Yes I built a 200mm Reflector, and to make a long story short had to manufacture everything including the mirror grinding.
The spider vanes were made out of strips of Galvanized tin strips.
The main mirror holding mechanism was two pieces of thick round ply with three Value springs from a car with adjustable bolts.
And so it went on, even the counter weights were made from round cake tins filled with cement with a hole through the middle.
It worked quite well actually and as the years went on many upgrades.
Here it is as it was a few years ago, it even has bearings and hand made tube rings and clutches
Plus a solid lead counter weight..
One couldn't buy one of these in any Astro shop today
Leon
