Sears-branded, 60mm Refractor Telescope - Model #6333-a

My recently acquired, and almost completely restored 60mm refractor telescope — made in Japan. It is a Sears # 4 -6333-a achromatic refractor, from about the late 1960's (or early 1970's).

Here are a few quick videos, to serve as a brief look at the current status of this Sears 60mm refractor:

When it arrived (well packaged) it was in very nice condition. So there's only been some very minor (and super easy) restoration steps taken:

The small chrome levers, for locking the RA and Dec movement of the scope, had a tendency to be in a constant state of being slightly unscrewed / un-tightened. It was very annoying! You can see both levers in the center of the  video frame above.

Well, applying just a tiny amount of Loctite Blue to the screw threads of those small shafts solved the issue.

The black handled screwdriver, seen in this video frame - is actually designed specifically for Japanese screws. They may have laughed at me, when I left the hobby shop with a couple of these screwdrivers all those years ago...But, who's laughing now?

Upon disassembly of the star diagonal (to find the cause of the minor rattling sound) - I suppose I was fully expecting to see a mirror. In my experience, that is what was always found residing in a star diagonal.

Not so with this one; it uses a glass prism instead. 

There will be much more to follow, in the upcoming posts. I will be covering the minor steps I'm taking, to make this vintage refractor look, and perform as well as it can. Stay tuned.

In even more exciting news: Not one, but three wonderful, vintage telescopes are being delivered by new friend Scott sometime soon...just waiting for the weather to cooperate. 

As mentioned briefly in the previous post, these 3 telescopes: a 4.25", and two 6" reflectors (different F/ ratios) were manufactured by Edmund Scientific. Probably in the mid-seventies to early eighties (prob ~1981 for the red tube).

All the wonderful details about these 3 optical instruments will be revealed here on the blog, in due time :) Along with "before" and "after" Pics and (YouTube) videos. It's going to be a lot of fun!!

The short version of the headline is: Yes, there still are thoughtful, decent, and generous people in the world. 

Stay tuned! - It appears that I will become a vintage telescope collector overnight! 

It's going to be amazing! If all goes according to plan - This blog will have the unique distinction, of being a depository of information and photos on Edmund Scientific telescopes. Along with detailed pictures, and restoration steps, etc.

Until next time - Clear & steady skies to you!