BY JOHN ARROWOOD

How to Build a Tube Scope

A full length scope that can be made at home.

T
HIS SCOPE PROJECT is A pretty simple one to make. hair cell is made to fit snugly into the tubing then drilled
The scope is made with steel tubing and brass with a 5/16" drill bit. Remove the burr lightly as not to
inserts that can be easily obtained or made. The round over the hole and set it aside. Make one more cell
bases can be purchased from Optic Planet, Leatherwood and drill with a 1/8" drill bit. Remove the burr from the
Optics or Montana Vintage Arms. Here are the scope part making sure that the edges is still sharp but not
mounts that I used Malcolmb style mounts from Optic rounded. All inserts should be 3/4" long.
Planet on my scope. The lenses are purchased from anchor optics the
The scope is made with brass inserts that hold the size that is used is 14mm for a 3/4" tubing. The lens that
lenses (which are called cells). The outside or body of the you want are on page 251 they are PCX (Piano-Convex)
scope is made with D.O.M (Drawn over Mandrel) steel lens, these are a plain style lenses that are not coated, if
tubing. This is tubing that has no seams. The tubing can
be purchased from Fastenal Industrial & Construction
Supplies by the inch. Make sure you get your tubing
before you make any of the cells so you can measure
the inside diameter and make the cells fit snugly in the
scope. This will help keep the light out when your cells
are installed in the tube.
Once you have your tubing, you can start on mak-
ing the cells. You will need to make three cells for the
lenses, one for a light reducer, and one cell for the cross
hairs. That makes a total of five cells that you will have
to fabricate for your scope.
The three cells can be made at one time. First turn
the outside diameter to fit snuggly into the tubing then
drill through with a 1/2" drill and bore to an inside di-
ameter of .520". Then make a light groove in each cell
about 3/16 from one edge. This will help later in assem-
bly. Cut each of the cells to 3/4" in length, remove the
burr and then set aside. At this point each cell should be
Here we can see a finished lens with the lens about to be
bored and have a grove 3/16" from one end. The cross mounted in it.

24 SINGLE SHOT RIFLE JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009, VOL 62, NO. 1


Here is the crosshair cell mounted in the block with the
tape ready for mounting the hairs.
you want coated lenses they also have them but there is
less of a selection and they will have to be center ground
to 14mm. The three lenses that you need are objective,
erector, and ocular (eye piece). There is a mathemati-
cal formula but I have not figured out all the math yet.
The eyepiece that I used in my scope had a EL. (focal
length) of 35mm or about 2" from the scope which is
fine for a light caliber. But a heavier caliber I would use
a higher F.L. of 42 would get your eye farther from the
scope. The erector lens has a F.L. of 89 and the objective
is a 334. This gives the scope about a 15 power. Now I
have a spare objective lens of 279 that will be installed
into another scope that will give a total power of about
an 8 power when using the same eyepiece and erector
focal lengths.
The cross hairs are the hardest to make, well more
like the most time consuming. Take the insert that was
drilled with the 5/16-drill bit. You need to cut a cross on
one end. This needs to be cut as accurate as possible. I
used a spin indexer on the mill with a 3/8-dovetail cut-
ter. Cut the groves to a depth of about .020". Once the
grooves have been cut it is now time to install the cross
hairs. You will need a magnifying glass or better a pair
that you ware on your head. If you have a magnifying
glass you will need to have it held for you. A good light
source is essential to see and work with the fine strands
that you will be working with. Lastly you will also need
some super glue. I made my cross hairs from unwaxed
dental floss. First thing to do is take two scrap pieces of
wood that will fit in a vice. Clamp the wood in the vice
and drill a hole that is a little smaller and a little shal-
lower that the cross hair inserts. Check the fit of the in-
sert by clamping it in the vice and trying to turn with
your fingers it should not move. Then take some blue
painters tape and mask off the top of the vice and wood
blocks around the insert. This will help with seeing the
unwaxed dental floss. Rip off 8 small pieces of blue tape
and place it around the edge of the blue tape that is on
the vice. Remove a two-inch piece of dental floss. Use a
xacto knife to divide the strands of dental floss down to
the finest strand. Once you have the finest strand run
it through your fingers to make sure it is smooth. Take
one end of the strand and attach it to the blue tape that
is on one side of the groove then lay the strand across
the insert in the groove and attach it with another piece
of blue tape making sure the strand is snug in the bot-
tom of the groove. Take the super glue and put a drop
on each side. Do not worry if the glue sticks above the
insert or if it runs down the outside. This will be cleaned
up later. Do the same to the other groove. Then let the
insert sit over night to dry. The next day use the xacto
This shot shows a cell with the lens being held in place by an
o-ring
 knife to cut the strand on the outside of the insert and
remove the insert from the vice and inspect you fine
work. If you would like to see how close to center your
cross hairs are take and lay on the work bench and with
a magnifying glass watch the center of the cross hairs as
it is rolled on the bench.
Every lens that is received will be a little different
in diameter and each cell should be fit to a lens. Once
finished, the cell should be marked with a fine tipped
marked with the F.L. of the lens.
Once the lenses arrive the cells can now be finished.
Leave the lenses in their bags so they do not get mixed
up or damaged. Each cell needs to be bored to fit each
of the lenses.The cells are about 3/4" long and need to be
bored to a depth of V2" that gives a V4" shoulder to have
the lens rest against. When the lens are properly seated
in the cell use a small o-ring that will fit snuggly behind
the lens to hold it in place for now in case the lens is in
back words this will be helpful with the setup. Once a
cell is finished and the o-ring fitted behind the lens use
a marker or a felt tipped pen and write the Focal Length
on the outside of the cell. Do this to the rest of the cells
as they are completed.
After the cells are made and the lenses fitted and
each cell has been marked with its own F.L. (Make sure
that the convex part of the lenses are facing away from
your eye. This can be done by looking through each lens
at your fingernail and flipping the lens over to see which
side is clearer. Or look across the lens to see which side
is rounded.) It is now time to mock up the scope parts.
The best way to find the distances between the cells is
to use a piece of angle iron or aluminum. A piece can
be purchased from Home Depot or Lowes. If you have
a piece lying around make sure it is 36" or more. This is
in case you want to make a longer length scope. I took
a scrap piece of aluminum cut a v groove to mount the
piece of angle and drilled and tapped a screw in the bot-
tom. Then place it on a tripod to hold it steady while the
cells are moved back and forth. A tape measure and a
26 SINGLE SHOT RIFLE JOURNAL
This shows the cells on the angle iron ready to be
measured go slow here and make sure its right!
flashlight are also needed.
The adjustment has to be done in a dark basement
at night. Place the tripod setup on one side of the room
and place a table light on the other side of the room. The
greater distance between the two the better the scope can
be adjusted. If the basement is too full then a hallway or
two rooms can be used just make sure to close the blinds
to make it as dark as possible. Now with the lights on in
the room aim the angle iron in the direction of the light
that is sitting on the table. Set the shortest F.L. cell which
is your eyepiece at the end farthest from the light this
lens will be stationary. This lens should be set at the edge
of the angle iron. This is also the point from where all the
measurements are taken from. The next cell to be placed
is the object lens which is the one closer to the light this
lens will also be stationary. (If you want a 34"scope then
the distance from the end angle iron to the front of the
objective lens cell would be 34"). The erector lens will be
the lens that will be moved to focus the scope on base of
the light. The erector and objective cells should have the
bored side with the o-ring facing towards the eye piece
and the eye piece's bored side with the o-ring should be
facing the erector cell this will place the eyepiece lens
closer to the edge of the scope. Now that the cells are set
on the angle iron at the right distance for the scope you
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009, VOL. 62, NO. 1
 want to build turn off the lights except for the one that
the scope will be focused on. This is going to take a little
time. The first thing is to move the angle so that when
you are looking at a bright blur. Once the light has been
found tighten the tripod so it does not move. Then start
by moving the erector forward by pushing it close to the
objective then slowly start dragging it back towards your
eye. Take your time. When it starts to clear up the angle
iron might need adjusting to find the base of the bulb
again. Keep moving it until the details of the base of the
light bulb look clear in the lenses. Mark the spot on the
angle where the groove is. Now move the erector farther
back it should clear up again and have little to no mag-
nification. If this happens then move the erector back to
the place you marked. This is the correct location for the
erector. If you mark the location and run out of room
to move the erector than you have found the improper
placement of the erector and should go through the ad-
justment process again. If everything looks good then
take the cross hair insert and set it just forward of the
eyepiece. Look through the lenses again at the light and
adjust the insert with the cross hairs and move the in-
sert back and forth until the hairs look nice and dark
not blurry. Turn the lights on and measure the distance
from the end of the angle iron to each groove make sure
to write it down. To make tilings simple take a piece of
paper turn it long ways and draw a line down the center
on the left hand side of the line write objective and on
the right hand side write eyepiece. On this piece of paper
each location can be marked with a simple line that will
represent the distance of the groove to the back of the
angle iron. That is the measurements for each hole that
needs to be drilled in the scope tube. Also take a mea-
surement form the edge of the angle iron to the back
edge of the erector and the back edge of the cross hairs
this will be helpful when sliding the inserts into the tube
for preassembly.
Now mat you have the measurements for each of
the groove locations marked on the paper it is now time
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009, VOL. 62, NO. 1
to secure the lenses to the cells. This can be done in sev-
eral ways. They can be attached to the cell walls with the
use of a bead of epoxy, the use of a threaded sleeve or
the lens can also be held by a sleeve pressed into place
and then apply a small amount of loctite so the recoil
will not jar it loose. If epoxy is used to hold the lenses in
place then great care should be taken in making sure the
epoxy is only placed on the side and that none of the ep-
oxy gets on the center part of the lens. This could dam-
age the lens and when the scope is assembled the image
could be blurry or distorted at all ranges. If the use of
epoxy is desired then try using a disposable eyedropper
to place a fine bead of epoxy around the edge of the lens
where it touches the cell. When the epoxy dries it will
spread out some and cover a small part of the lens leav-
ing the rest clean and clear. The use of threads is another
way to hold the lenses in place. It is a lot more work and
is very time consuming to get everything threaded and
fitted together but if you do break or damage a lens it is
a lot easier to replace it. The use of a sleeve to hold the
lens in place works well and is not as complicated as a
threaded insert. First turn the sleeve so that it fits snug in
the cell. It needs to be at least a 1/4" long. Once the outside
fits the cell then the inside diameter can be first drilled
and then bored until the wall thickness is .062 or a 1/16"
thick remove the burrs without rounding over the edges
of the sleeve. Once a sleeve is finished it can be installed
into the cell. Remove the o-ring that is holding the lens
in place and men insert the sleeve until it rest snuggly
against the lens. If the sleeve cannot push it all the way in
by hand a small hammer and a wooden dowel or a piece
of brass turned slightly smaller than the outside of the
sleeve can be used to gently push the sleeve against the
lens. Gently shake the cell to make sure the lens is held
tightly and there is no rattle sound. If a rattle is herd in
the cell, then tap on the sleeve and gently shake again
keep repeating this until the noise stops. When the rest
of the sleeves have been made, installed and check for
loose lenses a small bit of loctite is applied to help secure
SINGLE SHOT RIFLE JOURNAL 27
 the sleeves in place.
Work on the tubing that will become the scope
body can now be started. First thing to do is square up
one edge of the tubing. Once the tubing is square and
smooth a measurement needs to be taken for the over-
all length making sure to leave it a little longer so that
end can be filed square and smooth to the final length.
Make sure to remove the burr from inside and out but
do not sand or polish the outside part of the tubing at
this point. On the outside of the tube there are lines that
run the length of the tubing from the die that is used to
form the tube. These lines are straight enough to be used
as a reference line to drill the holes for the screws that
will hold the cells. Pick a line that is easily seen. Once
you are satisfied with the line take a straight edge and
lightly scribe a line over top to ensure the line is straight.
Now take the paper that has the measurements and copy
the distances to the tube by making a cross line at each
location that the groove of a cell will be. Remember that
the measurements are from right to left. If a miss drilled
hole is a concern then one hole can be drilled at a time
and that cell drilled and tapped. To help with the drilling
of the tubing take a scrap piece of brass or steel turned
to the size of inside diameter. This will help control the
burr and when the vice is tighten on the tube it will not
be squeezed out of round making a flat spot on the tube.
To hold the cells in place use four 6-40 gun screws that
are 1/8" long if longer ones are purchased or on hand
they can be and should be shortened. The screws should
be flush or about flush with the inside of the cell. If the
screws stick into the scope a little bit that is still ok they
won't be seen for the most part. Once the hole is drilled
and the cell is slid into place the groove that was turned
into the cell helps locate the correct location.
Use a steel pick to slide the cell back and forth to
locate this line. Once found the cell is now ready to be
drilled with the proper size drill bit for the tap that is
being used. When tapping the brass cell do not use any
tapping fluid. It is hard to get the oil off the lens once
28 SINGLE SHOT RIFLE JOURNAL
tapping is done. The other cells should be done the same
way. The cross hair insert is a bit different this should
not be drilled all the way through. If it is drilled through
this will not hurt anything and can still be used. The
only concern is that there will be a burr on the inside
and this will be seen in the scope and it is hard to re-
move the burr without damaging the cross hairs. With
the cross hairs in the tube rotate the insert so that one of
the hairs is about center of the hole drilled in the tube.
When this placement is found carefully mark the loca-
tion of the hole to be drilled on the insert taking care not
to move the cross hairs one way or the other. Now that
everything is drilled and tapped disassemble and gently
blow the shavings from the cells. Do not use a cloth or a
finger to wipe the lenses clear. Flush the cell in warm wa-
ter with a small amount of soap. Let the cells air dry then
inspect for chips that were not removed. If some chips
are found still in the cell then rinse again and check to
see if the chips have been removed. When everything has
been removed and the parts are dry spray the lenses with
an anti fog reading glass cleaner and use a few Q-tips
per lens to clean and dry the lenses. Now take a load-
ing rod with a large jag and run a few patches through
the tube to remove the dust and oil from drilling. A few
passes of a piece of scotch-brite can be run through the
inside of the tube to dull the surface. Then reassemble
the scope and take a look through it across the back yard
at several different ranges. If the scope is unfocused and
everything looks white or gray then there might be too
much light shining through the scope. If this is the case
then take the extra insert that was made earlier in the
article, remove the objective lens and slide this in a few
inches replace the objective and check to see if the pic-
ture clears. Take a measurement with the stick that was
used when pushing the erector lens mark the location
of the insert on the stick and transfer it to the outside
of the tube add 3/16" to the measurement that has been
marked on the tube already. Then drill and attach the
insert to the tube. If the view through the scope is clear
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009, VOL. 62, NO. 1
but now darker than the light conditions outside of the
scope the insert can be drilled out to a larger size and
replaced then rechecked to see if it is brighter. This pro-
cess takes some time to get right. When drilling, step up
to the next drill size and check. Do this until the scope is
about the same or a little less than the light outside. If the
hole is too large the scope will get a gray ring around the
outside of the lens. Then another insert will have to be
made and drilled with a drill bit that is two sixes smaller
than the last drill bit used on the old insert.
Now that everything is placed into the scope it is
now time to make a slot to adjust the cross hairs and
a slot for the erector to move back and forth a little bit.
The cross hair slot only needs to be 3/8" long. The erec-
tor slot can be a 1/4" long. A small round file can be used
or a thin flat file on edge is another way it can be done. If
a milling machine is handy a small end mill works well.
Just remember not to flatten the tube. When both slots
are made the next thing to make is two thin bands to
cover the slots created for adjusting the erector and the
cross hairs. The band that covers the erector slot must be
long enough so when adjusted the inside of the tube is
not exposed to the light. The cross hair adjustment ring
only needs to be a little bit larger than the slot. When
making the bands knurl them first then bore them to
the outside diameter of the scope then remove the burr,
drill them both in the center and attach them to their
locations and try to adjust to make sure they move back
and forth without hanging up.
Now it is time to finish the outside of the scope.
Disassemble the scope set the parts aside and with the
tube place it in the vice without flattening the scope.
Take a piece of 220 grit emery paper grab it with both
hands and begin to sand the tube like you were shining
shoes. Keep rotating the part once to get all sides cleaned
and smooth. Once it is sanded smooth the tube can now
be blued or browned to the desired finish. Blue or brown
the bands to match also. Once the outside is finished
lightly oil and reassemble the scope and place the bases
on scope. If the rear base does not slide on the scope first
make sure the screws are loose. If the screws are loose
and the scope still does not fit then the base will have to
be reamed with a 3/4" reamer or an end mill. If reaming is
needed then do not tighten the screws on the base. If the
screws are tighten when the base is reamed. Then when
the screw are loosened the hole will be too large and un-
able to hold the scope tight in the base. With the scope
installed into the bases it is now ready to be placed on a
fine single shot rifle. Now stand back and admire all the
handy work that went into making this fine scope.
Because one picture is worth a thousand words I
have included the addresses of some You Tube videos I
made to help you out in a few places.
Happy Shooting. ®
CONTACT LIST FOR MATERIALS
Tubing:
Fastenal Industrial Supplies: www.fastenal.com/web/
products/detail.ex?sku=0950930
Scope Mounts:
Optics Planet www.opticsplanet.net/riflescope-
mounts-rings-and-bases.html
Leatherwood Optics: www.leatherwoodoptics.com/
Montana Vintage Arms:
www.montanavintagearms.com/
Parsons Scope Service www.parsonsscopeservice.com
Lenses:
Anchor Optics: www.anchoroptics.com
You Tube How-To Videos
Cell Lay Out Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dHk3MCLSew
Installing the Crosshairs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Q-2E6Tz7M
Making a Sleeve:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSfvqjmIpAQ
Making a Sleeve pt2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQO5zpybsAY