That $80 spanner wrench I bought for lens repairs... what a mistake

Picked up a cheap spanner wrench off eBay for about 80 bucks, figuring it'd do the job on an old Canon 50mm f1.4 I was fixing up. First time I tried adjusting the retaining ring, the tips bent like cheap tin foil and I scratched up the barrel pretty good. Ended up sending the lens to a buddy who has a vintage German-made spanner that cost him like 300 bucks, and he had it dialed in 15 minutes. Anyone else get burned by 'budget' repair tools that just waste your time instead?

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gavin92821h ago

Funny you say that, but I've had the complete opposite experience with cheap tools... sometimes they're all you need if you're careful. Bought a $40 generic spanner off Amazon a few years back and it's held up fine on ten or twelve lens jobs, no bending or slipping. Maybe you got a bad batch, or the retaining ring was just torqued down way too tight from the factory.