Telescope Making
Introduction
As mentioned in the About Me writeup on the Home page I started making telescopes a long time ago (1962) but kinda fell out when newer designs (and some older ones) required more "machining" than I was capable of. As 3D printers started appearing my interest was piqued and when I finally bought my first printer (a Creality Ender 3) I started exploring how it might be useful in creating telescopes. Now it seems that every telescope problem looks like a 3D printing challenge.
I have ground and polished three mirrors - two 6-inch and one 12.5 inch (which never made it to a complete telescope because of my "machining" problem - it needed a precision mounting for two correcting lenses). Making such optics was fun and satisfying but it was easier to buy commercially made larger mirrors than make them (IMHO) so my biggest personal telescope was a 17.5 inch which I mounted using the guidance and wisdom of John Dobson. My most recent telescope making experience was to re-build the 32-inch telescope owned by the Alliance for Astronomy (dba ASEM) now situated at Broemmelsiek Park for access by the public.
Now (2022), I have restarted my telescope making adventures with a 4.5 inch Schiefspiegler telescope project for personal use on the Moon and planets, a 3D printed telescope using purchased optical elements and a telescope "class" of sorts wherein I am trying to spark a community of amateur telescope makers (ATMs) in the St. Louis area. Both of these activities are discussed on the sub-pages below.