As alluded to in the Classifieds thread, I was the lucky buyer of the "Black Friday" Astro-Physics 6" f/8 that was listed on Astromart for $1200. Plus an extra $100 for shipping and it's now in my possession! I've always wanted an AP scope but could never bring myself to jump at the astronomical prices they usually garner. I'm a creature of habit and my interests usually favor the underdog, the cheap and dirty fix-er-upper type things. This was right up my alley, checking both boxes in spades! And I've wanted a classic 1980s version because I'm a classic nut at heart as well.
Nicely packed and shipped in a lined wooden case. The scope arrived without any shipping damage. The dew shield is pretty bent as shown on the listing, I was expecting that. First thing I checked was the lens, it's got some dust and dew residue on both sides, I'll be cleaning this once I get to it. Coatings look to be in good shape. The set screws to remove the lens cell were rusted and stuck, I had a hard time getting them out but after I applied my 50/50 solution of Acetone/ATF, they came out with a little encouragement. I'll replace these with new stainless versions. Here's the lens in cell once removed from the tube:
Writing marks on the edge of the lens as seen through the front (and reversed in post to make them readable):
The tube is dent free, but looks to have been repainted sometime in the past. There's some overspray on parts, and the texture is very inconsistent, the top of the tube feels like sandpaper and the bottom feels smooth. I will definitely be stripping and repainting, most likely powder coating for long term durability. AP says most likely "Corvette White".
Nice Losmandy dovetail and (I believe) Parallax rings, they were quite dirty, needed a full disassemble, scrub with soapy hot water and brush, here they are after cleaning:
The focuser arrived with a slight tilt, which I thought was odd:
There are 3 equally spaced radial holes in the tube, but no screws attached. There are 2 bolts that are about 1" apart from each other that apparently hold the focuser on the tube, which obviously won't prevent tilt if the opposite side gets bumped. I took these off to pull the focuser and see the flange and that's when I noticed that the 3 radial holes are only partially drilled, what look like little more than pilot holes, maybe 1mm deep with no threads:
How can it be that AP shipped a scope/focuser without the holes actually drilled to hold it on? So odd! Luckily the 2 holes that do mount (which look spaced apart for a finderscope bracket) do a pretty good job as long as the focuser is banged in square to the tube, letting tension do most of the work. And they line up with all the pilots holes and the holes in the tube, so all I need to do is finish drilling the holes in the focuser flange and tap them and I'll be in business. I'll probably enlarge the tube holes too to give a small wiggle room for squaring the focuser to the lens once it's put back together.
Here's all the parts, it's a great scope optically I'm sure, but I definitely want to refurb/improve this scope so it's back to shiny and new cosmetically as well.
So, is it still a great deal? To me it is! I don't mind cleaning, drilling, painting, tweaking to get things back up to optimal, but I know to others, they might be in over their head or disappointed in the amount of work it needed. At the end of the day, the lens (what counts) is great and this will be a phenomenal performer! I'm grateful for the opportunity to own such a legendary classic scope.
*UPDATE* : ccwemyss correctly pointed out that this originally had set screws in the tube to hold the focuser, which weren't on my scope and the ATM paint job had filled the threads so I missed that part.
Edited by jragsdale, 05 December 2024 - 10:01 PM.
) the scope nicely for carrying around.
