Antique Brass Refracting Telescope Restoration
Employer
Andriy
Project parameters
Type of cooperationOne-time project
SectionAdvertising and marketing
Prepaymentwithout prepayment
Payment methodsCash, Bank transfer
Acceptance of requestsfrom today, 04:44 until Sep 26, 2026
Project description
I own a family heirloom — a brass refracting telescope from the early twentieth century, three-section pull-out draw tube on a simple field tripod. It has sat in a cabinet for decades and I would like it brought back to a usable, display-worthy state without erasing its age or originality.
The main tube shows dried, hardened grease inside the sliding sections, so the draw tube barely extends and catches halfway. I need the sections disassembled, the old lubricant removed, the sliding surfaces cleaned and lightly re-greased with a period-appropriate lubricant so the tube glides smoothly again without excess play or wobble.
The objective lens at the front has a thin haze and a few fingerprints baked into the glass. I understand these old achromatic doublets can carry a faint natural tint or fixed internal spacing, so please clean the exterior surfaces only with methods that will not damage or strip any original coating or cement between the lens elements. The eyepiece is a simple brass ocular with a focusing helical that currently binds and will not turn past a certain point — it needs to be freed, cleaned of old dirt, and adjusted so focus travels the full range smoothly.
The exterior brass has gone dark and blotchy in places, with a greenish patina in the tube joints. I would like it cleaned and polished evenly, but I am open to leaving a light, uniform aged tone rather than a mirror-bright finish — please advise on what looks appropriate for a piece this old. The tripod mount has a loose altitude clamp and a stripped thread on one leg brace that needs a proper brass insert or replacement screw, not a modern steel bolt that would stand out.
Once everything is reassembled, please test the optical alignment by viewing a distant object or star and confirm the image is sharp and centered across the field, not just in the middle. I would like a short written note describing what was done at each stage, roughly how many days the work took, and any care instructions for keeping the mechanism moving freely afterward.
The main tube shows dried, hardened grease inside the sliding sections, so the draw tube barely extends and catches halfway. I need the sections disassembled, the old lubricant removed, the sliding surfaces cleaned and lightly re-greased with a period-appropriate lubricant so the tube glides smoothly again without excess play or wobble.
The objective lens at the front has a thin haze and a few fingerprints baked into the glass. I understand these old achromatic doublets can carry a faint natural tint or fixed internal spacing, so please clean the exterior surfaces only with methods that will not damage or strip any original coating or cement between the lens elements. The eyepiece is a simple brass ocular with a focusing helical that currently binds and will not turn past a certain point — it needs to be freed, cleaned of old dirt, and adjusted so focus travels the full range smoothly.
The exterior brass has gone dark and blotchy in places, with a greenish patina in the tube joints. I would like it cleaned and polished evenly, but I am open to leaving a light, uniform aged tone rather than a mirror-bright finish — please advise on what looks appropriate for a piece this old. The tripod mount has a loose altitude clamp and a stripped thread on one leg brace that needs a proper brass insert or replacement screw, not a modern steel bolt that would stand out.
Once everything is reassembled, please test the optical alignment by viewing a distant object or star and confirm the image is sharp and centered across the field, not just in the middle. I would like a short written note describing what was done at each stage, roughly how many days the work took, and any care instructions for keeping the mechanism moving freely afterward.
