Well, I've removed the excess K-mount flange "collar" from a number of
Vivitar Series 1 gems of the 1970's, either by masking off the collar
completely, leaving everything in place, or by removing the K-mount
flange
and then masking off the collar. In either case, it's a pretty simple
task
to cut away the excess collar material, remove the masking, blacken the
shiny cut areas (and, if necessary, put the K-mount flange back). I've
posted here (with image links) info on these previous operations.
Well, instead, I decided this time to just simply remove the collar
assembly itself in order to remove the collar from it (i.e., to perform
a
"collarectomy") - this is sort of half way between the previous methods
I've described. This post documents this method, as carried out on a
VS1
90-180/4.5 Flat Field Zoom.
First, remove the three ~very~ small screws securing the collar
assembly -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy01.jpg
Then remove the assembly for surgery (leaving the innards of the K-mount
temporarily exposed, so you might want to cover the K-mount to keep dust
out) - http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy02.jpg
Here is the assembly, showing the collar, most of which is to be
removed -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy03.jpg
Don't lose those three little screws - they're tiny !!!
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy04.jpg
Make a small almost-vertical cut, separating the end of the collar near
the
diaphragm lever that can be left attached (mimicking a jen-you-wine
Pentax
K-mount) from the collar area to be removed -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy05.jpg
Start cutting horizontally from the other end of the collar towards that
first almost-vertical cut -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy06.jpg
Keep cutting until the two cuts meet -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy07.jpg
This is how the assembly will look after the collar is all the way off -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy08.jpg
File smooth and flat the cuts (removing any burrs that remain), and then
cover the shiny exposed aluminum with something black (I use a black
permanent "magic marker") -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy09.jpg
Replace the modified assembly and its three retaining screws -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy10.jpg
And then mount your old classic on your newer Pentax body and play -
http://www.cetussoft.com/pentax/vs1/collarectomy11.jpg
Enjoy !!!
Fred
