Focusser full of glue!

[stinky]

The focussing on my Skywatcher 6" refractor seemed a little stiff. Pulling apart revealed blobs of clear substance which was very tacky / glue like.

Specificaly the blobs were placed over the focusser shaft between the tension spring and the back plate. Clened away (with difficulty) using IsoPA and lubed with silicon spray. Focussing is now feather light.

Is this normal to have this gunk in a focusser? Perhaps an attempt at making the feel less 'backlashy' ?

Certainly this was the easiest mod / maint' for the best result. Anybody else got glue?

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Not sure if I have this problem Stinky, I just replaced my focuser with a Crayford.
But I have heard that lots of others have had the same issue !

[barees63]

I think it's usually referred to as "Synta-Glue".. I suspect GSO R&P focusers also have the same type of thick grease in them since they have a very stiff action, I was going to clean mine out but now that it's motorised I don't notice (although no doubt it will be chewing thru the battery faster than a nice light action would).

[stinky]

Sorry folks - looks like I jumped the gun by not browsing the forum first. Plenty of info' in :-
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ght=synta+glue

- this thread. Seems l am not the only one. Anybody know where to get teflon tape and how to glue to the inside of the barrel (to eliminate tube displacement).

[asimov (John)]

Yes, they bung this 'glue like substance' in there to cover up the low tolerances between the metal parts. I tried all manner of household chemicals & solvents to disolve the muck, finding good ol' unleaded petrol to be the best.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Originally Posted by barees63

I think it's usually referred to as "Synta-Glue"..

The other name that is often used to describe it is "Synta snot"

Just about every focuser and mount that comes out of china ( and a few others supplied from supposedly reputable manufacturers) comes out lubed with this "stuff". The best mod you can do to a mount or focuser with this problem is to strip it down, try to get all the stuff off (I refuse to call it grease) and relube it with a good quality lithium grease. Mind after doing that you might find a bit of slop that wasn't there before. Tolerances on some of these mounts are a bit hit and miss.

If anyone want to try a clean out and relube of there eq mounts try this astroboy site. It's for the CG5 but is pretty transferable to most eq mounts http://www.astronomyboy.com/cg5/ and follow the "preparation" link at the bottom of the page

[stinky]

Excellent link ponders. But now I won't be happy until I have stripped and rebuilt my mount. Thanks - er,umm - I think.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

You won't regret doing it. I did my eq3 ages ago and improved it out of sight. I just wish I'd done a better job of it. I was a bit slap dash about it and didn't remove as much of the glue as I could have nor was I as exacting in the "burr" removal department as I could have been, not being aware of how much of a difference it would make.

Atm I've just about convinced myself I don't really need to pull it apart again as it is working pretty well and it is only an EQ3 after all and not an Takahashi mount. (Mind you if it was a Tak I wouldn't have had to do it in the first place )

[matt]

Can't go wrong with lithium grease/spray.

Maybe pad the tube out with a few felt strips?

But replace it with a crayford if it really gives you the irrits

[mickoking]

Yeah had the same problem with my skywatcher. I just removed the crap and replaced it with lithium grease, sweet. The focusser is now a bit sloppy but it is not a real problem, maybe I'll fix it later

[RAJAH235]

Stinky, try 'Dotmar' Pty Ltd. in Talavera rd. nth Ryde for your teflon tape. I think they are also in Vic. HTH. L.

[cjmarsh81]

My skywatcher is the same. Haven't fixed it yet, just tightened it up real tight so it is not sloppy anymore. I need to fix it soon though as focusing with a tight focuser moves the whole scope around.

[Kieken]

Same here on my Celestron dob => R&P focusser full of this sticky stuff. I've relubed it with a bit of lithium grease and a couple of drops of mineral oil (WD40 I guess). It worked great until a couple of months ago when I replaced it with a GSO crayford . Guess what, the microfocus was full of this grease to. Regreased it and now it works super .

Same for my EQ-2. Lithium grease and a bit of mineral oil really did the job .

[ving (David)]

cleaned out my GS R &P of its glue.... worked wonders