Restoring a Vintage Scope

[buffalowinter]

There are only a couple of places that repair scopes in the US and they are both terribly expensive and ridiculously slow, so I repair my own out of necessity. I recently replaced the cross hairs on this vintage scope, completely dis-assembled and cleaned the tube and lenses. The cross hairs were originally secured with shellac...I use acra-glas. I researched how to create a Japan Black finish. I finally decided that gloss black spray paint is indistinguishable from Japan Black.

 

[FatBoy]

Is that a scope or a tube sight? How high was the picked factor when you pulled those lenses out?

 

[buffalowinter]

They are both scopes. The top one is a Winchester A5 which I replaced the cross hairs in and manufactured the spring for. The bottom one, which is the copper one in the top photo, is unknown. It looks somewhat like a Mossberg 7A, or Wollensack but it is neither. I've done some exhaustive research and the only thing I could find was another person with the same scope asking if anyone could Identify it. It is actually a variable power, around 3x-6x, adjusted by the little turret knob on top which slides the lenses in an internal tube. I took it completely apart to clean and there are no markings whatsoever. They are not too hard to repair, but very tedious. I had to wear 6x magnifying glasses just to see the cross hair while working with it. [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/Msq1Rlts.jpg"}[/IMG2]
Interesting note, they are called cross hairs, because they originally were made from just that...hair (or spider web). I've triedvusing the fine under-coat hair from my German Shepherd, but it really is too thick, giving a cross hair that obscures the target.

 

[Anchor Zero Six]

There are some knowledgable old farts on CMP that talked me through a Fecker restoration a few years back. Interesting to see the resin is holding the wires asFecker and Unertl used screws which the wire was wrapped around.

 

[tal35]

Do you have any photos of the winchester scope teardown? I have a winchester brass one, but it had been torn down before and it is in pieces, so I would like to see the stack up of it if possible. Thank you

 

[fosberry455]

You can use spider web with nail polish to attach it.
The old manual I have says use ear wax, but I question that in that the ear wax might melt with heat.
No BS...it says spider web and ear wax...

 

[NukeMMC]

You can use spider web with nail polish to attach it.
The old manual I have says use ear wax, but I question that in that the ear wax might melt with heat.
No BS...it says spider web and ear wax...

TK Lee, when they re-worked the crosshairs in my old Unertl 12x used black widow silk. They said it was the only material they found that would reliably survive recoil with their dots glued to them.

 

[tomcatmv]

Wow! I'm always amazed by your project's sir. When you get a minute, take a look at a couple of old Weavers I posted in the Rimfire section. One I did a bit of refurb on and mounted on my old model 63 Winchester which you can see in the thread here "not snipery but vintage". The other scope also still has good glass but sits in an offset old Buehler mount. I have no idea what rifle it may have come from. Sirh gave me some links to some helpful info.

 

[TorF]

TK Lee, when they re-worked the crosshairs in my old Unertl 12x used black widow silk. They said it was the only material they found that would reliably survive recoil with their dots glued to them.

Dick Thomas, Premier Reticles, told me he was almost arrested while he was harvesting black widow silk behind a WC in a men's room at a gas station he happened to stop by
I have an old US made Redfield 6-18x40 with a PR spider web dot reticle for moving target competition.

 

[fosberry455]

If anyone would like the method of collecting spider silk let me know.
It is normally quite easy in the early morning and if I get to the seniors wood shop early Monday morning the doorway entrance is usually a
treasure trove of silk web.
If anyone needs nichrome 4 or 5 thou wire let me know. I lucked into a huge roll of it after my US supplier changed owners and I had to go elsewhere.

 

[MK20]

If anyone would like the method of collecting spider silk let me know.
It is normally quite easy in the early morning and if I get to the seniors wood shop early Monday morning the doorway entrance is usually a
treasure trove of silk web.
If anyone needs nichrome 4 or 5 thou wire let me know. I lucked into a huge roll of it after my US supplier changed owners and I had to go elsewhere.

If Black Widow silk is preferred, the Cannery casino in Vegas has little bushes in the parking lot that are quite infested with the things and are covered in web.