Sniper scopes

[Surpmil]

The more I look at the bracket Peter the more I agree that is a repro that has been tarted up.

Unnecessary complication Peter? But I don't have any German ancestors at all!

Yes, I had completely forgotten the No.42 donor option - it's been too long since I messed around with these - though I claim to have had the best of teachers, albeit entirely by correspondence.

That rigmarole I described was the best I could think of off the cuff to hopefully preserve at least the inboard end of the reticule/graticule "sleeve", seeing as the OP is apparently trapped by having dents on both(?) sides of the drum turret. But since it can be replaced entirely from a No.42 donor, so much the better.

Yes, I see what you mean about the Mk.3 being even worse: unsoldering then removing those two graticule locating rings/collars would be a right PITA. Something like an enlarged split casing extractor made for the purpose, or just pushed out all together by pushing on the ocular end of the erector cell?

[Peter Laidler]

Jammed-in erector cells were one of the worst problems and to be honest, while we'd try hard to preserve them by using a tubular brass or nickel drift, you'd crash into a lens or buckle the stop-down cover part! Spares always seemed to be 'dues-out', meaning awaiting for spares to come into the system. but towards the end of their lives, the spares became plentiful!!!!! Unlike the L42 where it was easier to return the rifle to Ordnance/scrap that to set it aside to await replacement woodwork for example.

Maybe the owner of this telescope ought to contact Brian Dick and see if Brian knows anyone that could rebuild it

[Roger Payne]

I agree about the bracket, looking at it carefully. At a quick glance it looks like a Rose Brothers early example, but there are no typical riser marks & the casting is just too 'smooth'. Granted it could have been tidied up. But more so, the main central 'strut' connecting front & back ends looks to be exactly parallel, which it is not on RB brackets - it is very gently tapered, being deeper at the back. Dalgleish brackets are indeed parallel here, but they are much more angular anyway, & so easily discernible. I know little about the repro brackets other than my own, but could this one be an Accumounts product, perhaps? From the little I've seen of them they generally look better than the Pacific Rim variety, at least cosmetically.

Peter, that's exactly what I did to help remove at least some stuck erector cells - I bored out a length of rod to convert it into a tube that would just fit snugly against the shoulder on the back end of the erector without crushing the rounded rearwards projection. It was probably after speaking to you. I also made some dollies for dent removal, as some of the Indian batch of scopes are in a truly appalling state. They were obviously cannibalised for internal parts before being left out in the monsoons for about ten years, by the looks of them. I have a Kershaw 45 Mk3 with a (fortunately) very minor tube dent on my work bench in the garage at present. No usable lenses & many internal parts missing. Fortunately a helpful fellow forummer got me a quantity of useful small internals made a few years ago - grat blocks, shoes, clicker plungers (Mk1 & 2 as well as Mk3). And although the reserves are nearly exhausted, I do still have a couple of nice No53's to pillage for the glass........

[Warren]

I have a nice mandrel I had made with varying steps in it for removing dents in the tubes.
Somewhere someone made the comment you could unscrew the tube from the turret block and I have had several with the tube from the block to the ocular lens almost crushed flat with a pipe wrench.
With the mandrel and some judicious planishing you can get the tube back to original dimension however it takes a fair bit of time and care.
If you are careful you can do the job and not lose the markings and only have to recut them.
It is not a job you want to do unless it is a friend or your own as even at a couple of dollars and hour you are looking at major dollars to do the job.
It all comes down to how bad you want to repair or recover the existing scope.
I just finished a ZF 41 that has almost 20 hours on it, but it was done for a friend and I might get dinner our of it when overseas.
Only the second reticle I have made for the ZF41 and while not nice to do compared to the No.32 scope, .00245 mm wire can be pointed..