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
