Repairing a 25x100 binocular

filed out the brackets that I will screw to the existing flanges.
To bore them out I superglued them to a waste bit of ally plate.
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My little boring tool is actually the internal threading tool bit but ti worked very well.
25x100-11.jpg
To drill the holes in the flanges required an extended drill bit because the wide part of the tube is in the way.
I made it for 4.2 at one end for the tapping size and 5mm the other end for the clearance hole.
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First time assembled for I dont know how many years.
Not neat but it does work.
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Now to dismantle again and clean the heck out of everything including all the optics then we will see if I got it right.
 
Dismantled the eyepieces to find the wobbly part, sure is filthy in there.
Those three little pointed screws are all that holds the eye cup to the lens holder.
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Here you can see where they have pulled out of the aluminium, This was why the end wobbled about.
An easy fix, just re-locate to a clean part of the barrel.
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This is the prism assembly, only 6 surfaces to clean, no damage.
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After reassembly of both sides it looked good and moved smoothly throughout the movement.
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Now the hard part. Each tube looked good and clean except the right hand tube pointed to 2 o'clock and the left hand one pointed to 8 o'clock.
It took just over an hour to re-align them and get both tubes co-collimated but I got there and they are great to look through.
I'm lucky in that there is a radio mast about 12 kms away as a perfect alignment target as it contains vertical, horizontal and diagonal components so is easy to marry everything up spot on.
Tomorrows job is to re build the parallel mount to hold them.
 
The mount is refurbed but I must have melted one of the weights for something as its missing, gotta do a lead cast now.
However, last night was its first light since the repair and it was awesome.
Four of Jupiters moons pin sharp, could just make out the bands on Jupiter, Omega Centauri was a huge puffy ball, M42 not bad, sharp, but not enough magnification.
For me they are perfect.
BUT, as soon as the inter pupillary distance is altered they go out of alignment and the dreaded double image pops up.
So, no one else can use them.
I must assume my hinge is slightly out because they pop back into alignment as soon as the IPD is returned to my distance.
 
Just send the Overworks to me and I will use them astronomically. I'm just starting to build a heavy duty parallelogram adjustable height binocular
stand for just this type of binocular i.e. BIG and heavy. I love binocular astro viewing and spend a lot of time stretched out in my camping "chaise lounge"chair
sweeping the Milky Way for faint fuzzies whenever I can. A cooler of cold beer next to me, the stars above me, it doesn't get much better for an old coot like me.

CHuck the grumpy old guy
Half dozen beers everything is fuzzy ain't it... lol
 
The mount is refurbed but I must have melted one of the weights for something as its missing, gotta do a lead cast now.
However, last night was its first light since the repair and it was awesome.
Four of Jupiters moons pin sharp, could just make out the bands on Jupiter, Omega Centauri was a huge puffy ball, M42 not bad, sharp, but not enough magnification.
For me they are perfect.
BUT, as soon as the inter pupillary distance is altered they go out of alignment and the dreaded double image pops up.
So, no one else can use them.
I must assume my hinge is slightly out because they pop back into alignment as soon as the IPD is returned to my distance.
Geez sounds like you been in grumpys cooler too. Seeing double lol
 
Great result in the end, but not everyone has the skill to repair and that is why I buy new when something gets broken. There are really good new things on https://www.atncorp.com/thermal-monoculars. Those guys are selling really good things. I had to save some money to buy a really cool scope that can even take HD videos and now I am waiting for their new thermal monocular. I love it when they have some giveaways, you can win some really great things.
 
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