Philip and His 15" Kit...

Dennis,

Dennis:

I just wanted to let you know that all of the parts for my 15" Dobsonian arrived in great condition. Your craftsmanship is superb. I am very impressed. I'll begin the process of sanding and painting this weekend. After that I will be applying a layer of protective polyurethane and then doing the final construction. I'll take photos along the way for your blog.

Here are the preliminary photos of all the parts spread out right from the box.

A Solar Eclipse Anyone? ? ?

 A wonderful group of friends joined me for this years partial eclipse in Palm Desert. Note the "projection system" on the 90mm refractor. A home-made solar filter for the C8 (with Baader film) and a few pairs of solar-glasses make for safe viewing.

Coffee, birthday cake for Linda and other "goodies" rounded out the snacks.

David's 8" on a Custom Dobstuff Mount ...

Dennis: Here take a peek the scope and rocker box work great together and there is some extra space too. You gave me a good 3 to 4 inches of wiggle room and that is perfect.  The first time I put the scope on the box I was just a bit out of balance but I quickly balanced the scope and it works well now…. I focused on some trees a mile or so away and noticed the mirror needs dusted off but otherwise it is awesome. David

A Solar Eclipse Anyone . . .

All ready for the solar eclipse on 8/21 -- I'll have some guests for
coffee and goodies. Here's a solar projection screen set-up I built
for the occasion. The NexStar 80GT mount tracks perfectly.

It works just right.

Philip's 15" Kit Nearly Complete ...

Except for a couple of small items, Philip's 15" string-strut kit is completed.
I can start packaging this for delivery and add the last "piece" tomorrow.

This is going to make a nice telescope!!

More on Philip's 15" F5 Telescope Kit. . .

Philip sent along his mirror cell, focuser and spider for mounting.

A Rocker Box for Philip's 15" Telescope . . .

As always I assemble the rocker box with clamps to be sure of the "fit".
This one, for Philip's 15" string-strut kit is just right.

All of my kits have "pre-drilled" and counter-sunk holes for easy assembly.

David's 8 inch Rocker Box Completed .. .

Rocker box and rings for Dave's 8-inch "tube" telescope.

I just need to "touch up" the varnish a little bit
 and let it cure for a day or two.

A bit of extra side support and oversized ground board for stability.

While this is NOT David's telescope, it's similar to form.

Two Projects Continued . . .

The rocker box for David's 8" tube-telescope is coming
along nicely. Here's it has been assembled and
varnished. Now to make the bottom and ground board.

The rocker box sides and altitude bearings for Philip's
15" F5 string'strut telescope are just about completed.

An 8" Rocker Box and 15" Kit Underway . . .

A rocker box, altitude bearings and
OTA rings for David in Avon Park FL.

This is the early stage. More changes
are coming along!!

Philip, in Fairbanks, Alaska, sent along his 15" Discovery mirror cell
to integrate onto my mirror board. On this particular kit, the
I.D. of the OTA rings is 18" -- just right for the mirror cell and spider.

The Discovery mirror cell fits nicely. I've changed the wing nuts
for three-point threaded knobs. It's easier to use and looks nicer.

All the OTA rings. This kit also includes the ETT option with "strings".

A Note from Tom About his 12.5" Telescope....

Hi Dennis: 

Took the scope out to a reasonable dark site last night. But we were working against the full moon and a lot of wind. There a photo of me with the scope, and some photos of how easy it was to fit in the back of an SUV. Scope set up and collimated in under ten minutes. Really easy to move around. For travel the three upper strut tubes fit in the bottom of the rocker box. Really convenient! 

Thanks for building this, it is my dream scope and I've been building up to this one for about a decade. 

Tom

.

Lots of Shipping Today ....

Two kits and a couple of smaller projects. Lots going out today!!

Top Ring for Howard Kit...

I finally got the spider and focuser mounted for Howard
16" Kit. This is a more traditional straight-vane spider.

Greg and His 8" Telescope...

Greg lives in Pinellas Park. Florida.

 Hi Dennis. 

I never thanked you for it, Dennis, but my 8-in. f/5.4 you made for me a few years ago came beautifully packed, everything very secure. I use the scope primarily as a public viewing instrument on the Moon. 

By the way, the date stamp on my friend's camera is wrong. These were taken in April this year, not 2016.

Thanks again!

Mike's Kit is Complete....

All completed and ready to pack for shipping. Mike's kit includes a
beautiful Moonlite focuser, Destiny 3-vane curved-vane spider
and mirror cell. His telescope is an F6!!

The altitude bearing are 21" in diameter. Perfect for this size scope.

Note the Telrad base on a couple of clamps.

All packed up and ready to go. the entire kit fits into a 24"x24"x17" box.
The struts ship separately.

Mike's 12.5" Kit Close to Complete ....

Some of Mike's kit. The top ring with Moonlite focuser and Destiny
cured-vane spider, Telrad base mounted and alt bearings.

A closer look at the top ring and Telrad base.

Mike's 12.5" Rocker Box and Alt Bearings ...

A good start on Mike's rocker box and altitude bearings.

Mike's rocker is partially assembled with clamps to check the "fit".
This one is "right on"!!