Mirror Cell, Summer ‘04

I had the mirror cell produced by a local metal shop to the 1:1 scale plans I generated using the Kriege/Barry book.

Yes, I’ve mounted the cell upside down in this photo. I was just testing the fit of the cell in the box. Also in this photo, the wooden dowels are still set for a 2” mirror, not the 1.6” that I wound up getting from Steve Swayze.   The inner kydex ring, spanning the six mirror seats wasn’t added until much later.

Mirror Box, Fall 2004

¾” Baltic Birch plywood and glue.

I figure this looks pretty good for only using a Skill Saw and a Router.

The mirror box, with bearings, pole clamps, paint, and varnish
won’t be finished completely until 2007. 

The Secondary Cage, Summer 05

The ½” birch ply rings and ¾” aluminum tubes were cut and finished in the summer of ’05. The focuser board is set in routed slots in the rings. After finishing the wood I’ll glue it in place. I’m planning on adding another board to hold an optical finder like a Telrad or quick finder.

In 2008 I rebuilt the secondary cage with more secure clamp blocks.

Altitude Bearings, Fall 2005

The Altitude bearings are made of  2 sheets of ¾” birch ply laminated into a 1.5” thick piece. I then created a template for the triangular holes/spokes. I used a jig saw to clear most of the material and then pattern routed them to the finished look. Ebony Star and Teflon from Meridian Telescopes arrived and I finished them up. I chose the spokes and a central hub design for the possible addition of a set of DSC’s.

The Pole Seat Blocks, Fall 2005

I’ve now made three sets of split block pole seats. The dimensions were wrong on the first two sets, made from solid Birch. The last set was made from Oak, with better dimensions and they are holding up fine so far.  A band saw would have been very helpful on these parts.

The first two broke at the back of the block during the routing step or just after when I was test fitting a pole into it. The pole holes were too deep, wood grain was going the wrong way, and the tongue was too wide as well. The final Oak set was completed in late 2006.

The Rocker Box

The rocker box is perhaps an inch taller than it needs to be but it turned out very nice. I completed this component in the spring and summer of 2006.

Initial Assembly

I did an initial assembly in early 2007. I began varnishing and finishing the woodwork mid 2007.