Latest work on the 127ED

Hi all,
I have bad weather so I have had to settle for working on the scope. I could not help but notice that the focuser had the typical glue grease that seems to be used for everything in scope manufacture. It left streaks on the barrel and made the focuser stiff. So I took it off the scope and disassembled it and cleaned every part down to perfectly clean. One thing I noticed was that the inside of the barrel had a wonderful baffle system with true knife edges (I cut my finger on one) . There was a lot of stuff in the baffles though, like dried up globs of grease. It was very dirty! 8O I cleaned it out with WD40 and then Windex followed with hot water and compress air to blow it all clean. This worked well.
Next I reassembled the rack and pinion and lubed it with a Molybdenum grease that will stay put but not harden. Then I adjusted the rack and pinion (it was not adjusted well at all from the factory) until it worked smoothly throughout the draw. With the modification I had done previously it now has a release knob for the electric focuser drive gear. The focuser now is as smooth as any R&P focuser that I have used. In fact I think that it is a pretty good one.
If anyone is interested in the modification I will post a picture or two.

Floyd,

As you know from all the questions I ask you privately 8) ... I am always interested in learning and seeing modifications.

-JW:

Tinker, tinker, tinker. I had a feeling you would like this one. Please post those pictures of what you have done so we can all benefit from your experience. With any luck it will clear up and you can share your visual experiences, too.

Floyd,
This is a very common problem coming out of China now. The high viscosity of this grease can actually render the equipment unuseable when the temperature dips much below freezing. This is one of the common fixes that new owners of the Meade LXD75 or Celestron CG5 have to make as well.
David E