Thought a $3 roll of Teflon tape was a joke for lens threads until it saved a $400 repair
Last month a guy brought in a beat up 50mm lens with a focus ring so loose it wobbled like a loose tooth. I told him the helicoid was probably shot and quoted $400 for a full teardown and rebuild. He said hold on, pulled a roll of plumbing Teflon tape out of his pocket, and wrapped the threads right there at my bench. I laughed and told him that trick was for leaky pipes, not optics. Two weeks later he came back with the lens still smooth as butter and I had to eat my words. Now I keep a roll in my toolbox next to the spanner wrenches. Anybody else use hardware store stuff on glass or is it just me?