Within StarForge, we extend the term by courtesy to those who are likewise
assembling their own instruments with optics not of their own making (it's
not like there's a uniform body of standards regulating the use of the term,
anyway.) The mechanical construction of a telescope can be every bit as
involved as the manufacture of the optics.
Want to know where to get supplies? Check out the web's best resource list for
amateur telescope makers: Bob Lombardi's ATM Resource List
Plans for easy-to-build Dobsonian "sidewalk" telescopes are available
through the Sidewalk Astronomers website at:Sidewalk
Astronomers Telescope Page
and at the
San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers Telescope Page.
Also, check out the list atSTAR
Astronomy Telescope Making Links.
The StarForge Space and Astronomy Club has many members who have built their
own telescopes--including the optics--as well as others who are presently
building their first telescopes.
You can read the article by Dawn Baird on the making of her first telescope,
she completed her 4-1/2" mirror on a challenge in less than 24 hours! See our home page.
At the top of the page and below are images of Amaryllis, who made her first
telescope, including a six inch f/9 mirror, at the age of 10. You can
see the sky through this telescope at many of StarForge's free public
star parties.
The term Telescope Nut or "TN" describes a person who has ground
and figured their own telescope optics. Loosely applied, it can include those
who are well on their way to completing their first mirror. The term was
coined within the original amateur telescope making movement that surrounded
Russell Porter in the early 20th century.
A budding young TN inspects her mirror blank for pits after grinding the
surface with fourteen micron grit. At this point the "pits" are
really, really small.
A complete backyard optical laboratory. Picnic bench, bucket, water, grit,
and two pieces of glass. One piece is the tool and the other becomes the mirror.
Amaryllis and her home-made telescope.What does it take to make my own telescope?
Patience and the ability to follow directions. That, plus the materials,
will allow just about anyone to make their own telescope from scratch.
Not everyone is lucky enough to start making telescopes while they're
young. Mark's goal was to make a telescope before he turned 40. He
made it--barely.
