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Classic Telescopes Looking for Odds and Ends-The Ask Away Thread

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#1 mdowns

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Posted 13 March 2022 - 06:44 PM

  Recently,longtime classics poster deSitter  started a thread called the Odds and Ends in which the concept of asking for needed classic parts was raised. This has been discussed here in the past and it frankly has always made lots of sense due to the unique nature of classics. There are, however,TOS prescribed limitations that have nulled such discussions in the past.
  deSitter's current thread though has served as a catalyst for a renewed effort among the classics mods to move the concept forward. This new thread is the result of that group effort.

 

 

   'Have trouble finding that last or small item to finish your restore? This thread is for you! The classic mods working along with the administration have arrived at this format. This is a 'request for free' classic parts thread. Buying and selling are not permitted here and must (per the TOS) be confined to the classifieds. You can, however, ask here for the item you need for free. Many of your fellow forum members are both generous and have stashes of old parts, literature, etc. Ask here, in this forum for that part. These rules(taken from the giveaway thread) apply here.'

 

1. Ask only for items that are free and directly related to the restoration or repair of a classic telescope or other classic astro related items. The same for reference materials.No compensation may be offered, asked for, or expected aside from reasonable shipping charges.

 

2. Absolutely do not ask for or accept someone's generosity if your intent is to flip the item for profit. We are operating on the honor system, do so honorably.

 

3. If you need multiple items, please list them in the same post whenever possible. Once found, please post in the thread that the item has been located. Do not delete the item listing, this will provide a history. Don't bump your post too often.

 

4. All communication between the receiver and the benefactor should take place via the PM system.

 

5. Cloudy Nights assumes no responsibility for any aspect of the asked for/giveaway items found or gifted via this thread.


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#2 Couder

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Posted 13 March 2022 - 07:07 PM

where is the link?



#3 mdowns

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Posted 13 March 2022 - 07:10 PM

No link,this is the  'ask away' thread



#4 deSitter

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Posted 14 March 2022 - 07:27 AM

Great! Thanks for this!

 

-drl


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#5 Piggyback

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Posted 14 March 2022 - 01:00 PM

  IMG_1248.JPG

 

Looking for a  27mm dia. red colored Zeiss metal cover for the counterweight arrest bolt on my Telementor 2. I do not need the threaded bolt or counterweight. Thanks!


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#6 Cobalt*Blue

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Posted 14 March 2022 - 07:20 PM

Given a Monolux #4366 that I can get functional except for the focuser. The pinion gear is missing several teeth. Need this part only. Thank you. Chris.  FOUND!

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#7 deSitter

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Posted 15 March 2022 - 02:17 AM

Given a Monolux #4366 that I can get functional except for the focuser. The pinion gear is missing several teeth. Need this part only. Thank you. Chris.

You might be able to use a more common helical pinion by replacing the rack at the same time.

 

-drl



#8 Kasmos

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Posted 15 March 2022 - 03:00 PM

You might be able to use a more common helical pinion by replacing the rack at the same time.

 

-drl

Replacing the rack on these small focusers is probably not very feasible. The racks are very small and mounted in a slot inside the tube.

 

Here's a link to how they look:

 

https://www.cloudyni...uild-and-shims/


Edited by Kasmos, 15 March 2022 - 03:00 PM.


#9 Cobalt*Blue

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Posted 15 March 2022 - 07:44 PM

I have a leed on this part. The rack is in much better shape with only a few slightly worn teeth. Thank you for the offered help! Chris.
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#10 DouglasPaul

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Posted 16 March 2022 - 06:18 PM

This is a long shot, but what the heck. I'm missing the little round brass piece that tightens down the RA ( I think) movement on my Royal Astro 76/1200 refractor. I don't have pictures right now of where it's from on the mount but its under the flat round piece with 5 or 6 screws in it. I was foolishly working on it on the lawn and it fell out, I even bought a metal detector but all I found was old iron water line. Even if by chance you have one of these and are restoring the mount just having the dimensions would probably be enough so I could make one. I remember clearly it looks like a slotted screwdriver bit.

 

FOUND!


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#11 deSitter

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Posted 16 March 2022 - 08:26 PM

This is a long shot, but what the heck. I'm missing the little round brass piece that tightens down the RA ( I think) movement on my Royal Astro 76/1200 refractor. I don't have pictures right now of where it's from on the mount but its under the flat round piece with 5 or 6 screws in it. I was foolishly working on it on the lawn and it fell out, I even bought a metal detector but all I found was old iron water line. Even if by chance you have one of these and are restoring the mount just having the dimensions would probably be enough so I could make one. I remember clearly it looks like a slotted screwdriver bit.

Yes, that little bugger has a way of vanishing - but you can make your own from a brass rod and a file and Dremel/grinder. It's just a little wedge that nestles down into the RA brake ring. You only need to get the right dimensions. You could likely figure it out from some of the refurbishment photos found around here. But here's hoping you get an original!

 

-drl


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#12 DouglasPaul

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Posted 16 March 2022 - 10:04 PM

Yes, that little bugger has a way of vanishing - but you can make your own from a brass rod and a file and Dremel/grinder. It's just a little wedge that nestles down into the RA brake ring. You only need to get the right dimensions. You could likely figure it out from some of the refurbishment photos found around here. But here's hoping you get an original!

 

-drl

Clamchip has offered to fabricate one for me, he has that mount and he lives close. Sounds like problem solved. Yay!


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#13 CltFlyboy

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Posted 17 March 2022 - 07:49 AM

I've got to say that, from the way that this thread has started, we've hit on something really special here. Thanks to the community for recommending this!


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#14 oldmanastro

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Posted 18 March 2022 - 09:17 PM

For sometime now I have been looking for a long special threaded stud that goes where the arrow shows in the image. This is what is used to mount the clock drive in this Sears 6305 equatorial mount. I have the original clock drive and all the other parts but without this piece there's no way to mount the clock drive itself.  FOUND!

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  • Towa bolt.jpg

Edited by mdowns, 20 March 2022 - 04:34 PM.

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#15 Bowlerhat

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 12:10 AM

I need a/pair of telementor sights, and focusing knob.

 

image001.jpg

 

also a spare of diagonal holder (black part) from goto kogaku, the tube one that holds onto diagonal.

 

post-75399-0-01531000-1528655893.jpg


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#16 Garyth64

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 01:09 PM

For sometime now I have been looking for a long special threaded stud that goes where the arrow shows in the image. This is what is used to mount the clock drive in this Sears 6305 equatorial mount. I have the original clock drive and all the other parts but without this piece there's no way to mount the clock drive itself.

And I believe the stud looks like this:

 

650715-9.jpg


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#17 apfever

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 02:36 PM

For sometime now I have been looking for a long special threaded stud that goes where the arrow shows in the image. This is what is used to mount the clock drive in this Sears 6305 equatorial mount. I have the original clock drive and all the other parts but without this piece there's no way to mount the clock drive itself.

 

 

And I believe the stud looks like this:

 

attachicon.gif650715-9.jpg

 

I extracted three of these and found two different lengths as well as two different thread pitches. Each machined section is also slightly different in length on the long and short.  I have one surplus long bolt version. The short bolt is from a complete mount. 

I do not have a Sears 6305 to compare to. I think the 6305 is slightly more sophisticated than my mounts and the one shown by Gary. 

 

If I can confirm my long version is correct, then it will be on it's way.

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#18 apfever

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 02:45 PM

These are all over the chalk board. I just measured 3 more on my Towa 80mm, two model 339 and one Tasco 17T (Towa make).  

From the slotted top to the seating shoulder, the 339 are distinctly one inch, the 17T distinctly 15/16" like the short bolt shown. These are all set up so I did not remove them to check thread pitch or encased lengths. Thread pitch is important. I don't know how sensitive the other dimensions are.  

 

Short bolt is SAE 5/16-18, long bolts are metric M8X1.25 go figure. 

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  • w.JPG

Edited by apfever, 19 March 2022 - 03:48 PM.

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#19 DouglasPaul

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 03:02 PM

You can buy a thread pitch and size gauge for a pretty reasonable price online, might be better than guessing and mailing back and forth. Amazon has a bunch of different one's or you could try to find one local.


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#20 oldmanastro

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 07:25 PM

And I believe the stud looks like this:

 

attachicon.gif650715-9.jpg

That's exactly the part that I'm looking for. Thanks for the image!


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#21 oldmanastro

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 09:21 PM

These are all over the chalk board. I just measured 3 more on my Towa 80mm, two model 339 and one Tasco 17T (Towa make).  

From the slotted top to the seating shoulder, the 339 are distinctly one inch, the 17T distinctly 15/16" like the short bolt shown. These are all set up so I did not remove them to check thread pitch or encased lengths. Thread pitch is important. I don't know how sensitive the other dimensions are.  

 

Short bolt is SAE 5/16-18, long bolts are metric M8X1.25 go figure. 

Many thanks for taking the time to get these parts out of the mounts. I have been trying to figure out which size will fit using the stud from my Sears 4454 80mm telescope. This is different from the one on the 6305. As you can see in the images included the bottom part is thicker. This is the reason why it will not fit the 6305 mount. On the other hand, the clock drive attaches well to this stud and I have been able to use it on the 4454 mount. The marker shows the limits of the area covered by the clock drive when it is attached to the stud. The rest goes into a recessed area on the mount. This recessed area is smaller in the 6305. Looking at both studs in your image I am betting that both could fit because in the end, the thinner area where the clock drive screw engages would be at the same distance from the base of the stud when it screws into the telescope. Looking at Gary's image it seems that way.  The diamter if the 4454 stud is .55" and the thinner gad is .236".

 

Thank you all for the help. I have always wanted to use this clock drive on the 6305.

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Edited by oldmanastro, 19 March 2022 - 09:24 PM.

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#22 oldmanastro

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 09:34 PM

These are images of the clock drive mounting stud in the 4454 with the clock drive on and off the mount. Sorry for the poor condition of the mount but this is one that I have not disassembled and restored yet. It's sort of the big brother of the 6305 mount.

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  • 4454clokdrive.JPG
  • 4454clockdrive2.JPG

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#23 apfever

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 10:30 PM

Mod input welcome. While this is not discussing the transaction such as address etc. it is getting lengthy on details. I'm not sure where this fits into the idea of taking this outside this string.

 

I pulled the stud from my Sears 4454 (middle stud in picture) and it matches your 4454 exactly as well as matching the mount for the recess area in the hub fork. 

It is the same length in all ways to my short stud with the reduced end diameter (top stud in picture), and the threads match. It seems you would need one of these short versions.

My short stud is the only one I have from a complete perfect (looks new) mount. I have to keep that.

 

My longer stud is the size I have an extra of. The threads don't match but are close and could probably be tapped over. I photographed it with a best fit position for comparing (bottom stud in picture). Worst case is you might have to cut off part of the top if too long, and dremmel a notch in the end for a screwdriver slot.  That would take the chrome off the end.  You will probably have to run a die on it to correct the threads. This could be tricky. You don't have room to run a die all the way. You would have to do as much as possible normally then reverse the die and work it on backwards which could fail. This will take some shop sense and experience to figure out. The long stud will not screw into a short stud hole without some thread mods. It looks like you could tap the hole in the RA housing tang instead. SO FAR your thread specs have not been confirmed but it looks like a mismatch for a long stud. 

 

I think it is worth a try if you want me to send my surplus long stud. Your drive might fit over the extra length and the threads don't need much but some.

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  • 3.JPG

Edited by apfever, 19 March 2022 - 10:47 PM.

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#24 deSitter

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Posted 19 March 2022 - 11:20 PM

Mod input welcome. While this is not discussing the transaction such as address etc. it is getting lengthy on details. I'm not sure where this fits into the idea of taking this outside this string.

 

I pulled the stud from my Sears 4454 (middle stud in picture) and it matches your 4454 exactly as well as matching the mount for the recess area in the hub fork. 

It is the same length in all ways to my short stud with the reduced end diameter (top stud in picture), and the threads match. It seems you would need one of these short versions.

My short stud is the only one I have from a complete perfect (looks new) mount. I have to keep that.

 

My longer stud is the size I have an extra of. The threads don't match but are close and could probably be tapped over. I photographed it with a best fit position for comparing (bottom stud in picture). Worst case is you might have to cut off part of the top if too long, and dremmel a notch in the end for a screwdriver slot.  That would take the chrome off the end.  You will probably have to run a die on it to correct the threads. This could be tricky. You don't have room to run a die all the way. You would have to do as much as possible normally then reverse the die and work it on backwards which could fail. This will take some shop sense and experience to figure out. The long stud will not screw into a short stud hole without some thread mods. It looks like you could tap the hole in the RA housing tang instead. SO FAR your thread specs have not been confirmed but it looks like a mismatch for a long stud. 

 

I think it is worth a try if you want me to send my surplus long stud. Your drive might fit over the extra length and the threads don't need much but some.

I think this sort of information is good. Often it's the variations in individual models that are the most frustrating in trying to locate new parts. I think this is a good place to document such irregularities. oma's problem is being solved!

 

-drl


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#25 mdowns

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Posted 20 March 2022 - 07:32 AM

Mod input welcome. While this is not discussing the transaction such as address etc. it is getting lengthy on details. I'm not sure where this fits into the idea of taking this outside this string.

 

 

The whole point of this thread is to get or replace' that part' part needed in the restore project.In some cases like this,a lot of  discussion is needed and I think it's to the benefit of all classic restorers.We want any who need a piece to get the piece,the right piece to help them along.Discussion,involving whatever that part might be,is certainly encouraged as long as the focus remains about the part requested and sometimes(like in this case) it's certainly going to take significant discussion to find the 'right' part.


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