Roger's Optics and Restoration

Roger's Optics and Restoration Even though I have now retired, if you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Repairs and restoration of optical equipment, binoculars, telescopes, microscopes, magnifiers etc.

Well for the moment I have gone as far as I can before we take a couple of months off to do some interstate visiting bef...
27/08/2026

Well for the moment I have gone as far as I can before we take a couple of months off to do some interstate visiting before heading overseas for the Binocular Historical Society meeting in Cologne (2017 was my last visit) plus some extra sight seeing. So here’s some images of where I am to date. There is only an RA control rod & a Hooke joint left to be made, but that can wait. Yesterday I finished the tripod and assembled it. I used 3mm brass rod in between each side of the legs to rest the spreader bars on, they have a notch that engages with the brass rod. Today saw the counterweight completed. I realized that a lump of brass was quite adequate to balance the scope. I had to silver solder two bits of brass together to get a piece large enough to turn to shape. Now it will sit on display for a while.

Made the spreader plate today. Wood turning on the lathe (I covered up the bed, same in the mill) is not the done thing,...
20/08/2026

Made the spreader plate today. Wood turning on the lathe (I covered up the bed, same in the mill) is not the done thing, but I couldn’t get the same finish using other tools in my arsenal. The wooden disc is 21.5mm in diameter and I used a 2mm slot drill for the recesses to seat the wooden slats. That’s my new angularly adjustable mill vice that arrived on Monday. There’s room for improvement on it, a thrust bearing for the end of the threaded shaft and a speed handle to replace the heavy clunky supplied one.

The legs fitted to the riser today. Still a lot more to go. Have to do the separator for the legs to stop them collapsin...
17/08/2026

The legs fitted to the riser today. Still a lot more to go. Have to do the separator for the legs to stop them collapsing outwards and have to make a forge to melt the lead for the counterweight. The lead will be cast into a brass mould to keep things “brass”. And those are 8BA hex headed bolts/screws.

Here’s some progress images of the EQ mount, then the whole upper assembly. Still a reasonable amount of work to go. Qui...
13/08/2026

Here’s some progress images of the EQ mount, then the whole upper assembly. Still a reasonable amount of work to go. Quite happy so far. The slots for the bolts I ended up filing out as I don’t have a 1.705mm slotting bit.😁 I used a 2mm slot on the worm axle to create a spot for the control rod.

So after stuffing up my first worm block with a blunt drill I had to remake it. In some ways I’m glad I did. The new one...
12/08/2026

So after stuffing up my first worm block with a blunt drill I had to remake it. In some ways I’m glad I did. The new one is much more in keeping with what I was originally thinking. The front has been radiused to 22.4mm which allows the RA gear to engage without interference.The two small flats on the extended plate will be drilled and slotted for 9BA cheese headed screws to allow for correct pressure on the gear 😁. I also made a new worm from another 2BA bolt (ask me how many of them I have!) that is slightly longer to allow the slow motion control arm to have a better connection. Now to just drill those holes, put a small flat on the worm shaft and give it a clean and polish.

03/08/2026

Been somewhat out of action with chilblains on my fingers (and if you thought metal splinters were bad…). Today I completed my new roller blind ways protector. A hunk of 16mm PVC pipe, a spring and bits from the scrap bin. Works fine.

Sometimes you get asked for the impossible…. This was an objective that had been stored in a shed for 40 years and never...
15/07/2026

Sometimes you get asked for the impossible…. This was an objective that had been stored in a shed for 40 years and never thought about for the entire time. 😳😢😢

RA worm block housing under way. Last image shows the chamfer needed to clear the RA main gear. I’ll be finishing that p...
14/07/2026

RA worm block housing under way. Last image shows the chamfer needed to clear the RA main gear. I’ll be finishing that properly at a later date. The base is only going to be 2mm thick so I have to cut off some 🙄. The small brass retaining collar needs to be shortened by 1.2mm as well. Once that is done rotation will be smooth.

And ready to go…
07/07/2026

And ready to go…

Okay second circle of 32 holes and then flycut to a clean surface. Might do more after lunch. Depends upon precipitation...
06/07/2026

Okay second circle of 32 holes and then flycut to a clean surface. Might do more after lunch. Depends upon precipitation!

Address

PO Box 224
Sydney, NSW
2211

Telephone

+61425709508

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Roger's Optics and Restoration posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share