Repair a Broken Fuji XC Lens Bayonet Mount

So, this is a basic how to for more or less, an emergency repair of a Fuji XC 16-50 lens. Although the idea would work for any lens with a plastic bayonet. I have done the same thing with a Nikon lens as well.

A lot of people like to think poorly of a plastic mount on a lens, but I will say in most cases I would rather break a bayonet than a camera or a whole lens. Maybe this is why most kit lenses have plastic bayonets.

I thankfully did not break this lens. I bought it in eBay for about 20€ with a broken bayonet. A broken bayonet that I knew I could repair. As you can see from the images that two of the flanges had been broken off in a light fall and the lens was listed as working but defective because of the mount. I knew I could replace the bayonet or glue it up and have it work until I could get the part shipped to me.

So things you will need

1. Broken lens

2. Super glue ( I suggest brand name and the gel type )

3. A third hand or helping hand depending on the nomenclature you are used to.

4. Patience, this will go wrong fast if you rush anything.

So naturally the first thing is to make sure that the broken pieces fit properly and that everything is clean. I would suggest cleaning with rubbing alcohol.

The first thing you want to do is apply some superglue to the body of the bayonet where the flange has been broken off. I used a toothpick, but that isn't necessary. Then I let it set up for a few minutes. Then I put the flange in the alligator clip in the end of my third hand and firmly pressed it in place. It's best to let it set up a good 30 minutes to an hour before starting the second one.

Now just gluing them back in place won't do much good and you can expect it to fail in short order.

So since I want this to last until I can have a new bayonet shipped to me, I need to make it stronger.

So I added some more super glue to the inside of the bayonet. Since this is a place that doesn't move and isn't a place that comes in contact with any other part, I could liberally place a faire bead of glue.

I suggest doing this and letting it dry and repeating as you do not want the flanges to move or flex at all.

I can not stress this enough. Super glue or cyanoacrylate to be exact will not fully set for 24 hours. So please wait 24 hours before doing anything else.

After waiting 24 hours I must admit that I did the third step a second time and I also added a little with a toothpick under the flange as well. I do need to stress that doing this can change the tolerance of the mount and could make a problem for mounting the lens correctly, so use a liberal amount of caution.

Here you can see it mounted to my Fuji X-E1 and fully operational.

Everything works fine and it mounts securely, I have been using it for more than a week now with no issues.

Now everyone's mileage may vary of course and I would never say that this is a permanent solution. However when done properly, it should last long enough to get a new bayonet and install that. That way you still have a functioning camera even if you don't have more lenses.

I claim no responsibility for anyone's failure and I only put this here to help people in a pinch. Best wishes and good luck!