I've been asked to build an 8 inch f6 newt and to get EP's and mount so suit.
I hope to be able to have some advice on whats best.
I'm only 16 but am a bit of an ATM and the fella saw some of my scopes and must have liked them becuse he wants one off me
I don't really know what I'm doing, just working it out as I go along, I thought I'd post some pictures as I progress and would love to have your opinion and any tips
So, here it go's...
The tube I've made from 18 strips of Hoop pine and 9 strips of Meranti, each is 8/29/1300mm and has 6.6 degree angled edges.
These were then taped together, and I ran a bead of glue down each gap and then rolled it up and let to set.
I've then done lots of planing and sanding and reckon I got a pretty good tube. It weighs about 4 kilos and is super strong, I'm planing on giving it a few coats of clear epoxy resin after I've cut out the focuser hole and stuff.
Looks good... for someone that claims he doesn't know what he is doing, you have created a one of a kind telescope, and the guy who is getting the scope should be very proud. If the mount is of equal quality it should be a very awesome scope. I think if you keep going and iron out the little problems that may arise, you should have one hell of a scope. btw 8" f6 scope good choice.
WOW! Thanks for the nice comments guys, really appreciate it Heres my attempt at a secondary holder and mirror cell. The design for the secondary mirror holder was sort of copied form Steven Lee, I'm hoping it should be nice and stable.
The mirror cell design is what I used on my last telesope and it worked well, it uses three pushing bolts and one pulling bolting in the centre.
Was out testing my 6 inch f8 newt out last night, couldn't resist taking some pictures all I have left to do on it is make some tube straps
Im hoping the 8 inch will turn out a bit like this, except better now that I've had a bit of practice.
Looking over that Scope it looks like everything is ' home made '....even the focuser and the way it's fitted to the tube via a ' tapered wooden ' sleeve.
You should be a design engineer...you obviously have a decent ' workshop ' to turn out your parts.....the main mirror mount is very well made and the finish is very good indeed......secondary mount is excellent to.
Just showed my teenage kids the pictures of your scope. They were amazed! You have some serious skills there. Look forward to seeing the final product.
Looking over that Scope it looks like everything is ' home made '....even the focuser and the way it's fitted to the tube via a ' tapered wooden ' sleeve.
You should be a design engineer...you obviously have a decent ' workshop ' to turn out your parts.....the main mirror mount is very well made and the finish is very good indeed......secondary mount is excellent to.
Well done......Flash.....
Thanks Col, yeah I got more time than money so I have to make it if I want it. Between my dad and four brothers I got most of the tools I need.
The aluminium I cut out using a jig saw, followed by lots of filing and sanding with 1200 grit sandpaper.
Jo
Just showed my teenage kids the pictures of your scope. They were amazed! You have some serious skills there. Look forward to seeing the final product.
Rod
Thanks a lot Rod
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
Beautiful craftsmanship.
Cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark Bait
I am looking forward to seeing the finished product as well. It must be satisfying constructing the OTA from scratch.
Do you intend to grind your own mirrors in the future?
Yeah Stu, it is fun to build, I hope to be able to learn how to grind my own mirrors some time soon.
I have finished sanding the tube and have given it two coats of epoxy resin, I'll wait until I'm nearly done before I do the final coat and polish. I've also finished the spider and it's really rigid and strong, next job is to mount the focuser (I splurged and got one )
I'm planing on having two sets of attachments where the mirror cell holder attaches to the tube, one set for visual and one set for imaging. Does anyone know how much further in the imaging attachments need to be?
It's good to get back on the newt again after working on cooling my camera for the last few weeks, I have ordered the EP's and mount, an Ioptron i45, hopefully I'll have it all finished before Christmas.
Thanks for all the encouraging comments everyone, it's blown me away reading them, I'll have some more pics for you soon.
Does anyone know how much further in the imaging attachments need to be?
Work out where the prime focus point of the mirror is, this is where the CCD plane needs to sit regardless of all else.... (depending on the back focus requirements of your camera) - in terms of secondary placement and field illumination, you'll have to wait until someone more informed pipes in....
Work out where the prime focus point of the mirror is, this is where the CCD plane needs to sit regardless of all else.... (depending on the back focus requirements of your camera) - in terms of secondary placement and field illumination, you'll have to wait until someone more informed pipes in....
Excellent work by the way....
The mirror is an 8 inch f6 so does that mean the sensor needs to be exactly 1200mm from the surface of the mirror to focus? And the EP's need to be further out?
The EP's that I've ordered are ES 82's ranging from four point seven mm, to twenty four mm. It will probably be a few weeks until I see them and I don't really feel like waiting until the arrive before putting the mirror in.
So as a start, for the imaging brackets, if I put the focal point 25mm above the racked in focuser would about right for most cameras?
As far as I understand, the longer FL EP's require more infocus than the short FL ones, I have a twenty four mm Hyperion EP, would that be similar to the twenty four mm ES?
My idea was, for the visual mirror attachments, I would position them so that Hyperion would focus with the focuser racked out about 10mm (the focuser has 35mm of travel) this way I hoped the others would focus without trouble, what do you reckon?
Sorry it's so confusing, the four key has died on my keyboard
all I have left to do on it is make some tube straps 
