan Smallbone on October 21, 2018, 01:23:58 am

As long as the metals are dissimilar they will stick less, but they still can gall. That being said, filter rings are so soft that if you squeeze too hard to rotate them they can bend and deform. Best to use as little pressure as possible when grasping the filter. I have also found that the rubber liners they sell to line drawers can be useful to hold the filter when rotating it. I carry small squares of it in all my camera bags.
Similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com/Non-Skid-Drawer-Cabinet-Shelves-Non-Slip/dp/B00IXYIWC8

Comes in various sizes. Sometimes if you can use the flat of your palm to rotate the ring that can help, or let it sit for a few minutes between tries. You can always clean it afterwards.

Alan

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: Alan Smallbone on October 21, 2018, 01:28:34 am

The other thing I meant to say is that aluminum to aluminum will gall easier than brass to aluminum. I work with aircraft flight controls and sometimes we have a hell of a time with galliing of threads when the materials are the same kind, like stainless to stainless and a lubricate is not used during assembly. If you do not carry a lubricant you have one your body produces, wipe the nose grease off you nose and apply to the threads it will help the threads from galling. No joke it works. May father used to fix watches and an old watch maker from the early days taught him that nose oils are extremely fine and good to oil watches in a pinch or in this case threads of a filter.

Alan

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: LimbicSystemPhotoworks on October 21, 2018, 08:34:47 am

Quote from: Alan Smallbone on October 21, 2018, 01:28:34 am

The other thing I meant to say is that aluminum to aluminum will gall easier than brass to aluminum. I work with aircraft flight controls and sometimes we have a hell of a time with galliing of threads when the materials are the same kind, like stainless to stainless and a lubricate is not used during assembly. If you do not carry a lubricant you have one your body produces, wipe the nose grease off you nose and apply to the threads it will help the threads from galling. No joke it works. May father used to fix watches and an old watch maker from the early days taught him that nose oils are extremely fine and good to oil watches in a pinch or in this case threads of a filter.

Alan

We used nose grease to clean spots off of film, too.  Forehead grease works, too, and there's more of it...!

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: Two23 on October 21, 2018, 11:16:18 am

Quote from: LimbicSystemPhotoworks on October 21, 2018, 08:34:47 am

We used nose grease to clean spots off of film, too.  Forehead grease works, too, and there's more of it...!

How about elbow grease?


Kent in SD

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: LimbicSystemPhotoworks on October 21, 2018, 11:23:21 am

That helps with many things according to my old dad...

Quote from: Two23 on October 21, 2018, 11:16:18 am

How about elbow grease?


Kent in SD

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Does a brass filter ring really stick less?
Post by: NancyP on October 23, 2018, 10:21:20 am

Here's a "dry" substitute - #1 pencil. Not much. Graphite is a great lubricant