What should I do?

[Thiink]

This afternoon I just finished pulling my whole focuser apart (I took the focuser off the OTA to make it easier) and putting it back together again, as per the instructions above. All I can say it wow! It has made a huge difference. Its not silky smooth, but it is a big improvement over what it was like before. Before the end of the weekend I hope to have the secondary checked (thanks for the howto!) and centered, and the focuser put back square again.

Some notes:
- when people say the factory "grease" is sticky, they arent lying. The stuff is literally like glue, I had to wash my hands 50 times to get it off my fingers before trying to clean another part. The isopropyl alcohol I used worked well, the earbuds I used to clean the focuser with were a pain though, they kept leaving little bits behind stuck to the glue. It all up took over an hour to get the glue off, but even then I dont think its 100% out. I ended up using the silicon spray, I sprayed it onto an ear bud before applying it, and then wiped off any excess.
- either my focuser is missing parts, or the design has changed a little bit from the pics on the website. My focuser did not have the metal retaining clip, and also had teflon sliders instead of the plastic strip, and there was no allen key screws on the side of it. It has the holes, but they are filled in.

It was definitely worth the time, and if I dont end up with a craford focuser soon I'm going to have another go at getting the glue out.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

It took me a while to get the glue out, even with thinners as a solvent and using a stiff toothbrush. You really want to get rid of all traces of the horrible stuff.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

One thing you might want to consider Simon is Xylene (careful its an S6 poison so DEFINATELY wear glove and maybe even a respirator if doing it in a confined space like a garage), but one thing I didn't try and I haven't seen mentioned is the old fashion degreasing fluid for removing grease of machine parts. could it be that simple????

[Thiink]

Originally Posted by Starkler

It took me a while to get the glue out, even with thinners as a solvent and using a stiff toothbrush. You really want to get rid of all traces of the horrible stuff.

Did yours have the retaining clip in it when you took it apart Geoff? Just wondering if mines either missing it, or isnt supposed to have one anyway.

I cleaned it fairly well, I am not really that keen to pull the thing apart again. That glue really was horrible, it took some scrubbing to get it off my hands (and even then they still felt sticky). I didnt think to try an old tooth bruth, I think it would have come off easy enough with the isopropyl and a toothbrush!

Paul: ouch! That sounds like nasty stuff! I think the upgrade to a crayford is a better idea, I dont know how much better the movement of the R&P is going to be even if I pull it apart again. Im fairly happy with how it is now. Im sure I could motorize it now I wouldnt have too many problems with how fluent the movement is. Degreaser wouldnt be a bad idea though, if I upgrade to a crayford I might play around with it to see what works best at getting the glue off 100%.

Thanks guys!

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Acetone is very good at getting anything off anything. Problem is Acetone will also eat paint off too, so if the focuser has any paint on it, forget it!

I once wanted to paint a motorcycle tank in a hurry and I was told that acetone was the best to degrease and strip the paint off. Luckily I was working in a Fibreglass place at the time and I filled a drum with acetone, stuck the tank in for about 20 seconds, swooshed it around and pulled it out to see if it had degreased it yet. It had stripped everything off down to the bare metal! IN 20 SECONDS!!!!

Good stuff!!!!!

[cahullian]

Thanks for the tips guys I'll take them on board now that I'm on holidays he he he

[Thiink]

Hm, after putting my focuser back in and trying to square it up, it appears as though I'm going to need to shim it slightly. At the moment the focuser is about 3-5mm off being the right height. Anyone have any ideas? Taking it apart, clearning, putting it back together and squaring it as good I could has certainly made a difference!