31 replies to this topic

[Sky Muse]

It's a Towa, and from the 1960s, albeit just barely, so I'm posting it here...

 

From the Sears "Wish Book" of 1969, #2, the "Student Model"...

 

http://192.185.93.15...logPage0100.jpg

 

 

That's how the box appeared before it was shipped.  Unfortunately, one end of the box did not survive the trip from the Houston-area, "thanks" to USPS...

 

 

However, and most thankfully, the contents were undamaged.  I suppose that the damage to the box, as it has already been done, was to be, and as it had been written in the stars.

 

The specs on the box...

 

 

First, the only eyepiece, and accessories...

 

A .965" 8mm Huygens-Mittenzwey...

 

 

A rather fancy name for such a practically-useless ocular, although I can make use of eyepieces with short eye-relief.  Interestingly, the ocular's specs are engraved, rather than printed on a label.  I like that.

 

The 1.5x "Image Erector", and literature...

 

 

I know I won't be using that.

 

The infamous "Sun Filter"...

 

I thought I'd never see one, let alone now being in possession of one...

 

 

Placing the filter over a Maglite "Solitaire" LED flashlight, Maglite's smallest, which is intensely bright for its size, the light nonetheless penetrates the filter...

 

 

At this juncture, it is important to note: ***NEVER use this type of filter with any telescope!***

 

The .965" prism star-diagonal...

 

 

The rough texture of the body seems to indicate cast-iron.  It wouldn't be the first time.  Incidentally, not a single fleck of rust was to be found anywhere, throughout the kit.

 

I do think that owners of slower refractors prize their prism-diagonals, as I'm certainly no exception.

 

Next, the telescope itself...

Edited by Sky Muse, 17 September 2016 - 12:27 AM.

[Bomber Bob]

The diagonal is one of the better quality Towa models.  Its body is cast aluminum.  The chrome barrel should be brass, and it may have a curved brass spring that holds the prism in place.

[Sky Muse]

My first telescope, at the age of 8 or 9, was a Sears 60mm f/11 "Discoverer" achromat, from around 1972-73.  I still have the manual...

 

 

...and the kit itself, stored somewhere on my place, but its objective is scratched up pretty badly.  So much for personal memories, and now for my latest acquisition...

 

Voici...

 

 

The flared flanges, fore and aft, are out of this world... 

 

 

...beautiful!

 

The "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval...

 

 

I'll need to either laminate the seal or coat it with clear-enamel, as this telescope will be used in a practical manner.

 

 

...emblazoned, "Astronomical Refractor"...

 

Hmm, 600mm focal-length; it certainly is a "fast"...f/12. 

 

A 50mm f/12 is certainly something of an oddball among a seeming plethora of the 60mm varieties.

[Bomber Bob]

That's the better grade starter scope.  The lens should give good views up to 80x per inch.  And, the Moon at 15-20x is an etched 3D marble!

 

My Monolux 4348 was a tabletop 50x600 Towa.  I like the views so much, I rebuilt it, and it rides on my Edmund 4" f/15 as a guide scope.

Edited by Bomber Bob, 16 September 2016 - 10:23 PM.

[Sky Muse]

The doublet-objective is untouched; immaculate even...

 

 

The pea-shooter of a finderscope looks to be a 1x, and with an extremely narrow field-of-view.  Its single flat lens is 15mm in diameter...

 

 

I know I won't be using that.

 

In any event, the kit is illustrated as it arrived earlier this day. 

 

On a scale from 1 to 10 for mintness, I'd give it an 8.5 to 9.

 

I think it will be ideal as a white-light solar refractor.

 

The mount will not be used, ultimately.  I'd like to attach tube-rings and a dovetail-bar, but I suspect rings for this one are scarcer than scarcer-than-hen's-teeth, but I'll think of something.

 

Thank you for looking.

[Sky Muse]

That's the better grade starter scope.  The lens should give good views up to 80x per inch.  And, the Moon at 15-20x is an etched 3D marble!

 

My Monolux 4348 was a tabletop 50x600 Towa.  I like the views so much, I rebuilt it, and it rides on my Edmund 4" f/15 as a guide scope.

Oh, I'm hoping to take it up to 120x, and with a 5mm orthoscopic.  We'll see.

 

Of course, it will be gone through with a fine-toothed comb: cleaning, re-greasing and blackening this and that.

 

I won't be upgrading the focusser, that's for sure, as that would ruin it.  I'll be looking into a hybrid-diagonal soon.

[Sky Muse]

I almost forgot to mention: the finderscope brackets are of plastic; as are the focusser's knobs and the protective caps, of course.

[john gabriel]

I am happy for you, Alan, that the scope is a goody!  It sure is pretty!  Maybe you could use that finder scope instead of taking yoga classes - good for general flexibility.        "1x" really?

 

 

 (I am dismayed, however, that USPS people are so increasingly often disrespectful of others' property.    It just does not seem at all necessary)

[mdowns]

What a hoot to see! My first telescope in 65/66 was this model without the erector.Fun,fun fun.

[Sky Muse]

I am happy for you, Alan, that the scope is a goody!  It sure is pretty!  Maybe you could use that finder scope instead of taking yoga classes - good for general flexibility.        "1x" really?

 

 

 (I am dismayed, however, that USPS people are so increasingly often disrespectful of others' property.    It just does not seem at all necessary)

Thanks John!

 

Yes, it's a 1x sight-tube; a "1x15", nine inches in length.  The single "lens" at the front is actually nothing more than a rattling window of flat plate-glass with the cross-hairs situated just behind it.  A 5x24 finderscope would not have been out of order when originally configured, so I'll be exploring that option in future, but it will have to match.

 

I can repair the box, if I want, as I've made paper-type repairs before.

[leveye]

Congrats on a real beauty. That was my very first scope. Such great memories of seeing the moon close up for the first time. Takes me right back there to that first night seeing this one.

[john gabriel]

 

Yes, it's a 1x sight-tube; a "1x15", nine inches in length.  The single "lens" at the front is actually nothing more than a rattling window of flat plate-glass with the cross-hairs situated just behind it.  A 5x24 finderscope would not have been out of order when originally configured, so I'll be exploring that option in future, but it will have to match.

 

I can repair the box, if I want, as I've made paper-type repairs before.

 

I will be interested to see what you find to replace the 1x.  Equally interested in what you come up with for paint color matches.  I know you're the man for the job! 

 

 

Repair that box?  My you're ambitions and talents are light years longer than mine!       I only have 300 projects, 290 of which will never get done.  

 

Anyway, congratulations on the wonderful scope.  It's a beauty to behold and is in good hands to get it out under the stars again.  

Edited by john gabriel, 17 September 2016 - 03:18 PM.

[Kasmos]

Sky Muse, Check out the Carton in a Box thread. Scroll down to post #48 where DMala does some repairs to his damaged box.

 

http://www.cloudynig...carton in box

[Sky Muse]

Congrats on a real beauty. That was my very first scope. Such great memories of seeing the moon close up for the first time. Takes me right back there to that first night seeing this one.

I'm glad I was able to bring that memory back to you.  Cheers!

[Sky Muse]

Sky Muse, Check out the Carton in a Box thread. Scroll down to post #48 where DMala does some repairs to his damaged box.

 

http://www.cloudynig...carton in box

...phenomenal instruments, and seemingly the epitome of the age.

[Sky Muse]

Odd, these scratches on the inside of the main tube, near to the doublet.  I suppose that occurred at the factory...

 

 

Well, nothing a can of ultra-flat black can't help.

[Sky Muse]

The owner's manual, for those interested...

 

https://www.flickr.c...157670749874613

 

If anyone wants the manual sent via a pm, do let me know. 

 

The images are free for anyone to save and print.

[BillShakes]

Thanks for posting about this scope!

 

I've enjoyed using my 50mm Towa's.  I have two versions, very similar to yours.  One an earlier Orbit Scope version with an inspection sticker style that seems to put it about 61', the second a later version with no focuser ID plate I suspect imported by JCPenney.  I guess early 70's based on the focuser shape.  I've added I picture of a 40mm Sears 4-6341 that seems to be most similar to your 50mm.  Note the variation in finders on these three - the 40mm has the same peep tube as your 50mm.  

 

My observing notes using the early 70's scope (which has the better objective) from last week -

 

9/15/16 4:15-5:30am Waxing Gibbous, near full.  

A fun hour with morning stars.  Went out with the small scope to peek at the moon but never did.  Winter constellations up.

Orion - Mintaka: nice split, very pretty and sharp. Sigma: fun system.  Could resolve (AB), D and E, hint of C?. Nearby triple just resolved.  Down through the sword. NGC1981, NGC1975 (faint nebulosity visible), M43, M42, could resolve all four stars in the trap.  Nice!  View of nebula best in 25mm Plossl.  Iota: could not resolve 8th mag companion.  Lambda: Pretty cluster.  Could not resolve 4" pair.

Moon set about 5:00am - sky darkened and Milky Way appeared.  Dramatically darker skies until 5:30am when sunrise began to brighten the sky.

Auriga - M38, M37, M36  Nice and satisfactory views - near zenith.  Very clear.  Averted vision brought out details, particularly in M37.  Surprised by the 50mm!

Perseus: Double Cluster.  Very nice.  Beautifully framed in 25mm Plossl.  Observed for a long time until sky brightened testing other eyepieces.  Averted vision brought out glow of unresolved stars.

A very nice hour with the little 50mm!!

 

Best EPs for use with this scope were - 25mm Plossl (24X, about 2 degree FOV), 18mm Kellner (33X, about 1.3 degree FOV), and 7mm Or (85X, about 0.5 degree FOV).

 

Clear Skies!

BS

Edited by BillShakes, 19 September 2016 - 07:38 AM.

[Sky Muse]

Thanks for posting about this scope!

 

I've enjoyed using my 50mm Towa's.  I have two versions, very similar to yours.  One an earlier Orbit Scope version with an inspection sticker style that seems to put it about 61', the second a later version with no focuser ID plate I suspect imported by JCPenney.  I guess early 70's based on the focuser shape.  I've added I picture of a 40mm Sears 4-6341 that seems to be most similar to your 50mm.  Note the variation in finders on these three - the 40mm has the same peep tube as your 50mm.  

50mm Orbit.jpg

50mm Towa.jpg

40mm.jpg

 

My observing notes using the early 70's scope (which has the better objective) from last week -

 

9/15/16 4:15-5:30am Waxing Gibbous, near full.  

A fun hour with morning stars.  Went out with the small scope to peek at the moon but never did.  Winter constellations up.

Orion - Mintaka: nice split, very pretty and sharp. Sigma: fun system.  Could resolve (AB), D and E, hint of C?. Nearby triple just resolved.  Down through the sword. NGC1981, NGC1975 (faint nebulosity visible), M43, M42, could resolve all four stars in the trap.  Nice!  View of nebula best in 25mm Plossl.  Iota: could not resolve 8th mag companion.  Lambda: Pretty cluster.  Could not resolve 4" pair.

Moon set about 5:00am - sky darkened and Milky Way appeared.  Dramatically darker skies until 5:30am when sunrise began to brighten the sky.

Auriga - M38, M37, M36  Nice and satisfactory views - near zenith.  Very clear.  Averted vision brought out details, particularly in M37.  Surprised by the 50mm!

Perseus: Double Cluster.  Very nice.  Beautifully framed in 25mm Plossl.  Observed for a long time until sky brightened testing other eyepieces.  Averted vision brought out glow of unresolved stars.

A very nice hour with the little 50mm!!

 

Best EPs for use with this scope were - 25mm Plossl (24X, about 2 degree FOV), 18mm Kellner (33X, about 1.3 degree FOV), and 7mm Or (85X, about 0.5 degree FOV).

 

Clear Skies!

BS

...gorgeous examples!

 

Within the center image, that's exactly how my Sears #4426 appeared, once.

 

But being a 60mm, it was much too large.   

 

I'm serious.

[Sky Muse]

Just floating an idea...50/50...

 

 

 

Would we have wanted the modern coatings on these classic doublets?  I may just hear the "nays" from the gallery...

 

In any event, I do think a Vixen-style dovetail-base is in order, and a 6x30 or red-dot instead.

[BillShakes]

Here is my  approach to mounting modern RDFs on these old refractors without changing the stock finder setup.

 

 

I drill a hole through the stalk, reverse the RDF on the stalk so that the dovetail stop faces the front, then use an elastic to hold it to the dew shield.  This places the RDF on the far end of the scope - easier to look through, while making no changes to the stock scope/finder.  The dovetail stop rests against the front edge of the dew shield keeping the assembly pretty square.  Works like a charm and makes finding objects way easier than the contortions necessary to look through the original 5x24 or peep finders.

 

 

Of course it looks a little unusual - best to do in the dark if there are purist around.

 

 

[Sky Muse]

"...best to do in the dark if there are purist around."

 

And there I was at Home Depot earlier today inquiring about their tintable enamels.  They have a colour-sensing device that enables duplication of the colour of any item brought in to the store.  I'm planning on painting the tube of whichever finderscope I decide upon, so yes, count me in with said group.

[Sky Muse]

EDIT: With the introduction completed, the thread will continue with the refurbishment and restoration of said achromat...

 

3mm screws and such to fill in the sight-tube brackets' holes in the main optical-tube, and 4mm screws and such to attach the new dovetail base...

 

 

For the brackets' holes, I have the option of all stainless steel on the outside of the main tube, or the dark screws and such painted the same colour as the main tube.

 

The heads of the 5mm screws fit the dovetail base's recessed hole-slots perfectly, and flush, but since the screws will be slightly angled, I chose the 4mm instead.

Edited by Sky Muse, 20 September 2016 - 10:31 PM.

[Sky Muse]

The heart of any telescope is its lens, or mirror, and therefore perhaps deserves the most attention, especially in the case of the doublet-objective of this achromat...

 

 

The flash of the camera has stripped away all pretensions, and revealed every last decade, year, month, week, day, hour and minute of its use and storage throughout its existence.  It has also revealed the obvious lack of modern lens-coatings, and merely that of the age in which it had come to be.  The refractor will be cleaned, re-greased where applicable, blackened, refitted and polished, to "within an inch of its life", and all for a rebirth into the modern age, to be used in a practical, everyday, and every-night, manner.

 

To deaden, and to all manner of stray-light, whether it be artificial or natural; blacker than the darkest of dark nebulae it shall become wi'in, as black as a black hole e'en...

 

The patient is ready...

 

 

 

 

In the event that the crown and flint elements were aligned at the factory, and that said alignment has survived through the decades; just in case...

 

 

 

 

With the elements now marked, I can now separate them for cleaning and blackening of their edges.  First, however, I need a jar of Pond's® cold cream.  Unfortunately, I'm fresh out at the moment, and will need to get a jar at the store in the next day or two, as there are three or four suspicious spots on the lenses.

 

In the meantime, the doublet's lock-ring needs attention...

 

 

 

Only the extremely-narrow top edge and interior have been blackened...

 

 

[Caelestis Draco]

It's a Towa, and from the 1960s, albeit just barely, so I'm posting it here...

 

From the Sears "Wish Book" of 1969, #2, the "Student Model"...

 

http://192.185.93.15...logPage0100.jpg

 

box.jpg

 

That's how the box appeared before it was shipped.  Unfortunately, one end of the box did not survive the trip from the Houston-area, "thanks" to USPS...

 

box2.jpg

 

However, and most thankfully, the contents were undamaged.  I suppose that the damage to the box, as it has already been done, was to be, and as it had been written in the stars.

 

The specs on the box...

 

1.jpg

 

First, the only eyepiece, and accessories...

 

A .965" 8mm Huygens-Mittenzwey...

 

15.jpg

 

A rather fancy name for such a practically-useless ocular, although I can make use of eyepieces with short eye-relief.  Interestingly, the ocular's specs are engraved, rather than printed on a label.  I like that.

 

The 1.5x "Image Erector", and literature...

 

11.jpg

 

I know I won't be using that.

 

The infamous "Sun Filter"...

 

I thought I'd never see one, let alone now being in possession of one...

 

14.jpg

 

Placing the filter over a Maglite "Solitaire" LED flashlight, Maglite's smallest, which is intensely bright for its size, the light nonetheless penetrates the filter...

 

12.jpg

 

At this juncture, it is important to note: ***NEVER use this type of filter with any telescope!***

 

The .965" prism star-diagonal...

 

17.jpg

 

The rough texture of the body seems to indicate cast-iron.  It wouldn't be the first time.  Incidentally, not a single fleck of rust was to be found anywhere, throughout the kit.

 

I do think that owners of slower refractors prize their prism-diagonals, as I'm certainly no exception.

 

Next, the telescope itself...

If there's not a single fleck of rust, it may be cast Zinc ...