85 replies to this topic

[D_talley]

I just picked up a Sears 6345 scope that was sold by the original owner. He has not used it much and put it up for sale at a very good price.  The serial number is 990140 which is not on the current list. 

 

I have a lot of cleaning to do, get the white paint back to white and remove the old grease from the mount.  Everything is included.  The barlow that came with it has never been taken from the shipping paper. The mount has the small light assembly that goes on the eyepiece tray.  The dew shield is not bent. Overall a good scope from what i can tell.   The cardboard box it came in has falling apart along with the foam.  What happened to the good wooden boxes? 

 

I will get more photos when I am able to give it first light. 

 

This will be my last scope purchase, really!

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[D_talley]

Here are the eyepieces that came with the scope.  I will have to clean out the dust in the turret to make is smooth again.  Living here in the desert does not do well for optics as you can see.  However the primary glass is clear of any issues. 

 

I happened to have an adapter that will let me use standard eyepieces with the scope. Windy now but hope to get some starlight tonight. 

 

I have several old scopes and they all came with the dangerous sun filter.  I should start a welding company.

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[CharlieB]

That's a fantastic and quite rare scope.  Unfortunately, these were made after the departure of wooden boxes.  The color coded eyepieces are nice to have, but the scope really needs better ones.  The 22mm Kellner is the best of the lot.  The glass looks to be in excellent condition and the rest will clean up nicely.  The guide scope is a fine performer all by itself. 

 

You are a fortunate person to come across that scope!

 

Charlie

[KBHornblower]

Those were the days when Sears was a great retailer for all sorts of consumer products.

[Crow Haven]

Congratulations on a great find!  I enjoy mine too.  A few have recommended getting sturdier ota rings if you intend using it a lot.  I haven't had mine crack but I guess it has happened to others.  Enjoy!!

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[Kokatha man]

This will be my last scope purchase, really!

Yeah - sure, sure!

[D_talley]

I found this scope on Craigslist and jumped on it when I realized what it was.  I have been in the hospital ever since I picked it up on Monday and have not had a chance to test it but everything is there. I should have time during the next week to take it apart and clean the sands of time from it and lube the mount.  Good weekend project. This scope was built around the same time my Cave 10 inch Newtonian was made, which I had to refurbish. 

I saw a posting by someone who has Serial Number 990141 and said that the optics were the best he has ever looked through. I am hoping that my scope with number 990140 will have the same optics since they were on the bench together.

 

I am not a visual guy but like the old scopes I see for sale. 

[RichA]

I just picked up a Sears 6345 scope that was sold by the original owner. He has not used it much and put it up for sale at a very good price.  The serial number is 990140 which is not on the current list. 

 

I have a lot of cleaning to do, get the white paint back to white and remove the old grease from the mount.  Everything is included.  The barlow that came with it has never been taken from the shipping paper. The mount has the small light assembly that goes on the eyepiece tray.  The dew shield is not bent. Overall a good scope from what i can tell.   The cardboard box it came in has falling apart along with the foam.  What happened to the good wooden boxes? 

 

I will get more photos when I am able to give it first light. 

 

This will be my last scope purchase, really!

Didn't know Sears sold 90mm refractors. 

[Garyth64]

If I found one for sale, I would jump on it.

 

But, I would hate to get in a bidding war on one. 

[BigC]

Well, congratulations !

 

I wish there were more of those.

[AndresEsteban]

I just picked up a Sears 6345 scope that was sold by the original owner. He has not used it much and put it up for sale at a very good price.  The serial number is 990140 which is not on the current list. 

 

I have a lot of cleaning to do, get the white paint back to white and remove the old grease from the mount.  Everything is included.  The barlow that came with it has never been taken from the shipping paper. The mount has the small light assembly that goes on the eyepiece tray.  The dew shield is not bent. Overall a good scope from what i can tell.   The cardboard box it came in has falling apart along with the foam.  What happened to the good wooden boxes? 

 

I will get more photos when I am able to give it first light. 

 

This will be my last scope purchase, really!It is really a 

Wonderful adquisition! Congratulations! Is not easy to find a 90 mm f/15.5 vintage scope!
A nice 90 mm  f/15.55 CA = 4,39 achromat! It will certainly put all those Skywatcher and Celestron 90 mm f/10 achromats to eat dust!!!

Advice: make sure you use it with modern 1.25" eyepieces. Machine an adapter directly screwed to the main drawtube! Also, if you have time, reposition the internal baffles in order to have a 27 mm diameter focal area at the focal plane! Flock it! You'll be amazed after this mods!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear skies for us all!
Andy

 

[BigC]

I think there is a nostalgic market for WELL-MADE long 90 achromats -- perhaps too small a market for current costs of production and marketing.. Not sure if Bresser 90 still available;commments about its focuser troubling.

 

Meade.Orion, and ,recently, Gskyer have sold good 90/1000.

 

Anyway a Sears 90 is DEFINITELY on my want list.

[D_talley]

Here are some more photos from the new scope.  I have a lot of work ahead of me cleaning out the dust and sand. That is the biggest problem living here. 

 

 

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[D_talley]

I will need to find replacement felt for the scope saddle. I also was able to clean up the eyepiece holder, which I will never use since I have an adapter to convert to modern eyepieces.

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[Kokatha man]

...with a drive - you lucky man!   

[D_talley]

Does anyone have the size of the original cardboard box that these scopes were shipped in? It is a shame that a nice scope came in cardboard and I want to build a wood case for it like it should have.  I just need the dimensions so that I have a place to start.  The box will be heavy but will protect this scope for a few more years. 

[Garyth64]

You can google "Sears 6345", and you will get many hits.

 

One hit:  https://astromart.co...actor-telescope

 

-may show everything you need to know.  You can lay out all the parts and see what sizes you will need.

 

However, I would not make a wood box similar to how the scope is packed in the Styrofoam.  In the Styrofoam, you can see that the OTA is still attached to its mount.  I would have to remove the OTA from the mount to attach the mount to the tripod.  So with that said, I propose you design your box like a Tasco 10TE wood box.  I really like the layout of how every was placed.  I tried to make it as original looking as I could.

 

I rebuilt the wood insides for my 10TE and posted pictures on it.  I will look for the post, and add in the link.

 

Here is my post: https://www.cloudyni...o-10te-project/

 

Maybe this will give you some ideas.  Your box will have to be longer, wider and deeper.  Maybe using the length of the OTA, minus the dew shield and focuser to give you an idea on the length of the box.  If it were my project, it would be fun to create a box for the 6345.

Edited by Garyth64, 09 October 2020 - 12:36 PM.

[D_talley]

Thanks for the link. I will use the info as a starting point.  The case will be long but not as long as the one I made for my Antares 105mm f/15 scope.  That scope was too long to be without protection. 

 

I just need the time to make the case.  I guess this winter will do. 

 

 

 

I have cleaned up the spotting and guiding scopes. Got a lot of junk off of the lenses but they are not scratched up.  Looking to see if I will repaint the OTA or let the minor scratches be a part of its personality. 

 

 

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[Linn]

Unfortunately my 6345 did not come with the box. I think I would make two boxes, one for the OTA and one for the mount. Not sure which box would hold the accessories.

[Garyth64]

Thanks for the link. I will use the info as a starting point.  The case will be long but not as long as the one I made for my Antares 105mm f/15 scope.  That scope was too long to be without protection. 

 

I just need the time to make the case.  I guess this winter will do. 

 

 

 

I have cleaned up the spotting and guiding scopes. Got a lot of junk off of the lenses but they are not scratched up.  Looking to see if I will repaint the OTA or let the minor scratches be a part of its personality. 

Very nice box.  I would think that you could make a box for your 6345 with individual wood compartments for all the accessories on two levels.

[PhilA]

Hi All,

 

I know nothing about historical telescopes and just ran across this post in the new content. Who manufactured these for Sears? They look like more than junk department store scopes. Did Sears sell a whole line of telescopes?  When did all this happen? I had no idea.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

[D_talley]

Royal Astro Optical made the 6345 for Sears. Looks like there was a limited number made, around 400. This was not a junk department store scope, costing about $3400 in todays money.  There is a registry that only has tracking on 20 or so in the wild.  So it is a rare scope to find for sale.  There are numerous posts on CN about them. This one showed up on Craigslist about 2 hours from me and I grabbed it as soon as I could. 

[oldmanastro]

Hi All,

 

I know nothing about historical telescopes and just ran across this post in the new content. Who manufactured these for Sears? They look like more than junk department store scopes. Did Sears sell a whole line of telescopes?  When did all this happen? I had no idea.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

During the late 50s and 60s and in coordination with the space age golden era, Sears sold a line of good to excellent telescopes manufactured in Japan by Towa and Astro Optical. The Astro Optical telescopes were quality instruments with excellent optics. These were usually their high end models with apertures in the 76mm to 80mm range. I think that the 90mm was also an Astro Optical. Most of their 60mm models were from Towa and even though their quality was more variable they were very good telescopes. The 80mm offered in the late 60s to early 70s was a high quality instrument. The only downside with the Sears telescopes was the .965" Japanese eyepieces of simple Huygens and Ramsden designs. Their better eyepiece was a low power 22mm Kellner include with some models. 

 

The 90mm 6345 refractor featured in this thread is a top notch model offered for a short period of time. It is a real classic quality scope and I am glad to see this one being rescued, restored and back observing the heavens. My congratulations to the new owner.

[Kasmos]

A single box for it sure seems like it will be big and heavy to move. 

I'd consider making one for the OTA and another for the tripod and mount. 

Sort of inline with what Unitron did. That said, perhaps three, one just for the GEM.

[D_talley]

Here is a shot of the three long scopes that I have.  The top scope is an Antares 105mm 1500mm F/15  which is great for looking at double stars.

 

The middle scope is the Sears 6345  90mm 1400mm  F/15.6   which I hope lives up to the the hype I have been reading about the images it produces. 

 

And the bottom one is a Sans And Streiffe 76.2mm 1250mm  F/16.4   Is a very good scope. 

 

 

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