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Hi Scorpius51,
Mate, she holds collimation really, really well. The poles are set down all the way down near the mirror cell mount, and at the secondary they pretty much run half the length of the board. The black disc you see in the photo is a light baffle.
I made everything you see other than the optics & focuser. It isn't hard to make if you are handy with power tools, at least a mate with a circular saw & router is an advantage for accuracy. I mate helped me in this department.
I took the design from a book 'Making & enjoying telescopes' by Miller & Willson.
I happened to stumble on the original designer of the two pole concept, a U.S. navy sailor based on an Aircraft Carrier. He was the ship's photographer with an intrest in astronomy. The limited space available to store items compelled him to come up with the two pole design, using a 4.5" mirror, I think it was f/4.5. Here is the Aussie connection, he ordered the scopes optics from the states, but the delivery address was in Perth a his ship was to stop there during a stint at sea.
I've seen this idea taken to an extreme with a few 17.5" scopes. Some now being made commercially in this size.
Mental
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