BuildDiary.Net: Large, Thin Telescope Mirrors.

Large, Thin Telescope Mirrors.

By: Dave

Date: Thu, December 9, 2004

For our next project Travis and I have been considering making a telescope. Grinding your own mirror is well within the capabilities of the average backyard tinkerer. A friend of mine built his own telescope several years ago while at the same time going to college and raising 2 kids.

This page is a nicely written guide on how to grind your own mirror. The amazing thing about doing this yourself is that you can make your own mirror that is just as good as what can be done professionally.

Jim: Actually, it was the summer after I graduated college but I was working full time. ;)

Jose: I'm looking for a large mirror like a 50, 60 inches to build my telescope. Do you know may be who has it. Thank you Jose Duran

Jim: A fifty to sixty inch mirror is going to be VERY expensive, Jose. It requires a special annealing oven and equipment.

A scope this large would also have to be in a permanent facility. The sheer size of a 5 foot wide mirror would make transporting it a logistical nightmare.

Remember that a typical "large" telescope for amateurs is usually on the order of 16" to 24". The largest I've ever had the occasion to peer through was a 48" (at the 1994 Oregon Star Party in the Ochoco Mountains) and everyone was very impressed.

Final comment... if you haven't already built a telescope, this isn't the way to start. A 6" to 10" mirror would be more reasonable.

Dave: Hehe, that's just nitpicking, isn't it? And I should also mention he was living in an apartment.

Jim: Mel moved his website from EFN.

You can find the new site for this page by clicking here.

By the way, I have the basic figure for my new 8" mirror ground out but don't want to work on it until we get some sunny days so I can test focal length.

After I finish the mirror, I'll start work on a collapsible truss design. And, yes, I'll post the build for it when I do.

fan of stars: i'm building my own 16 inch telescope its not that expensive if some one tells you it is they just done know where to shop for the best quality at the best prices what i did was find a person who grinds there own mirrors and had them grind it for me then sent it in for coatting what i ended up with was a box type dob 16 inch main mirror my next project is a 10 inch apo refractor the same guy is grinding the glass as i type this im at his house because im looking for a 24 inch mirror blank after the 10 inch refractor my next project is a 24 inch dob i attached a photo of the one i just got finished with as it was being built

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