[Peter.M]

Hi guys, I have just started a project to build my own telescope. I wanted to design a scope that fits me a little better than my current one.

I decided that for the meantime I wont be changing my mount or my camera so the telescope was designed around these items. The main thing that I wanted to get right with this was the tube. It has to be rigid enough to hold collimation. I was not entirely happy with my current rolled steel tube so I decided that I would make my own. After reading about people making carbon fiber tubes using a mandrel I decided this would be the way to go. With this in mind i bought a packaging tube with a 170mm outer diameter to use as my mandrel which tonight I was coating with release wax. I have also received my carbon cloth and epoxy. The epoxy i bought locally, but the cloth was from soller composites in the states. I have sent a few emails to them and they recomended a layer of 3k 2x2 twill followed by 2 layers of carbon sleeving that they supply and then a final layer of the twill. I should have extra carbon cloth that I might use to reinforce the focuser area. The tube will extend 20cm past the focuser to stop stray light (a problem i have with narrowband imaging from the suburbs). I will completely cover the inside of the tube with flocking from scope stuff to help this also.

As far as the rest of the scope is concerned I am going to do is buy a VX6 which is a 6 inch f5 newt from Orion Optics with a 63mm secondary and ultra optics and transplant the parts from this into my custom tube. The values in NEWT give me a 100% illumination diameter of 25mm, ample to cover my kaf8300.

I will take some photos and upload them of the process as I progress through it. But I am looking forward to the result.