Telescope No. 32 MkII restoring

[peval65]

Hello.
I am on the way for the restoration of my No. 32.
Attached here some pics about the job steps....final pic is with tube reblued, waiting for the black paint.

I assumed that front brass shade should be chemically blackened, meanwhile the drums should be black painted including ring and screw......is it right?..... Mine was already completely brass look.

Both objective and ocular lenses cells has some issue.
Objective cell has some "fog" in the outer portion of the lenses but according to Mr. Leidler booklet, I assumed it cannot be fixed except with a new cell from a No. 53.....no 53 in my view on the web now

Ocular lenses has the same "fog" plus a "blurr" elsewhere half the way between lens centre and lens edge. I believe to strip the cell, separate the lenses and then reglue with balsam.

Information

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[peval65]

Hello
finally I am assembling the Telescope and the rifle but need help.....as one of the clicker plates does not move smooth. It has a couple of friction points where the force requested to move the drum is quite more high. I believe it is due to the 3 round head screws used to secure the plate instead of the countersunk type. The other plate has the correct type and moves fine.

Can somebody sell me the 3 correct screws or letting me know where can I purchase them? The Laidler's booklet says BA N°8x3/16.

Many thanks in advance!!!

[Peter Laidler]

Are you sure that the RANGE index plate is attached to the RANGE drum and RANGE clicker plate. They are a matched set. The three screws are 8BA countersunk and NOT raised head

You could loosen the 3 screws and screw them up equally or just remove a very SMALL amount from the top seating area of the faulty index plate. But to be honest, the sticking drum is the very least of your problems

[peval65]

I did disassemble the drums and related parts separately and stored them in different boxes.
Anyway I observed the two drums again very well and considering different rotation ranges of the drums, stop pins onto the index plates and corresponding click limits vs drums index limits, I am quite sure that clicker plates, drums and index plates are correctly assembled.

I performed yet your tip about the screws equally tightened and in fact the tightening force has visible effect on the drum rotation force in the two hard points.....this the reason I would find the correct screws, here in Italy impossible to find.

Apart from this issue the other things appears good to me. Take count that I made treasure of your booklet also when you warn the reader....do not strip the scope if not really necessary....so I stripped it except of the erector cell and eye lens cell, because I find it still usable as is. The eye lens cell job is furthermore easy to start in next times.

[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

[DanL96a1]

Peval65 I don’t know of anyone in Italy who would be able to supply BA screws, but in the UK I use https://www.ekpsupplies.com/. They can even do bespoke manufacture, I’m sure that they would be able to ship to you. After all we are suppose to be apart of the European community!

I understand that the original paint finishes was Suncorite 259, I was looking on E-Bay and found the following link.. some MOD paint for sale

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suncorite-...-/130478326500

I wish you the best of luck in repairing this telescope, and being brave enough to get one fingers dirty!! I would love to see some more photos of its repair, as you go along your journey.

[peval65]

I understand that the original paint finishes was Suncorite 259, I was looking on E-Bay and found the following link.. some MOD paint for sale

DanL96a1 I didn't have idea that suncorite would be still available! Anyway I used the best nitrocellulose paint (I believe that suncorite is nitrocellulose paint like almost any old military paints).

Peval65 I don’t know of anyone in Italy who would be able to supply BA screws, but in the UK I use Welcome to our store - EKP Supplies - Precision Turned Parts for Model Engineering. They can even do bespoke manufacture, I’m sure that they would be able to ship to you. After all we are suppose to be apart of the European community!

About BA screws, I didn't like to have the wrong screws in a so delicate part so I looked for them in the inventory of your dealer and on the web and found them.

I post some pictures of the telescope completely assembled before and after the "cure"......yes I cured it, it is certain that somebody if not quite a bit of the folks here, will not agree on this .......but IMO that nearly perfect scope on a worn rifle like mine it would have been an eyesore (is it right?). I have the rifle not yet assembled and maybe it will need more curing when I will get it to the rifle.
Any comment will be welcome and useful!

The next job anyway will be the fitting of the range drum/clicker plate, explained above by Mr. Laidler!

Here are the pictures (the first two are of course before the cure).
Compare them with the conditions of delivery above.

[Peter Laidler]

Next you must clear the paint from the small plate to show the black range/deflection index mark. The telescope looks well but it is the INSIDE that counts