DIY 4" Refractor

[Anil (Anil)]

Hi all, my refractor had first light on saturday. image was crisp & clear, moon & juipiter looked awesome with sharp details without coma. I am using CARTON f/13 achromat in a alluminium 4"tube, still lot of work to complete. Next step is to powdercoat the exterior & paint the inside of the tube with dull black paint, fabricate and install the wooden baffles. Due cap is made of 5" pvc tube. More detailed pictures in my next post.


Clear skies,
Anil

[dannat (Daniel)]

Anil, great looking scope - what colour powdercoating are you going for?

is the tube heavy?

Welcome to IIS

[Anil (Anil)]

Thanks Daniel, planning to go for siemens grey for OTA & dull black sand finish for
lens cell & due shield, looks really good. OTA with saddle weighs approx 6 kg's, it's quite heavy.

Anil

Originally Posted by dannat

Anil, great looking scope - what colour powdercoating are you going for?

is the tube heavy?

Welcome to IIS

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

looks like an awesome project

will watch with interest as you progress

and welcome to IIS

[Garyh]

Looks like it will be a nice looking scope Anil!
Don`t forget it give the focuser some nice Aluminum knurled knobs as well to match the nice machine work!
cheers

[Anil (Anil)]

Thanks for comments.....
I shall consider Garyh's idea on Aluminum knurled knobs for focusser, that should really look nice.

Powdercoated pictures OTA

[miketheobscure (Mike Kreuzer)]

Originally Posted by Anil

Hi all, my refractor had first light on saturday. image was crisp & clear, moon & juipiter looked awesome with sharp details without coma. I am using CARTON f/13 achromat in a alluminium 4"tube, still lot of work to complete. Next step is to powdercoat the exterior & paint the inside of the tube with dull black paint, fabricate and install the wooden baffles. Due cap is made of 5" pvc tube. More detailed pictures in my next post.


Clear skies,
Anil

Awesome work - I haven't been following this, but what happened to the rest of the original scope?

- Mike

[Garyh]

Looks very nice! I like the idea of the handle!

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Looks great Anil. Well done! I, too, like the idea of the handle. Don't know why every scope doesn't have one designed in.

[Anil (Anil)]

Hi Mike, i bought the lens through Cloudy Night classifieds last january.
Still few CARTON objectives & 4"mirrors are for sale, this guy is also selling tube assembly & cradle, all from original Carton scope.

These objectives were made in Japan by Carton during mid 80"s. Carton also made very good mounts
For fans of long focal ratio refractors, these Cartons are highly recommended and well worth seeking out on the used market.

Here is the review: http://www.scopereviews.com/page1j.html#6



Anil

Originally Posted by miketheobscure

Awesome work - I haven't been following this, but what happened to the rest of the original scope?

- Mike

[xelasnave]

Hi there Anil that is a most interesting project you have undertaken.
The scope looks very exciting.
It is nice of you to share your experience with us.
Welcome to IIS and hope you can present us with some reports upon your observing experiences.

alex

[miketheobscure (Mike Kreuzer)]

Ta - been thinking about getting a d&g lens assembly & building a scope around it myself. Thanks for the post.

- Mike

Originally Posted by Anil

Hi Mike, i bought the lens through Cloudy Night classifieds last january.
Still few CARTON objectives & 4"mirrors are for sale, this guy is also selling tube assembly & cradle, all from original Carton scope.

These objectives were made in Japan by Carton during mid 80"s. Carton also made very good mounts
For fans of long focal ratio refractors, these Cartons are highly recommended and well worth seeking out on the used market.

Here is the review: http://www.scopereviews.com/page1j.html#6



Anil

[Anil (Anil)]

Initially lens was tested in a pvc tube, it came damaged during shipping
But results are quite good after masking a black paper around the damaged area. Scope rendered crisp images of moon & jupiter

[Anil (Anil)]

Pic 1. Dueshield development.
Pic 2. Taping lens holder, cradle base plate & painting dull black.
Pic 3. Baffle ring calculation.
Pic 4. Wooden baffles.

[Anil (Anil)]

Pic 1. Dueshield test (before powdercoating)
Pic 2. Fully loaded OTA

Daylight closeup shots will be added soon...............

[AlexN]

That looks like it would have been a fun project! Do let us know how the scope performs!

[anj026]

Good Work Anil,
I like seeing home made refractors. They are a lot of fun.

[Anil (Anil)]

Here is the handle design which i have planned, existing one will be removed.


Anil

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Nice job Anil.
I've made 3 refractors with Surplus Shed objectives, turned out very well. I used one of those Cloudy Nights Carton cells for the 80mm to replace the original plastic housing as I had trouble with coma on that one. Something very pleasing about observing through a scope you have constructed yourself.

Cheers
Bill

[Anil (Anil)]

Here is the new handle design....


Anil