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View Full Version here: : Carry-On Thread from the "Surplus Shed" thread...


Keltik
10-03-2012, 06:52 PM
....being my continuing saga of trying to build a refractor based on a Surplus Shed 127mm achromat. The Surplus Shed link (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=84441) saw me coming to terms with the fact that I had purchased a whacking great lump of refractor glass, and scratching my head as to the next step.
Deciding that too much head-scratching might lead to baldness, I tried sourcing a suitable cardboard tube that may provide a decent housing for the objective. The search was relatively futile. None of the local (Melbourne) companies bothered to reply to my email enquiries, and anyway, I was in some doubt as to whether I really wanted cardboard as a tube medium. I hate the futility of trying to apply screws to media that simply disintegrate with wear.
So: off to dear old Bunnings, who would surely post negative quarterly figures if I ever stopped visiting.
I came home with three 1.0 mtr-square woven fibreglass mats, and two cans of acrylic and catalyst. And attached is the progress.....

Shark Bait
10-03-2012, 06:57 PM
This is true DIY. :thumbsup:

I am looking forward to seeing the progress of your refracting scope.

Keltik
11-03-2012, 02:19 PM
After a good sanding back, I put another thick layer of acrylic to fill out any tiny pits...nice shiny-looking finish, another very fine sanding and it should be ready for a few coats of gloss spray...

bojan
18-03-2012, 08:07 AM
Hi Trevor,
I am very keen to find out how your lens is performing.. both visually and photographically.

Long time ago I obtained 125mm dia, 616mm FL achromat (previously used in ~100 years old astrograph) and went through substantial effort to mount it into OTA.. only to be disappointed with it's performance (not that I didn't know it wasn't good for today's standards - I only didn't know what "bad" means in this case because the warning I've got was not accompanied with any numbers nor test pictures).
Now I have a tube which may be suitable for Surplus Shed lens - if it proved to be significantly better..
Attached is the test photo, crop from the 100% scaled frame made with my lens stopped down to F8 (at full aperture it was useless... this way it is sort of OK (for photometry, for example), but not suitable for "pretty pictures" applications)