Is there a new recommended go-to guy accepting repairs for #32 scopes?

I FINALLY acquired my No4(T) rifle for my collection, all of which I shoot on a regular basis as we have a good variety of military surplus matches in Las Vegas, NV, and some CMP stuff in nearby states. Unfortunately, it appears the windage adjustment on the scope is not functioning.

I have read the following thread: https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=66693

BDL is not accepting repairs for Peter Laidler until (and IF) a mail issue is sorted out. Warren (in Canada) and Peter (in England) are both VERY UNDERSTANDABLY not keen on doing more of these. I, too, understand what's it's like repairing older equipment (electrical and HVAC systems) and lamenting that the next generations aren't up to snuff on it. I watched my good friend's theatre pipe organ building/moving/tuning/restoring industry die as he and his old friends were the last of their skillset.

So, do we have a current recommendation for us in the US to have these scopes repaired? My English friend Andy (who's lived in the US most of his life) is also a very serious collector. He's already had a couple scopes refurbished by Peter in the past, and has another that he'd like refurbished if I find another reliable source.

Thank you for any input.

IIRC there is a chap in western Canada (not Warren) that is taking on new work. Perhaps someone with better memory will come to fore.

Ironsites in Tulsa Oklahoma. Mike sexton. He is close and great at fixing these.

The problem is the paperwork required to ship a scope out of the USA, even temporarily. Zeiss USA was hit with a large fine for doing just that, and that's more than ten years ago.

Mac702, is your scope a Mk.I, II, or 3? If it doesn't appear to have been overhauled before the problem may well be just dry and congealed lubricants.

I have been working on my own and need to do more. I hope to dedicate a bench to it and have the spares, tooling and supplies - money and time are the hurdle while I finish house projects. I also competition shoot all of my builds so that is a good test bed / proofing. Having more time for tis is part of my "early retirement" plan!

I have also started working on my own, but as L1A1 Breakdown mentions getting all the spares and tooling to do a fix all service is not something I am there with.

I've been involved with No32 scopes since my teens although it's only in the last ten years or so that I have started working on them seriously. Peter has very kindly given me a basic 'how to' guide on various occasions, & I am also grateful to Warren & Valley Sniper for their help. Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to have a well known UK based forummer make me a small run of various internal parts that I was short of, having bought a batch of truly terrible scopes that came out of India (& which looked like they'd made the journey to Europe as deck cargo on a U Boat).

There is, at least, one very good thing about having scopes in poor condition - it's difficult to make them much worse. I just started having a go, initially with those that were the least worst, & as I gained a little in confidence I moved to the more 'challenging' examples.

I will never have Peter's experience & training, & this is why I do not offer a commercial repair service (plus I can do without the hassle), but I do enjoy doing my own scopes, & the odd one for a pal. One useful hint I have stuck to, is to fit complete matched lens sets, rather than trying to mix & match. I don't have an optical lab handy, but if you fit a complete No42/53 lens set to a No32, you know things should focus (with maybe just a tiny bit of shimming).

Not sure how well the attached photo's will turn out, as they were taken hurriedly with my phone, but they show a few bits & pieces (literally) that I am working on currently.

Out of curiosity Roger, what paint are you using on these??

It's the real thing.......suncorite. There was a chap selling 1L tins on 'that internet auction site.uk' a year or two back. I was running low so bought a couple of tins. Not sure if he is still on there, but probably worth checking from time to time if anyone in the UK needs some.

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Originally Posted by limpetmine

IIRC there is a chap in western Canada (not Warren) that is taking on new work. Perhaps someone with better memory will come to fore.

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On the CanadianGunnutz forum there's a member with the user name of Wheaty who has been repairing/rebuilding No32 scopes and has a very good reputation in the community here. If you go there, send him a PM and check if he can help you.

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Originally Posted by army1882

the user name of Wheaty

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That's Warren mentioned in Post #1.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger Payne

It's the real thing.......suncorite. There was a chap selling 1L tins on 'that internet auction site.uk' a year or two back. I was running low so bought a couple of tins. Not sure if he is still on there, but probably worth checking from time to time if anyone in the UK needs some.

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Volksbolts has NOS Suncorite on the shelf in Blighty - ask for Alan.

Useful to know that there is a source for Suncorite that is readily available in the UK.

Well, made a little progress on that Mk3 in the pics, though not as much as I would have liked. Weather, wife's plans & so on..... At least I now have the grat block strung & in position, shoes, springs & clicker plungers fitted, & the R & D turrets 'rough' fitted. Everything seems to click when it is supposed to, & the sliding scales slide ok with the tip of a round inserted into the little 'diddy' on the scale.

I stripped two No53's to find donor lenses, only to find that one ocular lens doublet has partially separated, & that the ocular cell in the other is such a sloppy fit in both scope tubes that I am rebuilding that the whole set of lenses are unusable, at least in either of these two scopes. I now have a third No53 apart, & things seem to fit........so far! (The separated lenses I can re-cement with Canada Balsam, but it takes weeks to dry, so they'll be ok to use in the longer term).

I'm afraid I'm not the tidiest of workers as can be seen from my 'restoration bench' (aka the dining room table). My wife's face is a picture.........

You ought to see my bench Rog. Ugh!

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Originally Posted by Roger Payne

I'm afraid I'm not the tidiest of workers

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No...it looks good.

Tidy people worry me!

Warren here and I just wanted to mention that any rumours of my demise are not true!!!:lol:
I have been extraordinarily busy with some scopes that, as someone else put it, looked like they were shipped as deck cargo on a submarine.
Plus, a few that the owners or others had an attempted to repair and it did not go well.
How you can bend a lead screw is beyond me but it does happen as well as breaking the brass lug off a Mk.1 reticle block that is about 1/8 by 3/32
Anyhow, I should be all cleaned up by the end of September and I also have the yard to beat into shape was well.
SWMBO had a lot of projects on the "honey do" list for this summer and I have not had a chance to get on the site as much as I would like.
Sooo, thanks to those who phoned, emailed and otherwise contacted me, I can assure you that I have not assumed room temperature and still at it.
cheers

---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

I stripped two No53's to find donor lenses, only to find that one ocular lens doublet has partially separated, & that the ocular cell in the other is such a sloppy fit in both scope tubes that I am rebuilding that the whole set of lenses are unusable, at least in either of these two scopes. I now have a third No53 apart, & things seem to fit........so far! (The separated lenses I can re-cement with Canadaicon Balsam, but it takes weeks to dry, so they'll be ok to use in the longer term).

Roger: I see you are using an erector cell for weight on a glued lens.
Try a 35 mm film canister with a felt chair leg protector on the end of it and fill the canister with bird shot.
It just fits between the V blocks and puts a bit more pressure on the lenses when drying.

Thanks for the tip Warren, re the weighting. It's just the bare erector cell at present, though with plenty of 'insulation' between it & the lens surface. What you suggest sounds like a good idea though. I'll give it a go.

just a couple of comments if I may.

Roger. Regards to the time taken for C-B to dry. Don't wait! Once the lenses are circled - or rolled as we used to call it, ensure that the ocular surfaces are optically clean and insert them into the tube or lens cell. They'll dry in situ AND they'll be set with the sides/edges parallel. There is a little tri side seat that we used to use to achieve this. A sort of thinggy to align the edges. Works for Mk1 and 2 ocular sizes

I use a slave erector cell to align the fiddly erector cell lenses. Clean lenses, scour, cement with a little as you can get away with, insert into slave erectoe cell, clamp down. Alignment perfect, remove, clean and insert into erector cell.

It is not the optical system that makes me shudder when I see telescopes. It is the sheer - or SHEAR mechanical butchery. Both from the UK and abroad it has to be said to which Brian can vouch for. Sheared turret and cover plate screws repaired by just gluing the broken head in place, screws glued into stripped threads, Mk1's and 2's with overtightened front shades that crush the........... anyway. That's your answer as to just how they bend the azimuth lead screw Warren

You've got me going now, talking of sheer mechanical butchery. Don't even get me going about taking the Mk1 and 2 clicker plunger retainer out - without removing the 10BA grub screws. Or the Mk3 with the thumbscrew grub screw retained to the inner sleeve with a piece of welding wire. Try drilling a steel wire out of a brass housing

Hi Peter. Thanks for the advice. I did wonder about inserting the doublets before the CB was fully dry but wasn't sure about it...........I'll give it a go. I can see its advantages. I have one of the two ocular doublets to do out of the No53 that I stripped hoping to use the lenses in the Kershaw 1945 No32 Mk3 shown in the pictures. Unfortunately the two lenses had started to separate. I separated them completely & they are in acetone at the moment to get all of any residual old CB off them before I re-cement. I'll clean, reassemble, & put back into the ocular cell. If all goes well, I have another very late (Kershaw 1946) Mk3 that they can be used in.

Timely comments as I have to re-cement an objective doublet from a Winchester A5. Haven't found a source of CB locally yet; might try some made for artists use.

Well, if you can't find any (CB) there's not much hope for the rest of us!;)

I used Canada balsam or equivalent for gluing coverslips to microscope slides of blood smears or tissue sections. its used widely. Modern equivalents are transparent for decades, older products may yellow with age. If you google laboratory pathology supplies Canada balsam you may have luck.
Rob

That's pretty much what I did, Rob. I found some decent optical grade stuff on 'that internet auction site'.

Rob (milsurp) if you want, I can spot you a bit.
Drop me a message on the home email addie.
cheers,
Warren

And while we're here....... Just how badly can an amateur enthusiast damage the turret housing of a Mk3 trying to remove the jammed in clicker plungers. That is before he hastily reassembles it and send it to me (or one of the other repairers) to 'fix it please, because that's how I got it.....' Incidentally, there is a simple fix before you resort to trying to drill it out!

Interesting thread......

Incidentally, what Roger says about try to use a complete lens optical train from another scope before attempting to start a mix-and-match lens train from new. That has worked on 4 of the Israeli scopes I have here with defective lens assemblies

You can buy chunks of dried Canadian Balsam (CB) at SURPLUS SHED in the USA and the UK....ask for Fred in the USA.
Just dissolve it in xylene and make a super saturated solution (will no longer absorb the dried chunks)
Just let it evaporate a bit to get the viscosity you want. Best done in a shed or outside because of the xylene vapours (not nice).
Just cover the bottle with a clean tissue to allow it to off gas.
My experience is that CB done this way will evaporate quicker than the regular stuff I have and it allows you to clean the edges and blacken them before re-installation in the tube.
The stuff I bought from them years ago was nice and clean and any impurities will settle out.
Hope this helps...
cheers
Warren

---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 AM ----------

Peter: Always looking for guidance on the 32's and with the Mk.3 do you drill in from the side and/or bottom to remove the jammed detent?
I have had some that were jammed absolutely tight as they had been pounded in to the bottom and even heat and my secret lub :D would not move them.
Is there a masonic handshake, wear your secret squirrel ring or a way to hold your lips to get them out without drilling and then repairing the hole???
Always willing to learn......

I've only tackled a small number of Mk3's so far, & whilst I have found a couple of clicker plungers seized in their housings I managed to get them freed up with a little gentle heat. Brass expands more than steel when heated up & I think the differential expansion allowed the penetrating oil to get through. I'm keen to learn any new tricks though!

Thanks Warren! Email reply sent. Looked at Surplus Shed's online catalogue a few weeks back, but no listing for CB that I could find.