If your heart is in good shape, you could disassemble it but, about the only way, is to push the whole inside lens assembly out one end (probably the objective end) and hope that nothing binds up in the process. If the objective slides free, you can take that out and push the other lens cells out the ocular. While Frank's cautious approach cannot be faulted, my experience (which, admittedly, was back in my much younger, less restrained days) was that the disassembly is easy and straightforward. First, I removed all the screws and laid them out in order. Next, the eyepiece was unscrewed and the ocular lens tube fell right out. Then, using a close-fitting wood rod, the other tubes were pushed out the objective end. Last but not least, as each tube came out - and each did so smoothly - its screw was reattached; and, like the screws, the tubes were laid out in order and pointing in the right direction. Once out, I noted that the inner tubes were all of brass and chemically-blackened. So as not to disturb that finish, I gently used only a very soft brush and a neutral solvent (literally saliva) on a cotton ball or q-tip. After cleaning, which included a wipe inside the outer tube, the inner tubes fit even more smoothly and the scope was easily reassembled; indeed, the only tricky part was orienting the tubes visually and reinserting them with such a light touch that at worst I had to use a toothpick to align the respective screw holes Last note: My tubes were relatively heavy; the cross-hairs (which I assumed to be original) were wire; and the lenses were solidly mounted. In short, my opinion is that Sidle scopes were made to be "home serviced", just do so with care and keep things in order. Bill Lawrence
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