EP reassembly

[Tiki]

I would like to thoroughly clean some of my EP's. With the right tool I would imagine it to be fairly straightforward to disassemble an EP. Is the rebuild literally a reverse process or is it likely that some degree of 'skilled-fiddling' will be required to restore matters?

I have a 24mm Panoptic and 9mmT6 Nagler in mind.

Is it likely the individual lens spacing can be disturbed or do fixed length spacers take care of the positioning of all the elements?

Thanks in advance.

[Steve Ward]

Surely it's only the two external surfaces that need cleaning if at all ... ?

I can't believe that one would attempt to dismantle a piece of precision optics and clean it oneself ,  to achieve a level of cleanliness akin to that produced in the assembly plant is hardly likely to be possible on the kitchen table with a bottle of Wonder Fluid and a pack of Q-tips ... 

For reference ... http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?plain=TRUE&id=103#.UsQg0vRdWeg

[Zakalwe]

Look through optical kit not at it.

You're far more likely to damage the view by trying to clean kit than a couple of tiny specks of dust will ever do.

[Tiki]

Thanks for the replies.

Surely it's only the two external surfaces that need cleaning if at all ... ?

Afraid not.

  to achieve a level of cleanliness akin to that produced in the assembly plant is hardly likely to be possible on the kitchen table with a bottle of Wonder Fluid and a pack of Q-tips ... 

This is not my intention. Owing to dampness/minor ingress of water a couple of my EP's do need either cleaning or being placed on the shelf to gathger dust.

You're far more likely to damage the view by trying to clean kit than a couple of tiny specks of dust will ever do.

Unless of course you have decided not to use the EP again until it is cleaned and therefore you have nothing to lose at all. Unfortunately It is not a couple of tiny dust specks at issue. The tiny dust specks are in all my other EP's and do no harm. They are remaining intact.

Has anyone on SGL experience of reassembling EP's?

[Peter Drew]

It can be done but there are difficulties. The first is the undoing of the retaining rings, on quality eyepieces these can be very tight and a special adjustable tool would be needed. Secondly, the eyepieces you mention have a large number of components, tipping them out without scattering them can be quite difficult. There are spacers which hold the individual lenses in their correct position, you would have to note the sequence very carefully. Finally, reassembly can be a right pain as the lenses have a habit of jamming and can easily be chipped. If the eyepiece is so bad you would never use it again then perhaps it might be worth taking a chance. 

[faulksy]

i striped a celestron ultima barlow once due to dampness inside that wouldnt shift, i made the tool to remove the rings striped it down removed everything carefully so that they went back in the right order, put it all back together and it was fine, but were only talking 60 pounds worth here not 3 times that. why not send televue a e mail and ask how much for a clean

[astronymonkey]

If there is water ingress id leave them in the airing cupboard for a month to see if they dry out.

Worth a try.

cheers

[Tiki]

Thanks for the input.

Starman1 from this post on CN: http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5991801/Main/5990828

"If you take it apart carefully, maintaining the proper orientation of all lenses (when I do this, I have the "field" side of every lens down on a cloth in front of me with all the spacers in their correct places). then cleaning and reassembly is very easy.
Distilled water and or isopropyl alcohol and either Q-Tips or a microfiber cloth will do an excellent job of cleaning.
When it's done, you see it really wasn't that hard and you won't be intimidated in the future. This eyepiece is a little harder than a Plossl, but it's not permanently damaged by any means."

... tipping them out without scattering them can be quite difficult. ...

Thanks Peter. This set me to browse 'optical tools' where I saw that what is needed is a 'vacuum pickup tool' to help lift out the glass. I have one EP that needs at least one bit of glass to lift out. Some moisture has gotten in and sparked life.

[Tiki]

All is well that ends well. My 9mm T6 Nagler is as bright and clean as ever. The disassembly and reassembly were very straightforward with the correct tools. The vacuum pickup-tool is a godsend as no tipping/dropping was required.