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Telescope Mirror Making Resources
Contents:
Books and Web Sites
There are many resources available for learning how to make a telescope. If you can afford it,
I would not rely on just one book - it is helpful to get different perspectives.
Books
- "Building Your Own Telescope" by Richard Berry. A good down-to-earth book for the
beginner. I built my first telescope,
a 6" f/8 German equatorial with commercial
optics using the first edition of this book in the late 1980s.
- "How to Make a Telescope" by Jean Texereau. A classic that will be useful for
years to come. Some of his techniques are a bit outdated, though. For example, he
describes an extremely tedious method for making a pitch lap.
Web Sites
- Stellafane's mirror making site
is an excellent resource. I (mostly) followed their directions for making
a Foucault tester.
- Stellafane's links page is an
incredible list of links to helpful web sites.
- Gotgrit.com, in addition to selling mirror
making kits, has some excellent instructions on hogging out and doing rough
grinding.
Other
Be sure to join the atmlist, an email mailing list with
many experienced mirror makers.
Some of the most interesting discussions on this list are spawned by the questions of
beginners. You can also search through previous messages. I've learned a lot from this
list.
Suppliers
- Gotgrit: this is where I got my 6" mirror making
kit, which includes grit, pitch, polishing compound, dental stone mix, and tile mat. Note
that if you want to make separate grinding and polishing tools, you will need to buy that
in addition to the kit. The kits also include valuable instructions on how to make
a plaster tool.
- Willmann Bell supplies mirror making kits and
mirror blanks in addition to many telescope making books. Their mirror making supplies
are not even mentioned on their web site, so you will need to order a catalog. I bought
my 6" pyrex mirror blank from them. I also bought Ronchi gratings from them.
Except for large (>10") mirror blanks, shipping is only $1 to the U.S.!
- Surplus Shed has a wide selection of random
optical and electrical items. I bought a magnifying glass and eye loupe for inspecting
pits.
- Bob Lombardi's ATM's Resource List is a
very complete, well maintained, list of suppliers for the amateur telescope maker.
- Stellafane's links page also
lists many suppliers.
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