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TAL 150P - OTA slips around in tube rings


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I know the OTA is meant to be loose enough to move around whilst viewing but mine is too loose.

Even with the rings fully tightened the tube slides slowly down (onto the floor if it wasn't for the viewfinder acting as a stop!).

I can see there in green felt (like the baize of a snooker table) lining the tubes & I believe this can be replaced.

Has any on here done this & can advise the best place to get this felt (or a good alternative material?

And the best way to go about it (eg glue over the existing felt or attempt to remove it first?).

i don't want to end up damaging all the white paintwork after all...

Thanks in advance.

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I agree. just buy a sheet of green adhesive felt and stick this over the top of the current felt. you can remove the existing if you like but there's no need (personally I probably would but then again I'm a bit fussy!) :grin:

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I had a similar problem with my scope, I had some leftover flocking material and stuck that on the inside of the tube rings it worked a treat.

You can buy self adhesive flocking material from Wilkinsons.

Gary.

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The russian felt is too thin...it was on my TAL 100. Get some self adhesive felt, you might need two layers of it to get a good grip. The self adhesive isnt that great on felt to felt so I used some glue ...EVOSTIK serious Glue was what I used. Woeks a treat but let the glue dry filly before putting the tube in the rings.

Did mine with red felt instead of green.....more revolotionary I thought :)

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What is very nice and I have used bits on various projects, is the smooth and quite thick part of the self adhesive, two piece Velcro package, which can be bought separately in any length from a Haberdashers :)

John.

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Same with my Tal100RS - it sits in 105mm rings and I had to build up about three layers of felt inside the rings to hold it firm. With a newtonian - if the eyepiece gets turned to an awkward position on an EQ mount you can just loosen the rings slightly to turn the whole tube in it's rings till the eyepiece is in a convenient to view postion. But tighten them up again after moving - and ensure the ota is level when you do the turn. :)

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http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hobbycraft-red-stick-on-felt-sheets/572836-1000

there ya go....i got mine from this place as they have a store near me. Thinking back I think I used Serious Glue to gum the felt to the rings as well as the self stick wasnt that strong and previous experience said make it as strong as possible.

I cut it into strips and sized it first, then glued the firts one onto the rings, waited for it to dry and then glued the second layer on. Dont overdue the glue or it will leak through and make the felt brittle and scratchy.

If you take a look at my review of the TAL 100 on my website you can see the red felt on some of the pics....very snazzy it looks too.

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carpet spray adhesive also works well but careful of the overspray if you havent used it before. I have had good success with just buying thin felt and using glue. I tried the self adehsive stuff and it worked for most of my scopes but the OO which was better and smoother with normal felt as it seemed to bind.

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One of the nice things with TAL tubes is that they are a chunk of ally, probably ally pipe of some kind and as a tesult they are actually round. This makes rotating them round in the rings, with the eings slacked off a bit, easy.

Most newts have a pressed ally sheet with a seam in them, very often they arent perfectly round and the seam tends to catch on things making them a bit of a perisher to rotate at times.

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Thanks again for the advice.

Think I'll try fellow TAL user Astro_Baby's option here as there is a local Hobbycraft store nearby & at 79p a go it's a very cheap fix.

I've got to admit whilst previously googling for anything TAL I found your website Astro_Baby & have been reading all your your handy stuff on it especially your reviews. That TAL 100RS of yours sounds like a very good piece of kit. Seems to have the same GEM as mine except for the wooden tripod (which I personally love by the way - wish mine had a wooden tripod too).

I'm a relative newcomer so am struggling a bit with my set up & use of my kit to date but I'm sure perseverance with this TAL will be more than worth it. I've read that TAL owners rarely part with their equipment (& regret it if they do) !!!

Will let you know how I get on. Might go for the blue felt :-)

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Ahhhh I love the old woody stuff....i have a housefull of real wood things, little plastic in my place.

My TAL has a pillar mount as well which was salvaged from a rubbish skip would you believe....it needs a bit of tarting up though.

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Just for interest, in case anyone wants to try the smooth part of the two part Velcro self adhesive hook and eye package, that is the thick fluffy part the hooky part sticks onto, has an extremely tacky glue base and once stuck down has not moved on the items it has been fixed too :)

John.

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Called at Hobbycraft Preston tonight & found the felt that Astro_Baby suggested. Only 50p per sheet so even better value than online.

Went for the green colour for continuation of the original TAL theme :-)

Got plenty of "no more nails". A thin application on the felt should do the trick (I hope). Weekend project now set up....

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Well it's all done. You were right Astro_Baby the existing felt was as thin as paper & virtually fell off.

Used some contact adhesive for the new layer of felt to metal. Then double-sided tape to add a second layer for good measure.

As usual I overdid things. Loads of felt left (bought WAY too much) and the double-sided tape was as thick as the felt so effectively three layers applied.

Yeah you guessed - the tube is very tight now. Too tight if I'm honest with no room to slacken off. But I'm hoping things will eventually compress a bit & thereby loosen up over time. Silly me.....

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