Snakeoil
Well-Known Member
My shooting partner warned me about this. He got talked into buying a Unertl of questionable virtue and wanted me to "work my magic" Needless to say, he has a much higher opinion of my skills than most, including me. My guess is he got it dirt cheap. I say that because it looked like a piece of sewer pipe sitting on the bench when I walked up to the firing line. I peered thru the scope and the reticle looked like somebody made it out of rope. So, I brought it home and dug into it yesterday. It has a missing locking screw where the end bell attaches to the main tube. One of the mounting screws for the center lens cell was broken and the stub was still in the cell. It looks like somebody had gone over the entire external surface with a wire wheel. There is pitting on the outside of the scope. I assume it was the same mechanical butcher that put pliers on the small diameter end of the end bell and the aluminum lens carrier that screws into the center lens cell. Pliers can be a curse in the wrong hands.
When I removed the reticle cell, the cross wires were fine monofilament fishing line. And the screws that held them each had a blob of rubber cement on them. Easy fix for later. The broken screw in the lens cell was another matter. I cannot remember the exact size but want to say that it is a #2 screw. A good portion of the remaining stub was protruding thru the inner wall. I tried to get a set of needle nose pliers on it and did. Got it to turn a little, but it stopped. I thought I could just screw it into the ID to remove it. But when the hamfist that last worked on this thing tried to get it apart, he drilled only part of the head off the screw that was broken. He left just enough that it would not screw deeper and exit the other side. Plus, he drilled it off center. So, I had to come up with plan B. I was able to center punch the stub and then drill it with a #60 drill. Then, taking a broken dental tool, I ground it to a point and then flattened opposite sides of the point to make a screw-extractor of sorts. I tried just forcing it into the stub and turning, but it slipped. So, using a small hammer, did the tap, turn, tap, turn, process and it came right out. The tap not only set the extractor into the stub, but it also helped correct some of the distortion on the threads from my first attempt with pliers. See, didn't I tell you pliers were dangerous.
With the screw out, I had to address some other pliers butchery on the eyepiece locking and power rings. Some gentle work with a triangular file cleaned up the damaged knurls and they should look fine once they are re-blued. That was enough for yesterday. Today, I'll start sprucing up the exterior of the scope, make a new reticle and put it back together if all goes well.
Here's a few pics. First is the scope completely disassembled. This shot should remove some of the mystery behind Unertl scopes.
This is the broken screw in the center lens cell. Second shot shows it protruding on the inside. It was still not enough to grab and turn with needle nose pliers.
Here is that pesky little stub from the broken screw removed and impaled on my homemade dental screw extractor.
When I removed the reticle cell, the cross wires were fine monofilament fishing line. And the screws that held them each had a blob of rubber cement on them. Easy fix for later. The broken screw in the lens cell was another matter. I cannot remember the exact size but want to say that it is a #2 screw. A good portion of the remaining stub was protruding thru the inner wall. I tried to get a set of needle nose pliers on it and did. Got it to turn a little, but it stopped. I thought I could just screw it into the ID to remove it. But when the hamfist that last worked on this thing tried to get it apart, he drilled only part of the head off the screw that was broken. He left just enough that it would not screw deeper and exit the other side. Plus, he drilled it off center. So, I had to come up with plan B. I was able to center punch the stub and then drill it with a #60 drill. Then, taking a broken dental tool, I ground it to a point and then flattened opposite sides of the point to make a screw-extractor of sorts. I tried just forcing it into the stub and turning, but it slipped. So, using a small hammer, did the tap, turn, tap, turn, process and it came right out. The tap not only set the extractor into the stub, but it also helped correct some of the distortion on the threads from my first attempt with pliers. See, didn't I tell you pliers were dangerous.
With the screw out, I had to address some other pliers butchery on the eyepiece locking and power rings. Some gentle work with a triangular file cleaned up the damaged knurls and they should look fine once they are re-blued. That was enough for yesterday. Today, I'll start sprucing up the exterior of the scope, make a new reticle and put it back together if all goes well.
Here's a few pics. First is the scope completely disassembled. This shot should remove some of the mystery behind Unertl scopes.
This is the broken screw in the center lens cell. Second shot shows it protruding on the inside. It was still not enough to grab and turn with needle nose pliers.
Here is that pesky little stub from the broken screw removed and impaled on my homemade dental screw extractor.