[glend (Glen)]

I have decided to take the plunge and go ahead with a 10" (252mm) f/5 imaging newt build. Why not just buy one you say, well after my very nice 127mm iStar strut refractor build earlier this year I am fairly confident I can do a good job on the newt, and the prices for the completed scope just went up again due to the AUD falling, and I could pick up a nice 10" mirror at a reasonable price.

The goals of this build will be:

Lighter weight than any of the 10" production scopes (which can weigh 15KG easily for just the oTA), so when I add the guidescope, finder scope, camera (DSLR) etc the total load is within the imaging limit for my NEQ6Pro (which is advertised as 18kg but I'd like to limit it to 15KG max) .

Stiffness and flexure control - so this will be a boxed truss design, no conventional tube. The advantages of the boxed truss are twofold, one is the stiffness, and second is the ease of the build. The truss box will be built of plywood (like my refractor rings), as a retangular box section with front and rear plates and intermeadiate frames - all bonded using boat building epoxy adhesives.

Use well established Dob build practices, including mirror cell design and mirror support and retention systems.

Use Moonlight flat mount focuser for load carrying capacity and ability to rotate the load (not to forget it can be collimated itself).


Primary mirror has been ordered, more to follow as things progress.