Japanese 76mm f/16 Royal Tokyo

[FlashDrive]

Picked this up today .... time to clean her up ...!!


Wet and dry on the tube, then repaint ...!!


Scratches only on tube / no dents


Dew shield has taken a knock at the tip ....bit of panel beating and repaint.


I have Baader Adapters to convert it to take 2" and 1.25 Eyepieces.


Finder is as usual with scratches, but the optics in it are very nice.


Front Lens is crystal clear with really nice coatings.


A work in progress to start over the next few weeks ....!!


Col...

[LewisM]

Nice Pops!

[FlashDrive]

Started on the Focuser ...pulled to bits and cleaned....rotary brass wire wheel on the Flange ....!!


This thing is ' solid ' no plastic at all.


Focuser wheels are brushed and solid Aluminum


Very smooth in operation and the back focus might as well reach for the ceiling .


Solid Steel Construction.


Col....

[gts055]

Nice classic F16, that will be fun to clean and set up. It will give very nice views too. Mark

[FlashDrive]

That's it so far ...more work to come.


Col...

[ausastronomer]

Looks nice Col. I am guessing late 1960's to mid 1970's vintage ?

They built things properly and to last in those days !! Of course you paid for that with a lot of extra weight, but you knew things weren't going to crack, split, or wear out anytime soon.

BTW. Did you clean the screw heads with steel wool, or soak them in vinegar ?

Cheers
John B

[FlashDrive]

I ran them over the brass wire wheel in my drill press .... very gently.

Cleaned up nicely.

Col...

[LewisM]

Rings request answered in trade section

[ausastronomer]

Yep that works as well.

I've also used a really small wire brush on my dremmel, which also works well.

Cheers,
John B

[LewisM]

Be careful with "brass" wire wheels - they 99% of the time are merely brass coated steel. If it is a really stiff wire, you do NOT want it near chrome plated parts etc. I hate to say it, but I do see wire wheel paint enamel removal near the focuser flange :(

To properly restore soft parts and chrome/chrome plated/nickel plated, use a Dremel mini soft stainless wheel or a jeweller's brass wire wheel - which is genuine brass and is so soft you can literally put your fingers against it while spinning and it won't hurt.

I've been using a jeweller's brass wheel for decades for many restoration projects. It takes longer, but it's worth it. It will barely even scratch gold (what it's designed to not do)


Below is the wheel - this one is about 3 years of use. I buy them online from a jewellers supply in either Brisbane or Perth.

[Rainmaker]

Lovely scope Poppy!
Should show nice views at F16.
I have a couple of F15 brass refractors (3.25” & 4”)

[FlashDrive]

Thanks Matt ... I'll do my best on this one also ..looking forward to the completion of it. :)

[FlashDrive]

Did the Tube today with various grades of Wet and Dry ... finished it off with 2000 fine paper.

Dew Shield yet to be done

Col....

[The Mekon]

Colin,

Have you got the whole telescope + box or just the OTA? I owned one of these Royal Astro 3" F16 refractors back when I was very young. I think I bought it in 1969, a used scope from the "Amateur Astronomers Supply Company" in Crow Nest. At that time new scopes were $195 but I paid $125 for a used scope trading in my 3" reflector. The mount was quite a nice affair being able to used in Alt/Az or equatorial form. Also the scope had a draw tube focuser but I am not sure if yours has one, perhaps being modified over the years.

[FlashDrive]

No....just the OTA ....wish it did have the original box ...!!

[UniPol]

A bit of info for you Col

[FlashDrive]

Many thanks Steve I'm sure ....:)

[FlashDrive]

Tube is now finished ... great result ....!!

[LewisM]

Nice Pops

[FlashDrive]

Almost there.......only the Dew shield and Finder to go ...!!

Col...

[FlashDrive]

All done except Finder.....

I would prefer a 1.25 Baader Diagonal but the 2" will have to do for now.

Col.....

[FlashDrive]

Took the Scope out last night ..... unfortunately I have lost too much ' in travel ' ( using the adapters and 2" Diagonal ), and I cannot get any eyepieces to focus :( ....so it's back to sourcing a .965 to 1.25 Diagonal

Col..

[LewisM]

I definitely have 0.965 EPs Col and I’ll look for a diagonal

[FlashDrive]

Champion :)

[quirkster1]

Hi,

OPT in the states have a series .965 eyepieces. They're standard Possels with stepped down barrels and they're not that expensive. I bought a 25mm one for my old 114mm reflector and it works quite well.

Website is https://optcorp.com/collections/0-965-eyepieces

I believe that .965 diagonals (along with those truly awful .965 Huygens) can be picked up on ebay or Amazon.

Cheers,

[FlashDrive]

Thanks anyway, but I'm not after .965 eyepieces :)

[LewisM]

Col I doubt you’ll find a 0.965 to 1.25 diagonal without modifying a 1.25” diagonal - probably a Baader with removable nosepiece so you can use a custom nosepiece (I have done this before)

The 0.965 EPs I have are vixen and rather good so don’t rule them out

[FlashDrive]

Thanks :)