Advice on building a telescope

it shouldnt be too difficult to build myn own amatuer star gazing reflector telescope.

You are wrong.
With your knowledge of optics I would strongly advise you not to attempt to build your own as yet.
You will end up with a lousy telescope.
And hopping mad with frustration.
Guaranteed.
Buy yourserlf a good bargain telescope.
Such as:
www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Bresser_...onian_Telescope.html

Familiarise yourself thoroughly with the optics and their usage.
THEN, MAYBE, you should attempt your own build.

I appreciate your comment and thanks for the advice but Im still going to attempt it. Even if it doesnt work I will still have learned somehting. I have already. This all just a way for me to learn about telescopes and astronomy. I know it will be more difficult than I am imagining now but I will jump those bridges when i get to them.

That's the sprit

it shouldnt be too difficult to build myn own amatuer star gazing reflector telescope.

You are wrong.
With your knowledge of optics I would strongly advise you not to attempt to build your own as yet.
You will end up with a lousy telescope.
And hopping mad with frustration.
Guaranteed.
Buy yourserlf a good bargain telescope.
Such as:
www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Bresser_...onian_Telescope.html

Familiarise yourself thoroughly with the optics and their usage.
THEN, MAYBE, you should attempt your own build.

I take it you are speaking from personal experience - what went wrong for you?

I started out making my first telescope (6" f/7) with no prior experience or knowledge of telescopes or ATM and it turned out perfectly. The optics are 1/12th wave on the wavefront and yield truely excellent planetary images - and if I dare say... the stars seem brighter through it because I know that I made everything with my own hands! Making telescopes is not rocket science, it just takes patients and perserverence. It also teaches you a lot about how they work and how to get the best out of them.

Since my first little 6" I have ground and polished many of my own optics with success, and have made literally hundreds of telescopes commercially, and I still find it fun!

Phil.

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys its nice to know I can do it if I work hard at it.

Hi Shane,
I welcome your enthusiasm in wanting to make your own scope, if you feel you have the DIY ability then go ahead, if you make a mess of the scope, you alwaya can take the mirrors out and try again.
Generally I find that most people who are determined to make one do a good job.
I went down the route of just buying one as I reckoned I'd be in a retirement home before I finally got it finished if I tried to build it myself.