self-makers

This section aims to be a boost and encouragement to make a telescope or its elements by oneself. My intent is to update this, time by time, adding new hints.

As for beginning I show you, using a few images, how I achieved the assembling of my 300 mm Dobsom.
I had made the 300 mm F=5 parabolic mirror already; I should buy the secondary mirror subsequently.
I intended to build an object within my tools’ grasp: an alternate hacksaw, a drill, one meter stick, a self-made wide compass. Moreover it should be easily disassembled to let simply transportation and manageable pointing when put together again; so I was obliged to fall upon a Dobson.
The materials I used, I easily found all those: plywood with different thickness that I tailored as necessary, aluminum broomsticks that I bought at the supermarket, an aluminum plate coming from gutter pipe workshop, some teflon parts for vertical and azimuth movement, a formica plate, screws and nuts of right size, and vinil glue.
Broken up into its main parts, I had to make::

1. a cylindric box with secondary handler and focus drive
   
2. a box housing the primary cell and various fixing clamps for the aluminum pylon
   
3. the primary mirror’s cell does have nine floating points that can be adjusted to collimate
   
4. the “stool” with its formica layer on which the telescope can spin horizontally

Who wants to experiment it should make an overview visiting different hardware stores and bricolage shops to get all the necessary pieces. Then a scaled project can be drawn.
In my case I have been fully satisfied of my work and my telescope’s behavior when I happen to attend to some watching nights.