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Black Brandt

Discussion in 'Telescopes and Mounts' started by Scopejunkie, Sep 28, 2018.

Black Brandt

Started by Scopejunkie on Sep 28, 2018 at 1:47 PM

2 Replies 1133 Views 1 Likes

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  1. Scopejunkie

    Scopejunkie Well-Known Member

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    Scopejunkie, Sep 28, 2018
    #1
    Well... More retirement tinkering. Finished restoring a old Cave Astrola 1-1/2" shaft mount. Smoothed out the RA friction of the clock drive by installing teflon interfaces. What a difference! The rest of the restorartion was basically mount cleanup, sanding & paint and the restoration of an old pier that I had used over the years for previous projects.

    The outer clutch plate mod consisted of six counterbored holes for teflon buttons. The main plate received a thin, machined, teflon washer. I replaced the lock washers used as clutch springs with real springs. This allows for much better control of the clutch pressure. I have always hated the too loose or too tight clutch pressure of these old drives.

    Scope on mount: Celestron C6R (much easier on my back)

    Still tinkering...

    Keith (Scopejunkie)
     

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  2. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Sep 29, 2018
    #2
    Very nice 'find & fix' mount there! I really must start visiting 'garage-sales' up around these parts!

    Thanks for the inspiration, Keith,

    Dave
     
  3. Scopejunkie

    Scopejunkie Well-Known Member

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    Scopejunkie, Sep 29, 2018
    #3
    Thanks Dave! GoTo is nice but I love these old mounts. It's a lot like old cars. When something goes wrong with the engine you only have to check if it's getting air, gas, or eletricity. The teflon mods minimize the backlash these mounts tend to have on both axis which causes tremors when focusing. Yesterday I replaced the DEC brass on steel with teflon on steel by putting a large 1/4" thick "puck" in front of the 7/8" setscrew used for the DEC axis. Once adjusted, the motion was very smooth. Both axis now have "fingertip" object centering control.

    Keith (Scopejunkie)
     
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