barlow seems tight !

[rory]

i have a tal barlow and it performs well enough,but for some reason its very tight to place in the diagonal . the eyepieces ive used all fit in smoothly, but the tal really is a pain. is this normal ?

[glowjet]

The quality control on manufactured produced parts does leave a lot to be desired at times as some come ever so slightly oversize, if it is just acquired have a word with your supplier about it

[rory]

bought from buy and sell , so not an option im afraid. it will fit so its not all doom and gloom. but it not what you want when its dark and cold .

thanks.

[Tinker1947]

Does the inserted bit look perfectly round not been sat on ect...

[foundaplanet]

You could maybe try wrapping some 240 grit wet and dry around it and turning it around in your hand. It may just ease it enough.

[brantuk]

Don't forget metal contracts in the cold. If you leave the barlow in the scope and change to another eyepiece out of a warm pocket, it's conceivable that the temperature difference of the two pieces might cause the diameters to just be out of sync. This is an anomally with brass compression ring fittings in particular I find.

[michael8554]

Could be two things:

1) If newish then probably manufacturing tolerances - try sanding down as suggested.

2) If old:- a Tal-1M telescope I had many moons ago was made with non-standard sized eyepieces/barlow and focuser - proper 1.25" eyepieces were too small ! Could be one of these barlows.

Cheers

Michael

[rory]

thanks for replies.shall try to sand down.