Wednesday, June 26, 2019

A Rocker Box for Jack's Lightbridge...


Completed is a custom rocker box for Jack's 12" Lightbridge
telescope. Note the Sky Commander and "break" -- 

I include a "break" on each of my Lightbridge rocker
boxes to help in the balance of the telescope.

Jack lives in Purcell, Oklahoma...

Monday, June 24, 2019

A Couple of Lightbridge Rockers . . .

Custom rocker boxes for a Lightbridge 12" telescope. One is a kit.
The kit and completed version of the Lightbridge rocker
box start out the same. The kit is almost completed.

Another Blast from the Past -- Marshall and his 12" Telescope . . .

"Hi Dennis: This is a follow up from last fall....temps finally got warm enough here in Ohio for me to refinish the wood on my scope I used the Helmsmen Poly oil base and the wood looks amazing!!! It's nearly 10 years old now and looks brand new!! Here are some pics of my freshly refinished scope....I was procrastinating for a few weeks ...I didn't want to botch the finish..but it came out beautifully!! I used the Helmsman Minwax oil base gloss. Three coats. I coated it in the garage with the door open for ventilation and used the dehumidifier to help with cure time. Looks awesome for a 10 year old scope!!

Thanks,

Marshall"















Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Tom's 10" Rocker Box Completed . . .

Custom rocker box, with Ebony custom color
for Tom in Indianapolis, Indiana.

10K encoders installed for Tom digital setting of choice.

I like to call attention to the unique tube-rings.

Neat!!

Monday, June 17, 2019

More on Tom's Rocker Box . . .

Almost completed is Tom's 10" solid-
tube telescope rocker box. Note the
beautiful "Ebony" custom color.

I especially like the cool tube-rings for
Tom's telescope.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

A 10" Rocker Box . . .

In the early stages, and getting underway is a
rocker box and altitude bearings for Tom's 10"
telescope. Note the unique tube rings.

Tom lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

A Note From Kevin in St. Louis, Missouri . . .

Hello Dennis,

I'm FINALLY getting a photo to you of my scope with the box you made for me! After months of logistics, work, and weather, I was finally able to take it out for Jupiter's opposition last night. 

It works great. You've allowed me to use this telescope for the first time in almost 10 years! 
Thank you!

Kevin

Thursday, June 6, 2019

A Blast from the Past . . .

A 12.5" F8 made in the 50's as seen on Cloudy Nights recently. It
reminded me of my own early telescope making efforts.
That's me in the early 80's with a 12.5" full-thickness pyrex mirror with
an F8 focal length. The OTA was welded electrical conduit made with
the help of a high school metal shop teacher. The mounting was made
from 4", 3" and 2.5" pipe fittings with babbit bearings.

(ala Making Your Own Telescope by Thompson)

Two 16's -- Two Rocker Boxes...

As I zero-in on completing two 16" strut-kits, the rocker box is one of the
 last components to put together. Here the sizes are tested for fit.

OK, I Can Find It Now...

Sam, in Beaver, Pennsylvania, needed an iPad stalk
and mount for his 16" Lightbridge. He reports
that it works great. That one of our custom
rocker boxes for the Lightbridge.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

A 10" F3.9 Astrograph . . .

A very nice set of Orion 10" astrograph optics make this beauty a delight
to use for deep sky observing. That's a Kinoptics helical focuser.

Installed is a red-dot finder and 10K encoders for Sky Commander
or any digital setting circle system.

The standard 9-point Orion mirror cell and custom mirror cover. The rocker box
weighs 21# while the OTA, with mirror cover is 33#.


Two 16" Strut Telescope Kits Nearing Completion . . .

A 3-vane and 4-vane spider on the 16" strut telescopes for Bob and Ron.
Both of these spiders are heavy-duty "Observatory Grade" unit
from Destiny.
An example of the completed telescope.

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Two 16" Kits . . .

About 2/3 complete, two 16" strut-kits with Easy Transport Telescope
is coming along. One "string" and one string-ready. Both of these
will have a Moonlite 2-speed focuser. Nice!!

Custom Rocker Box for Tom...

Starting with Tom's tube-rings, the altitude bearings for
his custom rocker box are underway.

Check out the unique tube-rings. Nice!!

Tom has chosen an "Ebony" stain as a color. The black
stain brings out the beautiful wood-grain of this Baltic birch.

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Gettin' Around -- Done Deal...

"Hi Dennis:

Here's a couple pics of the completed installation which went good. The scope is a breeze to move around now. I expect that ill be doing alot more observing now. The wheelbarrow  handles are a back saver!

I found out when installing the first handle the inserts cracked out the surrounding thin formica. I touched or up with some black paint.

When installing  the second handle I countersink a little to eliminate the chip out,that worked great.||

I'll be getting the ronchi eyepiece on Monday so I'm preparing my heart to see something not so good. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again! Doug"