George's Telescope... Finished!

[David DeCristoforo]

Almost three years to the day I started this, the telescope is finally finished. I’ve had to make a lot of changes along the way. Refinements, tweaks and modifications abound. I really never intended to do anything this complicated but the thing just kind of took me over. My sense of relief at having finished it is colossal.

I am aware that I’m going to get totally raked over the coals about these images. At some point I will have to get better photos. But the weather is crappy here and I have no “studio” to photograph in so I had to kind of fake it.

I still need to adjust the scope (collimate is the correct term) but that will have to wait for some decent weather as it has to be done outside and takes a bit of time. But the thing balances well (that was a fussy process in itself) and the movement is smooth and stable in all directions. I needed a lot more counterweight than I originally thought so I had to whack my counterweight and fill in with some cast iron weight plates. I needed twelve pounds to counterbalance the scope and there was no way to cram that much shot into my wood weight.

So, anyway… for what it is worth, here it is and now I can get on with the other part of my life!

Done_2.jpg Done_3.jpg

[Robert Hayward]

Have you called the Smithsonian and told them it is time to pick it up ? This masterpiece is going to a museum, isn't it ?

[Larry Frank]

This is an outstanding piece or artistic woodworking.

[Mel Fulks]

A colossal achievement and worthy Creeker bus trip destination! I hope you can take pics through it ,and will share them.

[Len Mullin]

David, it is an amazing feat, to be able to build something like this. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also functional. A lot of times things like this are built for looks only, they mostly just sit on display somewhere unused. Hopefully, this piece will be put to good use, it's most definitely a feather in your cap and something to brag about.

Len

[Tom M King]

Gorgeous! What size is it again? A 6" f/8? Do you have to be a member here to view pictures? I'd like to send the link to my Astronomer friends, so they can see it, but I know they're not members here.

[David DeCristoforo]

Gorgeous! What size is it again? A 6" f/8? Do you have to be a member here to view pictures? I'd like to send the link to my Astronomer friends, so they can see it, but I know they're not members here.

8” f6 I posted the pics on the woodturnersunlimited Facebook page. Might be able to see them there.

[Tom M King]

From what I can see, the diagonal mount looks pretty complicated. Did you make that too? Is the equatorial mount motorized? Does it come off of that base with casters under the legs?

[David DeCristoforo]

From what I can see, the diagonal mount looks pretty complicated. Did you make that too? Is the equatorial mount motorized? Does it come off of that base with casters under the legs?

Yes, I made everything except the mirrors. Here's the thread on the whole build:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....idated-Threads

No the mount is not motorized but it was built in such a manner that it could be at some point in the future. It's quite stable although the casters will be replaced with something a bit more elegant very soon.

[Peter Blair]

Unbelievable is the only word that comes to mind David!

[Wayne Jolly]

No the mount is not motorized but it was built in such a manner that it could be at some point in the future.

This tells me that you really are NOT finished yet. Bottom line though . . . a spectacular piece of work that will yield some spectacular viewing!

Wayne

[Ed Davidson]

Workmanship and design skills shine through on this project...very well done! Do you have any concern with wood movement messing with the optics/resolution?

[David DeCristoforo]

Workmanship and design skills shine through on this project...very well done! Do you have any concern with wood movement messing with the optics/resolution?

Unlikely. The shafts ride on steel bearings

9CBC7BAC-36F4-4D0E-B9EF-4F580EECDA42.jpg

so they should be fine. The scope tube laminated plywood so that should be pretty stable also.

There is a pretty complete documentation of the whole process own pdf format if you want to take a look at it. Warning... it's long!
http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/mis...copethread.pdf

[Jeffrey J Smith]

David - I can only mirror previous comments - incredible. Thanks for sharing your build on this over the past couple of years. It's been a journey.
Did you leave a spot for one of your signature finials? Perhaps the sighting tube?

[Tom M King]

I never owned a motorized one either, back when we were building telescopes, when I was a teenager in the '60's. We ground the optics, and everything else was just thrown together. My first one was a 4-1/4" f/15, and was just mounted on a 2x6 with the optic mounts hanging off the side. That one was not much good for anything but looking at the Moon, and was reground into a 4-1/4" f/4.

I have some Kodachrome slides I took, for exposures of like 20 minutes, using a handwheel on a flexible shaft, with the little 4-1/4", and an eye on the finder scope crosshairs following a star.

My friends, one that built telescopes with me when we were teenagers, are lead scientists on the James Webb (I sent them a link to your build). I ate dinner with a group of Astronomers, including these friends of mine, and some of the people who I had never met before asked me who I was. I said that I used to build telescopes with my friend when we were teenagers. He said, "Yeah, he still is".