Rexine on a MKVI telescope?

[block1mod1]

I've a TEL SIG MKVI by B B LTD. The optics are in excellent condition and the whole telescope seems to be quite serviceable but has no leather wrapping left on it. It is bare brass. I read the posts with regard to the use of rexine by armourers to rewrap the Scout Regiment Telescopes. Was this done to the old signallers telescopes also?

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

Yep, done loads of 'em. Day in and day out. The stuff we used was a dark mottled brown stuff. Used impact adhesive on the tube and rexine stuff and rolled it on and squeezed the bubbles out as you went along. At the seam we'd match-up and firm down with a rolling-pin sort of thing that someone had made up years before! It'd last forever.

Some of the instrument shops would glue a 1/2" strip of rexine up the length of the seam. Trim off top and bottom, assemble up and it'll last for another 70 years

[Patrick Chadwick]

So what is rexine? Has anyone got a photo of the stuff?

[Badger]

Found this ...

Rexine

Regards,
Doug

Edit: For the benefit of future research, I've added an active dynamic link for the definition of Rexine.

[Peter Laidler]

I suppose the stuff nowadays would be called leathercloth. The rexine stuff we used didn't have any discernable 'give' in it. We also used the same stuff in black to re-cover the old No2 and 5 binos too

[Peter Laidler]

Can you still get that rexine stuff nowadays?

[block1mod1]

It seems today everything is PVC of some kind. My thought is rexine, was to man made fabric, what Bakelite was to plastic, a forerunner. From what I've gathered, China and India continue to produce it for export. Similar coverings can be found in any fabric shop. I think a good substitute would be what is used for marine upholstery. I think I may give my old MKVI a wrap with some, using the pointers I've found here of course The optics are so good, it wouldn't be right to not use this telescope. A proper plastic case would be nice too. Any suggestions?

[Peter Laidler]

I don't think - or ever remember seeing a case for these telescopes although we'd occasionally see them in the rifle chests. Ther were still in use in the border watchtowers in Northern Ireland in the 70's together with the Scout Regt Scopes, where we called them 'Telescopes, Captain Pugwash!'

If you want a leather carrier case, suitable sized things appear on that auction site from time to time. Otherwise, make something up from that hard wearing plastic sewage/drain pipe with a stop end at the closed end and a screw-on end at the top. Just a thought

[block1mod1]

Ya know, the pvc pipe idea ain't half bad! I could pad it with the foam from an old army sleeping pad. Thanks!

[Peter Laidler]

Talking of re-covering them. I saw a bit of a rough old Sct Reg scope on that auction site with a sad old leather cover. I thought about putting in a bid for it and recovering it as per the workshop way. Maybe I'll do one if I can find some old rexine or non-stretch type leathercloth!

While on the subject of plastic tube covers, we used to use old used 84mm Carl Gustav rocket tubes to keep the SWIFT telescopes in. These sort of replaced thge scout reg scopes but were too big, too heavy and when they got to the desert in Gulf 1, weren't even sand proof. You'd think that would be a pre-requisite for a telescope in the desert wouldn't you?