Telescope No. 32 MkII restoring

[Peter Laidler]

You need to CAREFULLY remove brass equally from around the top* of the index plate. By doing this it will allow the drum to sit deeper within the index plate, allowing the friction to clear. It is this that will relieve the pressure on the rotating parts and not the screws.

Here is a bit of advice. If you have raised or round headed screws then these MUST be used on the DEFLECTION drum (because there is more room to accommodate the raised heads). If you use raised head 8BA screws in the range drum the lead screw nut will bottom out and restrict the useable range

While the optical system is reasonably simple, it it only simple because - and when - it is set-up correctly. Once you start swopping lens cells/assemblies it becomes problematical. You should also be aware that the ocular lens thread in the tube and on the brass cell differ from tube to tube and cell housing to cell housing. Albeit slightly but they do

* By 'top' I mean the round highest surface of the plate. The opening into which the drum enters