Barr & Stroud binoculars- servicing

[Seagreen]

I've got an old pair of Ex Navy "Barr & Stroud" C41 binoculars, which are showing their age and need some internal servicing of the optics.

Preferring to do the job myself, I wondered if there are any online resources or mainenance manuals that could help me strip and clean the lenses and filters. Or has anyone tried this themselves and can give me some tips?

All advice gratefully accepted.
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[Jcorstorphine]

I used to work for Barr and Stroud back in the 70s and although not in the binocular department, I was familiar with the products. Cleaning the external lens should be ok but I seem to remember that the coating on the inside may not be a durable as the outside so observe caution when trying to remove any marks. I also think you may find it very difficult to set the prisms up correctly.

The one think I remember about looking through a brand new pair of B & S binoculars was that the image was very “bland” (I cant think of the correct word but bland will have to do) compared to my cheap Halina binoculars. The reason was of course that my cheap binoculars suffered from both spherical and chromatic aberration, giving a nice little “halo” round everything. The B& S binoculars however were optically perfect. I think that whatever condition your binoculars are in just now will not be improved by you taking them apart. They will always be better than anything you could buy today so if the coatings are still in good condition, take them to a specialities and you will reap the benefits.

 

[Topcat47]

Apart from cleaning the lenses, you can't do a lot. Binoculars need to be set up on an optical collumnating(?) bench.

 

[Talbot]

http://www.bpsc-marine.co.uk/ have been highly recommended

 

[Seagreen]

Thanks for the advice. I've got a reasonable price from a specialist firm and my Binns will be going there for some professional attention.

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