Add up the cost of Primary and secondary mirrors, 2 Mirror cells, spider, focuser, finderscope and finder mount, materials for the dob mount, eyepieces, etc. etc.
It comes to quite a lot.
You can buy a very good quality 10" Dob for $649 including eyepieces.
Saves time building and more time in the sky!
If you still want to make your own, like some of us in here have done, make it on the nights when you are not viewing through the bought one.
Last edited by ballaratdragons; 22-02-2005 at 02:12 PM.
Add up the cost of Primary and secondary mirrors, 2 Mirror cells, spider, focuser, finderscope and finder mount, materials for the dob mount, eyepieces, etc. etc.
It comes to quite a lot.
You can buy a very good quality 10" Dob for $649 including eyepieces.
Saves time building and more time in the sky!
If you still want to make your own, like some of us in here have done, make it on the nights when you are not viewing through the bought one.
Yeah good point I know , but it's just that bit more speacial when you know you made it with your own two hands (appart from the secondary mirrors, 2 Mirror cells, spider, focuser, finderscope and finder mount, materials for the dob mount, eyepieces, etc. etc.)thats all
The first scope I made 20 years ago was a 4.25" reflector in a 6"PVC Sewerage tube with a 1" & 1.25" PVC sliding focuser, 2" PVC finder, PVC mounts and Gal pipe German EQ mount.
A total piece of crap with very good views!
Unfortunately I sold it in a Garage sale when I moved.
I WANT IT BACK!!!! I made it.
At least I still have the 3.5" refractor I made. Not excellent but it works o.k.
Yes you are right, there is satisfaction doing it yourself.
Even though I bought my current 12", I have made a quickfinder for it from PVC. Works good.
I think that grinding a mirror has its own rewards, however, you will have make the grinding surface out of the spare blank, then a focult tester and then get it coated. This is a lot of hard work and does take some time to get right. That said though, hand ground mirrors usually are better than machine ground mirrors. Just bear in mind that making you own scope can be a long process. I did it once took 7 months before everything was up and running. That was including the German EQ mount with worm drive.
My advice is buy the optics and build the rest. Much less time involved and you can see everything come together quickly.
After building my own 8" reflector some years ago, including making the main mirror, I wouldn't bother these days. I would definately make everything except the mirror though....much cheaper. I feel the prices of mirror's to buy are well worth the money.
I spent at least 3 months making the mirror & the testing equipment. The end result was a pretty crappy mirror...had a turned down edge & we didn't polish it properly. One of the most frustrating things was getting one piece of 80 grit in the 120 grit grinding......GRRR!.. I ended up selling the mirror & buying a replacement.
I'm not trying to talk you out of making your own by any means! I commend you for having a go.
There is another option available to you and its a great way to go for a 1st time scope builder and "mirror maker".
Having someone to call on for advice makes things a lot easier, an experienced telescope/mirror maker called Ron Royle runs a "Build Your Own Telescope Workshop" at Sydney Observatory. The cost is about $900 which covers all the tuition, guideance and materials to build a complete 8"/F7 dobsonian. The course runs 1 night per week for 3 hours for 8 consecutive weeks. For a 1st time builder this is a great way to go, Ron is very experienced and its "worth millions" to have someone standing by to call on all the time.
Here is a link to the kits Ron uses which are supplied by Mathew Lovell from Telescopes and Astronomy.
I couldn't actually find the link to Ron's webpage on the Sydney Observatory website so maybe its worth giving them a call on (02) 9241-3767 and asking them if Ron Royle still runs those courses. Maybe he now runs them privately and not in conjunction with Sydney Observatory. I know he ran them 2 years ago and ran them for 10 before that. Also Don Whiteman at the Binocular and Telescope shop may also be able to tell you if Ron is still doing those courses. Failing that I can ring Ron for you (I have his number somewhere) and ask him if/when he is going to run the next course if your interested ?
Heres a pic of my 12.5" Everything made by me except the optics. [Parks] Total cost? About 3 grand...[plus 2 grands worth of EPs] I'ts a bit rough looking, needs a new paint job etc. The only thing I did wrong was not using stainless shafting on DEC.
The RA bearings are rated at 4 ton....very smooth.
I'm in the process of making a 10 inch mirror. I must say that I find it rather rewarding. If saving money is your reason for making a telescope then you are better off buying one, but if you are after the knowledge of how they work and the reward of knowing that you made it then build it. For my part I like the challenge of making things and I am finding it quite easy. Mind you I have had some setbacks but that is how things are. If you need help once you start drop me an email and I'll be glad to help. Once I finish this project I am going to start on my next one 20 inch monster. Be warned once you get the taste for building it can become addictive.
I am a begginning amatuer and was thinking of buying the Saxon Dob-8", because I don't think I have the patience at this time to build one. Does anyone have any advice on whether this would be a good idea or not?
I am a begginning amatuer and was thinking of buying the Saxon Dob-8",
I used to own one of these myself . Although not a bad scope, the GSO 8 inch dob is superior optically and cheaper. The Saxon dob i had had obvious spherical abberation on star testing whilst the GSO mirrors in the main have a much better figure.
On the plus side, the 8 inch f5 OTA and base are a really nice size to move and transport, while still capable of giving good views.
