Featured Mid-Victorian Naval Telescope. Ca. 1860.

Teak?

 

I know absolutely nothing about wood, beyond the fact that it makes pretty fires. So...eh.

 

Teak is very long lasting at sea so it may be. I think it's pretty stable too.

 

& teak can be cut mighty thin.....I have 2 teak veneer tables...from the late 70's & the wood has held up well over time.

 

The battleship USS NJ has teak decks. They need to be replaced now. They were subjected to untold abuse in WWII and beyond.
They are 73 years old.

 

I've looked up a number of antique telescopes online, from the same era, and of the same size and style.

The barrels are either clad in leather, or if in wood, then it appears that mahogany was a popular choice. Is that what this could be?

 

Could be...

 

could be...

 

Happy birthday, Shangas!

 

HAPPY DAY!

 

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everybody!

I'm burning off the calories from dinner last night by cleaning my birthday present! This thing is SOOOOO FULL OF FILTH!! Oh my god!

This is my second or third day cleaning it and it's STILL GOT MORE IN IT! WHERE DOES ALL THIS CRAP COME FROM!!??

It's taking forever to clean out 150 years' worth of gunk!!

 

After two weeks of EXTENSIVE cleaning, the telescope is finally functioning...almost...as good as new. There's still a slight bit of tightness in the pull on the draw tubes, but I suspect that's just due to age, rather than grime.

All the tubes now withdraw, and collapse smoothly with minimal jerking and stiffness. I think this is about as good as it's going to get.

It took a LOT of effort, but it was worth it in the end!!