Crayford too stiff!

[Mamsoth]

How do. I have just received my spanking new skywatcher crayford (for use on my 120mm refractor) however when I turn the nobs it feels like there is too much friction and the action is no-way near as smooth as I think it should be. The friction is accompanied by a very loud rubbing noise to (which is how I know there's something not quite right). I have definately loosened the two silver pegs found either side which should have done the job, so much so that they've almost come out, and the excess friction + loud noise are still there.

My question, is there a way to get around this problem? On the body of the focuser are 4 regular black screws and 4 silver allen key screws, can any of these be loosened/tightened without ruining the focuser? Just want to double check before I go wading in on something I'm unfamiliar with.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks alot

[Rossco72]

Is there a single focus lock thumbscrew (usually in the middle underneath) and is it tight? If so loosen it. The rest of the bolts should be pretty tight

There is a crayford focuser strip down guide some where on the forum if you search for it as well.

[simon84]

With the Crayfords you should have a lock down screw, which can be turned by hand and then there is tensioner screw, this is normally a grub screw which should be in line with the lock down screw if looking down the scope.

You will need the right allen key to adjust it but just start with small quarter turns until things start moving smoothly. Do this after you have released the lock down screw. If you go too far you will suffer from drawtube slip, I have mine fairly tight as I have my camera on there but you should be able to adjust to a point where everything feels very smooth.

HTH.

[Rossco72]

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/104912-anatomy-crayford-dual-speed-focuser-knob-how-adjust.html

Try this thread for some other info

[Mamsoth]

Thanks a bunch for the help guys, clear skies to you

[John]

Be careful what you adjust with that one - I had one recently and was over zealous on tightening hex screws in an effort to make it smoother and get rid of a rubbing noise ..... totally ruined it

My fault entirely for being clumsy and impatient with it but do be cautious about what you tighten and how much you tighten it.

Mine is just a pile of junk now

[Mamsoth]

Thanks jahmanson, that sounds exactly like something I would do. In fact I've had to almost physically restrain myself from diving in on the focuser and attempting to fix it b4 I know what I'm doing.

[John]

I found this website quite useful:

GSO Focuser

The internals of the Skywatcher crayford, especially the dual speed assembly, are very similar to the GSO. My problem was that the metal cup, that holds the 3 ball bearings (step 7 on the webpage) became slightly distorted because of the pressure from a hex screw which bears on it - once that's happened you are stuck with rough motion unless you replace that metal cup.

Hope that helps you avoid problems.