Stuck Lock Ring on Unertl Scope

[PBSmith]

This is the lock ring on the objective. The scope has been in storage a long time. The scope was NIB when I bought it, and I never applied any kind of lube or grease to the lock ring. Don't know what could be holding it fast.

If this were anything but a scope, I might try heat or Kroil or such. Not up for that treatment here.

Any suggestions?

Moderator: if this is not the appropriate forum please move this thread. Thanks

[country gent]

You might try mild heat as in a blow drier. The other is to pad some channel lock pliers with thin rubber and gently use them. Is it bound to the threads or the objective? These arnt a sealed scope so if you can turn the objective and ring it should separate when the objective comes to the end off the tube, be careful as these are very fine threads

[hawkenhunter50]

I agree with the trying heat also, dont think slight warming would hurt anything.

[waksupi]

I would put a drop of Ed's Red on it and let it work a couple days,

[PBSmith]

Many thanks, fellow casters. A little hair dryer heat enabled me to back the objective away from the lock ring, a little more and the lock ring moved. Appreciate your suggestions.

[broomhandle]

Many thanks, fellow casters. A little hair dryer heat enabled me to back the objective away from the lock ring, a little more and the lock ring moved. Appreciate your suggestions.

Hi PBSmith,

It's a good group here! Please send a small donation to each of the nice guys, that replied to you question!:grin:

If you have all the original directions for your scope many of us would like a good copy.

Do you have the original wood box many of them were shipped in? I would like to get a list of all the sizes of that wood box. So I can make a box for mine. I think the originals were made from white OAK.

Enjoy the scope there fun to shoot,
point6

[Kenstone]

Edit: sounds like crisis resolved.
For the next time when heat won't work...

Don't use anything metal like the channel locks suggested [smilie=b:
Get a small strap wrench (or two) , they have a soft band that is wrapped around round stuff.
With two you can hold the scope body with one and turn the ring with the other.
You'll only need one if the scope is mounted on a rifle.
:grin:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=small+strap+wrench&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Strap-Wrench-6-In/dp/B0002H338C/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=small+strap+wrench&qid=1581374927&sr=8-12

I never owned a tool I didn't like
:wink:
:-D

[PBSmith]

Hi PBSmith,

It's a good group here! Please send a small donation to each of the nice guys, that replied to you question!:grin:

If you have all the original directions for your scope many of us would like a good copy.

Do you have the original wood box many of them were shipped in? I would like to get a list of all the sizes of that wood box. So I can make a box for mine. I think the originals were made from white OAK.

Enjoy the scope there fun to shoot,
point6

Broom,
My scope didn't ship with a wooden box, so I can't help you out on that account. If you google "Unertl" long enough, you might find connections that could help. Here is a good place to start:
http://looserounds.com/tag/unertl/.

There you will find a short history contributed by John Unertl, Jr., grandson of the company's founders. It's an excellent write-up. Included in that same link is a photograph of the box about which you inquire, along with details about the scope's use in Vietnam and elsewhere.

That link also contains the original instructions that came with the scope. If you'd like, wire me your contact info and I'll photocopy mine for you.

Last time I got into this topic, which was not too many years after manufacture of the scopes had ceased, the remnant of the original Unertl company had a knowledgeable woman answering the telephone in Mars, Pennsylvania, a small town north of Pittsburgh to which the company had moved not long before closing its doors. Conceivably she could have directed you to info on the boxes. At that time an Ohio man was doing repair of Unertl's. I'd be surprised if either of these people are available/involved today, but you might dig further and find me wrong.

If you are truly passionate about Unertl scopes, by all means get a copy of Warren Page's, The Accurate Rifle. That book contains frequent mention of the product, along with several fascinating photographs.

[PBSmith]

Edit: sounds like crisis resolved.
For the next time when heat won't work...

Don't use anything metal like the channel locks suggested [smilie=b:
Get a small strap wrench (or two) , they have a soft band that is wrapped around round stuff.
With two you can hold the scope body with one and turn the ring with the other.
You'll only need one if the scope is mounted on a rifle.
:grin:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=small+strap+wrench&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Strap-Wrench-6-In/dp/B0002H338C/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=small+strap+wrench&qid=1581374927&sr=8-12

I never owned a tool I didn't like
:wink:
:-D

Ken,
Thanks.

[georgerkahn]

PBSmith -- I'm elated for you you had success! Should you wish another method ;), I had a similar challenge with a vintage Weaver scope. I had a bag of cut "leather scraps" I had purchased at a gun show, and pulled out a narrow piece long enough to go around the stuck ring, with a couple of inches or so, extra. I wrapped the leather as snug as I could about the ring, gripped the excess in a pair of ordinary slip-joint pliers, and -- while holding scope in one hand, turned the pliers down with the other. My immediate reaction was "failure", as I was certain the leather was slipping. BUT :) -- when I went to reset and try again -- wow! -- the ring was loose. Still not free, though, I used a toothpick to apply a drop or two of Kroil; waited a few minutes, and problem solved.
Again -- happy your heat gun trick worked; and, here's another option for future...
geo

[gumbo333]

Glad everything worked out. Now could someone please tell me how to pronounce Unertl. I've always wondered. Thanks

[PBSmith]

Glad everything worked out. Now could someone please tell me how to pronounce Unertl. I've always wondered. Thanks

I never knew the family personally, but grew up a few miles from the original Unertl plant on East Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In my day, many serious riflemen of Pittsburgh aspired to owning a Unertl scope, and this is the way I always heard the name pronounced:

"You nert' ul." Accent on the 2nd syllable. It sort of rhymes with "Turtle" and "Unfertile," though the "U" is obviously pronounced differently in the second example.

My sincerest apologies to the Unertl family if I've butchered this.

[PBSmith]

PBSmith -- I'm elated for you you had success! Should you wish another method ;), I had a similar challenge with a vintage Weaver scope. I had a bag of cut "leather scraps" I had purchased at a gun show, and pulled out a narrow piece long enough to go around the stuck ring, with a couple of inches or so, extra. I wrapped the leather as snug as I could about the ring, gripped the excess in a pair of ordinary slip-joint pliers, and -- while holding scope in one hand, turned the pliers down with the other. My immediate reaction was "failure", as I was certain the leather was slipping. BUT :) -- when I went to reset and try again -- wow! -- the ring was loose. Still not free, though, I used a toothpick to apply a drop or two of Kroil; waited a few minutes, and problem solved.
Again -- happy your heat gun trick worked; and, here's another option for future...
geo

Thanks George. Always good to have another trick in hand.