Quote:
Originally Posted by alpal
Hi Paul,
nice find.
I am now wary of old optics after trying to clean a
1960s Eschenbach microscope that had a 45 degree prism in it.
The prism was held in place by some hard brown coloured glue.
I used a jewelers screw driver to gently scrape a large dust fluff ball
on the side of the prism and the whole prism cracked through the center.
Somehow the prism was under great strain - bad in itself for optics -
but even the slightest touch ruined it.
I can only speculate that flexible glue such as silicone was not used
but some hard type of epoxy or perhaps the glue
was flexible but went hard after 50 years?
Some microscopes and binoculars use a metal or plastic cradle
with screw adjustments to hold and align the prisms but
others - most of them - just glue them in place.
In any case if the binoculars ever need collimating or internal cleaning
it would be good to know how the prisms are mounted first?
Also - painting the binoculars?
Some collectors may prefer the original paint even if it's chipped.
It's better to let them decide if you plan on selling the binoculars.
cheers
Allan
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Thanks for that Allan.
Yup, not going to risk doing anything myself and for now restoration is on the back burner. And yeah restoration can still be risky for such and old set and doubt even optics shops have replacement parts. The prisms on these are massive compared to Binos the same size!
And yeah I wasn't after painting or anything like that, more so restoration in regards to complete cleanup of optics and collimation but after last night's session, I'm more than happy to leave them be as they are sharp and clear enough for me to enjoy them.