No Baz not this week...next week mate..no rush take three or four weeks
Hey how is the robot arm etc going???
alex
As I said mate, ALL other projects are on hold. I have a bigger workshop to build in order to finish the robot. My current shed won't be able to house it. Once this antique scope is finished, I will get back into it.
I am also making a bit of clear sky around the observatorythe entire front of my property WAS a wall of trees....not anymore...Muah ha ha haaaaaaaaaaa.....my back is killing me....
I have been at this for over a year now. Here is an animation and video I have been working on, showing how all the parts I have built, come together.
Baz. http://www.antiquescopes.com:80/Movie.aspx
I got a bit more done tonight. It is so hard trying to juggle a big family, extended family, friends, work etc etc and have enough time in a day to keep going on this old thing.
The real shame is that when it is finished, I have to give it back to Ron....I want one of my own now!!! Maybe I should have made two of everything.....
I guess, this has been pretty valuable, learning all these old techniques and building a working instrument from next to nothing. It will be all the easier next time when I design and build my own one later, using modern and more off the shelf stuff. I can make it however I want then! Yet another project after the new shed, the robot, the 2 metre model of the enterprise and the space shuttle...and on and on and on....
Baz.
Last edited by bloodhound31; 13-06-2008 at 12:02 AM.
Hi to everyone following this thread. I just wanted to say that this project has far deeper ramifications than just rebuilding a telescope, which of course is the primary focus. This project has formed friendships on several continents, brought together people from all walks of life, all ages and has forged friendships that will endure throughout our lifetimes. The project has enriched several lives and given great purpose and pleasure. It is rare indeed that a group of people, that have never met have all joined together in what they all consider important, and maintained their enthusiasm for such a long time. For me personally it took me to the RAS where I became a fellow after forming friendships with other fellows, who taught me how to research efficiently. Barry has done and will continue to do an outstanding job, I know that he has derived an enormous amount of pleasure from this project, one of the important aspects was to use original methods where possible, he fully complied with that and has to some extent glimpsed what it was like to build telescopes 130 years ago. I must publicly acknowledge several key people Dr. Ron Maddison USA, Bob Garfinkle USA, Jerry Grover UK, our own beloved Alex and Baz from this forum and also the entire team from Ravenshoe plus my own society of WSAAG. There would be dozens of others who need to be mentioned also for their contributions. Thank you to everyone who has assisted me in anyway regardless of how simple but most of all, a special place in my heart for Barry Armstead (ASIGN Observatory), who gave more than I could have reasonably expected.
The photo in the second link is actually fascinating! I have circled three parts here that are clearly Browningisms. The knob on the left is exactly the same as the ones I have turned. The method for locking the OTA pivot down onto the arms is very similar and the rim on the right is common to many Browning telescopes. This is the rim that the Brass dust cap seats onto.
Great bit of info, and I am sure Ron will be fascinated too!
Yes indeed, I will write to the current owner who is selling and see if I can have the buyers details or at least get him to pass my details on to him, then hopefully fully document the telescope on my listing page: http://www.antiquescopes.com/Telescopes.aspx
A quiet day here at work so I read through the restoration notes on Ron's webpage. Baz, the work that you have done restoring this piece of history is amazing, absolutely fantastic!
A quiet day here at work so I read through the restoration notes on Ron's webpage. Baz, the work that you have done restoring this piece of history is amazing, absolutely fantastic!
Thanks Guys.
Wow Kal, well done mate! There is a lot there to read through.
My writing skills for the notes whilst rebuilding are not very poetic, but they do tell the story from the rough and tough viewpoint of the labuorer.
Ron has continually played fetch and fed me the information I required from all the other old scope references he could find. No easy task in itself!
Maybe in another 130 years, the next restorer/rebuilder will have a head start on what what we have done.
I have been sitting back and reading this article and enjoying watching the scope come back to life. This has been an interesting journey and one which has gained the rebirth of a nicely constructed instrument.
With the posting of the advertised scope with the so called "Browningisms" though I must make comment. The focusing knob is a standard shape which is found on most instruments from that period. Early Dollond (1872-1927), Dallmeyer (1861-1892), Short (1868-1900+), Clarkson (1880-1900+) and many others Troughton, Simms, Broadhurst (later Broadhurst & Clarkson and later Broadhurst Clarkson & Co) exhibited such knobs.Trunnions of similar design are also used by the same manufacturers of that time.
I'm looking forward to seeing how that mount comes up!
Roger Davis
Member Antique Telescope Society
Last edited by Roger Davis; 24-07-2008 at 09:42 AM.
Reason: addition
the entire front of my property WAS a wall of trees....not anymore...Muah ha ha haaaaaaaaaaa.....my back is killing me....
