AE ( Luton) Ltd 4 1/2" F14 Refractor

[Saganite]

Well she is all assembled, rejuvenated, and boy does she look good....just the dew shield to spray and flock and then first light....

[Saganite]

It has taken a good deal longer than I expected but finally she is finished.  I have no rings at the moment, hard to come by for a 5" diameter tube for some reason, however a pair of Parallax  rings from  the US are on order and so first light is going to be  a while yet.  The chap from  whom I bought the scope found it in an auction house, described as " Huge vintage telescope", in a very sorry condition as you can see.  The internal baffles were broken and rattling about inside, but some glue, a few extra dowels, black  paint, and with a wrap around of stiff card with flocking on the inside soon fixed that. The tube had the usual stuff inside, lots of detritus, dead spiders etc, but  the vacuum made short work of that  and a long paint brush, and flocking finished it off.  The focuser was the biggest challenge because apart from the hideous black paint, the pinion spindle was bent as can be seen.  This I straightened whilst holding my breath, because a failure here would have been a  disaster, a replacement being hard if not impossible to find.  Once all the paint was scraped away it was just a long but very enjoyable polishing job in my garage/ workshop with  an electric drill, mops , and polishing soap. I have always preferred rack and pinion focusers and this one is still beautifully firm and true with no slop whatsoever.  The brass eyepiece holder with the RAS thread was made for me by Barry at Beacon Hill Telescopes.

The aluminium lens cell was also polished even though most of it cannot be seen, but I could not help myself once I got going. The inside was painted with matt black paint and then taken back to Es Reid for assembly.  The tube was away for nearly a month, not least because we took a nine day holiday in  Scotland and the Orkney Islands after I dropped it off.  Finding the correct colour or should I say the closest was not too bad. The powder coating company MD had a few swatches sprayed for me in the colours I selected but none were close enough, so he gave me another book of colours from which I picked  RAL 5024.  This one of course he did not stock, but he got his buyer to ring a few  powder suppliers and managed to buy  1kg for £15 !! ( it is common to have to buy a whole carton of the stuff as a minimum, so I was very grateful  for his help ).

The dew shield is  a 300mm piece of plastic ducting pipe sourced on the internet at a cost of less than a tenner posted. It was a 6" nominal bore but I felt sure it would fit and it did. By the time I had flocked the inside it still did but is a ' good ' fit .   The outside I sprayed with several coats of etch primer and the top coat with an aerosol cellulose RAL 5024 60% gloss. If you catch the light it shows a shade or two different but it is good enough for me.  The end cap is still in the pipe line but is going to be a Scottish shortbread biscuit tin lid which I have found, sprayed to the same spec as the dew shield.

The final assembly took place in Es Reid's workshop.  I have been fortunate that Es lives just a 35 minute  drive from me so my visits this summer have been frequent, and great fun. Always one to two hours duration with tea and biscuits thrown  in and a lot of great stories, and banter.  He was quite delighted when he saw the lens cell, scruffy as it was, because it was possible that the lens was one that he himself made. Unfortunately he could find no date or inscription inside the cell, something which  he always did, and so , in his words,  " It might be one of Uncle Jim's  "  Jim Hysom the proprietor of AE Luton Ltd.

Es started work at AE in 1972, so my scope is earlier than that . When I arrived with the scope, Es was delighted  with the colour which he said was very close to the original .  I was pressed into service as apprentice assistant once it was set up on his optical bench, and it was soon pronounced in perfect collimation and a very fine lens !

It has been extremely rewarding bringing this beautiful refractor back to its former glory and all the more so on discovering that it was made by one of this countries foremost telescope makers, just 20 miles down the road from where I lived and grew up.  At the time this left the factory, it  was a scope that I dreamed of owning without any hope of doing so.  It was the size and type of scope that I saw on The Sky at Night, owned by legendary observers.  

Edited October 18, 2021 by Saganite

[JeremyS]

That is absolutely amazing @Saganite 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I can’t believe it’s the same scope. Looks stunning 

Congratulations. You should be very proud about what you have achieved.

I’m tempted to ask what’s your next project. But I won’t 🤣

[John]

Superb

[Saganite]

Thanks Jeremy, I really appreciate your comments.  It has been a labour of love which I have enjoyed immensely.

[callisto]

Wow 😲

Bravo  👏

[Mr Spock]

A lovely instrument - one to be proud of.

[Telescope40]

Holy moley.  The doors were blown off with the re furb. 
Fantastic and a joy to use I’m sure. 
John 

[Saganite]

13 hours ago, Telescope40 said:

Holy moley.  The doors were blown off with the re furb. 
Fantastic and a joy to use I’m sure. 
John 

Thanks John, much appreciated.  It is a shame I have to wait several weeks to try it out....

[Alan White]

Steve, just wow...
what a beuty and what a pleasure to see close to completion.

I am not prone to jealousy, I share others joy, but I think a little bit of it has has crept in......
That really looks the part.
I can see you outside in your best suit and tie, wooly hat, monacle and on Sky At Night with those scopes.

 

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Nice! 

[IB20]

That is stunning; unbelievable work, well done.

👌🏻

[Saganite]

6 hours ago, Alan White said:

Steve, just wow...
what a beuty and what a pleasure to see close to completion.

I am not prone to jealousy, I share others joy, but I think a little bit of it has has crept in......
That really looks the part.
I can see you outside in your best suit and tie, wooly hat, monacle and on Sky At Night with those scopes.

 

 

Too kind Al !

You paint quite a picture...

[dweller25]

Wow, excellent job, it looks great, well done 👍

[philj]

That,s nice, well done. Another classic given new life

[stuy]

Been following this thread incredible craftsmanship 👏👏👏😉

[F15Rules]

Hi Steve,

Sorry for the late response to your latest post, I've been off the grid this weekend with both sickness and family visitors (yes, I know, not a great combination!😂).

You should be so proud of that beautiful restoration Steve..I so enjoyed reading of your journey with this wonderful scope, and I am almost dribbling at the thought of seeing both your beautiful long refractors side by side on your AZ100..

And it will be absolutely fascinating to see how Andromeda compares with the AE newbie (does "she" have a formal naming ceremony planned??!🤭).

Many congratulations Steve.

Best wishes

Dave

 

 

[Saganite]

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Steve,

Sorry for the late response to your latest post, I've been off the grid this weekend with both sickness and family visitors (yes, I know, not a great combination!😂).

You should be so proud of that beautiful restoration Steve..I so enjoyed reading of your journey with this wonderful scope, and I am almost dribbling at the thought of seeing both your beautiful long refractors side by side on your AZ100..

And it will be absolutely fascinating to see how Andromeda compares with the AE newbie (does "she" have a formal naming ceremony planned??!🤭).

Many congratulations Steve.

Best wishes

Dave

 

 

Thanks Dave, I am very happy with the result.  No formal ceremony.....,    but I have named her Arcturus.

I have loved stargazing for almost 60 years and for most of that time I lived less than 20 miles away from where this scope was made by masters of their craft, and yet I had no idea of their existence , and certainly no idea that the badly neglected tube that I bought was from that workshop.  I could not resist it simply because it was a long focus refractor and I hoped that it was salvageable. Now that I know its history it is all the more special.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Saganite

[RobertI]

Now THAT is a beautiful telescope. Well done on such a wonderful restoration. I love the powder blue livery, it goes so well with the polished metal. Add an orange stripe and you have a telescope in the Gulf Racing colours! Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

Edited October 18, 2021 by RobertI

[Saganite]

10 hours ago, RobertI said:

Now THAT is a beautiful telescope. Well done on such a wonderful restoration. I love the powder blue livery, it goes so well with the polished metal. Add an orange stripe and you have a telescope in the Gulf Racing colours! Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

Thanks Rob.  I do agree that the blue and silver go together beautifully.  

I have loved every minute of its restoration, and I cannot wait to use it.

Please don't be offended but I think I'll pass on the orange stripe idea .....

[F15Rules]

12 hours ago, Saganite said:

No formal ceremony.....,    but I have named her Arcturus.

That's a lovely name for a lovely scope Steve👍..

Of course, that orange stripe that Robert mentioned just happens to be the actual colour of the actual star Arcturus...

Dave

Edited October 19, 2021 by F15Rules

[Saganite]

4 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

That's a lovely name for a lovely scope Steve👍..

Of course, that orange stripe that Robert mentioned just happens to be the actual colour of the actual star Arcturus...

Dave

Minutiae Dave.....