Quote:
Originally Posted by Tucson_Tim
Let me first say that I've never done more than build an altitude/azimuth pipe mount for my first scope - one of those cheap 60 mm refractors. But I'm curious about the real scope builders. Here's a chance to show off your expertise in this thread. You don't necessarily have to have ground your own mirror either. Tell us about your failures too and what you would do differently.
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I have made several, most of them junk. My first was an odd idea of how it should work, that did not. It involved a chunk of PVC pipe and some fantasies.
I've ground a number of mirrors, made some nice OTA's, but my favorite scopes are the ones made out of recycle and junk. I make the mirrors out of pyrex pie plates. They yield a 7 to 8 inch f5 mirror, depending on the pie plate. I scavenge old eyepieces and usually make a focuser out of paper tube, ala Dobson. They are usually an Alt / Az mount although I have done some equitorial piers out of old sewer pipe.
It is really astonishing how easy it is to make a telescope. And they don't have to be perfect to see a lot of stuff.
David Davis
Toledo, OR 97391
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Telescope_Making