Dave's 16" F4.5 Completed . . .

Dave 16" and dual fan assembly.

All of my telescopes include a fitted mirror cover.

A very fine 16" F4.5 Ostenhowski optic. NICE!!

Moving the telescope around is super easy with these
wheel barrow handles made of solid Oak and stained ebony.

The "red sedona" custom color and black make a
for a great-looking combination.

The focuser is a 2-speed 2" Moonlite. Note Dave Explore
Scientific finder. A nice addition.

The 4-vane curved-vane spider by Destiny.

Movin' Around a Big 16" Telescope . . .

Wheel barrow handles and Dave's 16" F4.5 rocker box.
The tires are 10" pneumatics. The movement is perfect.

With the Red Sedona custom color, the rocker box makes
an imposing presence. Notice Dave's AZ encoder installed.

The wheel-barrow handles are solid oak with ebony stain
and 6 coats of varnish to protect the wood.

Dave's 16" Truss. Gettin' Close...

Yet, to finish the rocker box, but I like to assemble the
telescope to check fit and finish. This telescope is just
right. The "custom color" is red sedona.

16" for Dave Taking Shape...

16" for Dave and his Upper Tube Assembly...

Pretty much complete is Dave's upper tube assembly. The
color and Sedona Red -- and with the black components,
the color really pops. That nice finder is an Explore Scientific.

An "Engineering" Tour of Mt. Wilson Observatory...

In a dome of its own, a 6" Brashear Refractor.
I had the honor of using this telescope in 1953.

That's me and the 60" dome.

The "venerable" 60" telescope on fork mount.

That's Linda and me at the 100" dome.

Yours truly and the 100" telescope.

The 100" Hooker telescope dedicated in 1917.

Inside the 150-solar tower.

Does anyone use "setting circles" anymore???!!

The 150' and 75' solar towers.

A Fun Photo . . .

Here's a fun photo from Marshall in Westerfille, Ohio. I made this 12" telescope, with Easy Transport, in 2009. He says:

"Hi Dennis. here is a pic of me with the 12" with members of our club - the Columbus Astronomical Society - at a Girl Scout fundraiser outreach event. I had at least 150 people look through my scope that night!!"

More on Dave's 16" F4.5 . . .

A 9-point flotation mirror cell designed and optimized
with plop. All aluminum construction and large
collimation bolts for stability and easy of adjustment.

Dave asked for "wheel barrow" handles to move his
16" telescope more easily. An effective and elegant
answer -- 10" pneumatic tires on black anodized
handles. These are "removable" of course

A solid 3/8" axle for stability and long life!!

David's Upper Tube Assembly . . .

The Upper Tube Assembly (UTA) for David's 16" F4.5.

Now to add some color and varnish. That's the focuser
board in place yet to be drilled.

A Photo or Two from Robert in Shoreview, Minnesota...

Robert's 10" F5 with Sky Commander and
Easy Transport Telescope option.

Thanks, Robert, for the photo of you
and the telescope. Looking great!!

A 16" Truss Telescope for Dave...

Underway is a 16" truss for Dave in Peotone, Illinois.
This one will have a full UTA and custom color.

Altitude bearings and rocker box sides. All furniture-grade
Baltic birch. The bearings are 26" in diameter.

Destination Moon .....

I  happened upon this video on Youtube about making the film Destination Moon in 1950. In it, we meet George Pal (producer of this and other science fiction films), Robert Heinlein (science fiction author) and Chesley Bonestell (science artist and author).  I saw this film when it was first released and dozens of times since then!!

Check out this link. Click HERE.

An example of Chesley Bonestell's work

City at Night on the L.A. TV station KTLA

Chris' Kit .. Completed ....

Chris 17.5" kit is complete, packaged and ready to go...

A Neat Idea from Curt in Redmond, Washington...

Storing the top ring on a truss telescope has been made
easy by Curt with his adapter-ring and short struts.

Great idea, me thinks!!!

And, yet another view...

A Rocker for Chris' 17.5" Telescope . . .

Accommodating Chris' 21" spider means scaling up the
size of the telescope a bit. Here's the rocker box 
coming together.  The dimensions are a "bit" larger 
with a 27" foot-print. Nice!!

More on a 17.5" Kit for Chris...

Most of the kit is complete. I just need to make the
rest of the rocker box and mirror cell.

And, the "top ring" with spider brackets for a
4-vane Protostar spider and focuser bracket.

A Review From a Couple of Years Ago . . .

Check out this review. Click HERE.

Chris' 17.5" Truss ....

The 26" diameter altitude bearings and rocker box sides
are taking shape. So far, this kit is looking great!!

A Secondary Mirror Cover in a Jiffy . . .

Curt, in Redmond, Washington sent along this neat solution
for a secondary cover. First, of course, one has to "eat the
the contents"!! Great idea....

And check out the very cool color of his 12" telescope.

A 17.5" Kit for Chris in Fairfield, California...

OTA rings for Chris'  17.5" truss telescope. These are
21" I.D. as Chris specified.

An 8" Mirror Cell for John in Tuscon, Arizona....

Here's a "simple 6-point" cell for John's 8" primary mirror.
The O.D. of the backplate is 9.5". His mirror is 1.5" thick,
so a simple all Baltic birch cell will work just great.

Easy collimation with thumb knobs. John will affix his mirror
to the cell with silicone. No mess, no fuss.

A Custom 8" Rocker Box and . . .

A custom rocker box and altitude bearings
for Robert in San Rafael, California.

Just send me your tube-rings and
I'll do the rest!!

Nice!!