MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I have a Nikon SMZ-10 stereo microscope, and I recently dismantled and cleaned the eyepiece assembly. The eyepiece assembly consists of a cylindrical tube that fits within another tube. The inner tube rotates against the outer tube so as to allow the eyepiece to be moved in and out. There was some sort of grease or wax between the two tubes that allowed for a smooth movement of the two while providing some tension. I cleaned it off though and now the too pieces rotate too freely. As a result, I want to replace whatever that substance was with fresh stuff.

Does anybody know what that stuff was? And what can I use to replace it?

Damping grease

I found this brand Nye damping grease that looks good. But, what type of Nye damping grease should I use for this application? It looks like they sell many kinds with different viscosities.

For me Nyogel 767 did a good dampening job on a rack and pinion part. It is viscous.

I used Losoid Losimol 1150c for similar applications, it is pretty thick but expensive 20-25€. ATE Plastilube grease for car breaks is cheap and easily found in car parts shops 5€. A bit less thick but still should be good. Never tried Nye as it was hard to obtain here...

There's also a pair of adjusting screws for the tension on that mechanism. I sold my SMZ, but as I recall they were visible if you turn the assembly upside down. It may be that you only cleaned off overspill grease, and you have enough inside to do the trick if you tighten the screws a bit.

My memory may be defective. The repair manual, pages 8 and 12, mentions an adjustment procedure involving disassembly and a conical or cellulose washer. It also sounds like there are two versions of the mechanism:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/96945 ... =14#manual