As mentioned there, the mount was still under restoration.

Now is basically finished (one small gear is being professionally redone as, sadly, got to me so badly twisted to result unusable...).

So, you may wish to follow me and discover the whole mechanism taken apart, totally clean from rust and dirt and finally put back into full working conditions. To do so, let's have a look at the

This is how the mount looked after a preliminary superficial cleaning. If you check back the images of the weight-driven mechanism, the state is identical: everything is jammed and rusty. Paint is in very poor state, being scratched and peeling off all over.

Here you get a closer look. Thanks to the deep scratches in the paint I was able to realize that the whole thing was made out of hand-made solid brass and bronze.

Here is the flip side. In the center you may see the small gear that is transmitting the movement from the weight-driven mechanism to the big worm wheel (14.5 cm dia. - 5.7"). It is not very evident from this image, but the small gear is actually twisted on a side like a fresh pasta dumpling...! It could be straighten up by putting it under a hydraulic press, but that would definitely ruin the teeth... so, no choice but a new one... (I'll have the original one straighten though...).

Here you get the whole picture.

The big hand-wheel to control the RA is 16 cm dia. (6.3")
The RA Worm Wheel is 14.5 cm (5.7")
The RA/Decl Circles with Vernier and eyepiece are 10 cm dia (4")
The RA Axis is 40 cm (16") long.
The Decl Axis (which is one single piece with the counterweight bar) is 62 cm (24.4") long.

Here as well the decision was to forget about the unrecoverable paint and get back to the metal. This is somehow unfaithful to history, as in 1920s brass was considered a "poor" material and was therefore painted to make it "beautiful". But I consider it more faithful to the instrument itself as it fully shows its exquisite craftsmanship. In any event, after *quite a bit of ***hard*** work* from your humble servant side, here is the

Here is the mount fully exploded. Just the counterweights, the small gear mentioned above, one of the two readout eyepieces (was in cleaning liquid), and the Declination Vernier (in cleaning liquid as well) are not shown. Let's get closer...

Here you may see the AR and Decl movements taken apart, cleaned and oiled. Every single piece is in full metal, hand-made and hand-finished. Every single piece is irregular and bears alignment marks. Almost every single screw wants its own specific hole... (I did not realize this at the beginning... getting back everything in place is a small nightmare...).

Here you may note the small counterweight that allows the readout eyepiece to be positioned on each part of the Coordination Circles and/or the Vernier, without moving from there as its fully counterbalanced... amazing...!

Here is the big control wheel... I *really* like this piece in solid hand-shaped metal... look at the curves... you have to get really close to see that they are indeed irregular... a masterpiece in itself...!

Here we have the balancing mechanism of the other readout eyepiece, the thrust for the Latitude adjustment, one of the two readout eyepieces open up with the top of one of the Setting Circle and the bottom of a Vernier. You'll get the whole picture when assembled.

Oh, well, here we are getting to the core... I guess that any description would spoil the beauty of the craftsmanship of the two axes housing... so I'll remain silent... ;-)

I guess you all wanted to see this closer... You can make out the hands of these skilled workers...

And you wanted to see from 'this' angle...;-)
Bellissimo, non è vero (...truly beautiful, isn't...)...?! These housings are really something...

And from this side, you can make better the Polar housing... (...AP 600E upper left for a comparison...;-)

The RA control wheel... I *really* like this piece...

Here you go with one Setting Circle plus Vernier, beside the RA wheel from a side and the Declination fine movement.

A close-up of the Setting Circle plus Vernier... when I finished cleaning the whole thing I realized that the numbers are actually hand-engraved on a plaque of solid Silver which is then nailed into the brass...!

OK, let's start putting things together... so you may see where each piece belongs to...

On top of the RA mechanism. On the left the missing transmission gear.

A view of the development of the whole RA axis.

Here a detail of the RA Setting Circle and Vernier with the little counterweight for the Readout Eyepiece. Sorry for the dust... I haven't done the final cleaning yet...;-)

Same RA Setting Circle but reverse side with the Eyepiece reading the Vernier scale. One can make out literally tenths of millimeters...

Now the Decl axis is in place. This is a detail of the fine movement which is controlled by two long brass bars (not shown), ono for locking-unlocking and the other for the fine movement itself.

Same detail but on the RA movement. One can clearly see the missing gear. This week, hopefully...;-)

The end of the RA axis. I *really* like this side. This tells you everything about a Classic: hand-made solid metal, silver, brass, ingenious solutions, attention to mechanical details...

At last, here is the whole mechanism, with all the parts together (apart from those mentioned above).

In a few weeks we will hopefully be able to put again this unique instrument at work after 90 years, making use of all its mechanical solutions. Its beauty will truly be 'one' with the beauty of the images it will deliver.

Classic beauty and scientific function joined together in a unity of endless harmony... this is indeed the essence of a Classic Telescope: being a Time Machine.

Dear Friends,

I truly hope you enjoyed the story as you'll enjoy the pictures of "the first light".

Those who shared with me this adventure -- started more than a year ago, and carried out on two tables, one floor and one small toilet that was fully devoted to this task -- know very well it was not easy. I got my hands severely wounded quite a number of times, got poisoned with acid, asthmatic, burnt, and really frustrated quite often... I knew from the beginning it was not going to be a "one-week-end" job. And this is definitely not the kind of exercise that can be carried out at night when one is dead tired... But I had no other choice.

In any case, now it's (almost) done, and indeed all the tiredness and frustration just disappears when I see this Telescope back to life and Time Machine ready to fly high...

...So, I guess I should consider myself ready to start with another one (...maybe not immediately, though...;-)>

Thank you so much for reading,

-- Max