What happens to equipment when it's bad???

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chris_g United States of America
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What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#1

Post by chris_g »


My first truly destructive process. What we have here is what used to be a 5mm extension tube sitting next to a working 7.5mm variable for frame of reference. It was frozen on to a very nice WO M48 T-Ring adapter for the last couple of months. Finally, I had the extension tube back focus worked out for the C8 and it was 5mm to long, Out came the trusty pliers, The WO T-adapter, some scratches, but still works perfectly.

How destructive have you ever been. Please don't' hesitate to share...
20221215_214233 (2).jpg

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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#2

Post by Ylem »


I was in the process of selling my C90 Mak, when I noticed I still had the ScopeStuff SCT thread adapter on it.

Darn, it was tight, I couldn't get it off, took the jumbo pipe pliers to it and mangled it just like your photo 😆
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SkyHiker United States of America
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#3

Post by SkyHiker »


Working with heat and cold can work wonders. I had a problem like that once, put the item in the freezer then used heat on the outer thread part and it came off easily.
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#4

Post by Greenman »


Ah, you know that thin layer of silicon grease you're meant to apply... For one - I have never remembered to do it. WD-40 is my normal get out, but for thin adapters no go. WD-40 near lenses a no go. So yep, me too brute force and if one side survives it is a bonus.

Mangling can be fun, but expensive.
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chris_g United States of America
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

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Post by chris_g »


SkyHiker wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:13 pm Working with heat and cold can work wonders. I had a problem like that once, put the item in the freezer then used heat on the outer thread part and it came off easily.
LOL! I'll remember that next time! Physics is a wonderful tool if I could remember it from my school days, the expansions and contraction of metals!
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#6

Post by chris_g »


Greenman wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 1:05 pm Ah, you know that thin layer of silicon grease you're meant to apply... For one - I have never remembered to do it. WD-40 is my normal get out, but for thin adapters no go. WD-40 near lenses a no go. So yep, me too brute force and if one side survives it is a bonus.

Mangling can be fun, but expensive.
Grease inside my camera body! LOL! Luckily, it was the cheaper side that got mangled this time!
Image Cam: Canon 6D (Ha mod), 600D (Stock), SVBony SV405CC
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EAA OTA: Orion ST80
EAA Cam: SVBony SV705C
EP: Baader Hyperion Modular Set
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#7

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Back in the early 2000s when Meade and Celestron were just starting to sell the CG-5 and LXD-55 mounts, the chroming on the counterweight bars was very poor and prone to flaking.
Quite a few people destroyed the internal threads of the mount trying to get the bar loose. Amazing the damage a few flakes of chrome can do to cast aluminium threads!
I had it happen once with a ASGT and after a couple of hours of slowly turning the bar using a pipe wrench I got it free though I did have to purchase a tap and die to clean up all of the threads.
A bit of industrial thread lubricant kept it from happening again.
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chris_g United States of America
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#8

Post by chris_g »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 10:38 pm A bit of industrial thread lubricant kept it from happening again.
Greenman wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 1:05 pm Ah, you know that thin layer of silicon grease you're meant to apply..
I added a variable extension tube with the variable adjuster against the T-Ring, no more freezing of adapters. It had happened once before, but I was able to ape it off with gloves on, this time it wasn't coming off! Lesson learned...
Image Cam: Canon 6D (Ha mod), 600D (Stock), SVBony SV405CC
Image OTA: EvoStar ED80, WO Z73, C8-A XLT
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EAA OTA: Orion ST80
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Re: What happens to equipment when it's bad???

#9

Post by AstroBee »


I've found the freezer trick works about 50% of the time and is less likely to work if the two pieces you are trying to get "unstuck" are the same material because they both shrink the same and stay stuck. But this little kitchen tool has save me a couple times since I too mangled an adapter very similar to yours. Just keep it away from your spouse or it will end up in the kitchen and you'll never find it when you need it. Mine stays in my astro toolbox now.
Greg M.~ "Ad Astra per Aspera"
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