On 15/01/2013 12:06, Alastair McDonald wrote:
This is probalbly a dumb question, but I was given a Jessops telescope for
my Christmas and it is a bit stiff when pointing it at stars, and following
them as they move. Should I oil or grease it? Or is that a no-no? Should the
telescope move completely freely or is a bit of stiffness needed to prevent
wobble?

Depending on the design of the telescope mount there are usually
friction clamps to lock the scope in place and maybe slow motion worm
screws to make fine positional adjustments. A bit of lubrication on any
stiff worm wheels or bearings will do no harm but obviously you don't
want to get any on the brake/clamp or the optics!

Some Dobsonian designs rely on being fairly accurately in balance and a
bit of bearing stiction to keep them pointing in the right direction.

You may need to make the tripod a bit more rigid in due course.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown