Making your worth scope is it worth it?

Our group is thinking of trying our hand at making our own telescope as a group project, anyone had experience at doing this...could do with a few tips.
Got the blueprints from the internet and they look fine. I'm of a mind that it would be a great sense of achievement to stand back and look at the telescope that was collectively made....providing that it is more than just a great looker it would have to do the business of actually allowing one to look up at the planets etc and get a good viewing. Obviously a Dobsonian would be the target scope.
Advice please anyone:dry:

well, a Dob is your obvious choice in this regard, I'm assuming a solid tube design, a more advanced one would be a truss design. Before the mid 90's, it was the only affordable way of having a big scope, but in more recent times and especially in the past 5 years or so, you can buy a 12" dob very affordably.
Building a scope was almost a necessity on the past, its a choice these days. Have a look at the folowing for built commercial dobs,
www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c2_Dobsonians.html

For a nice telescope build it yourself kit, look at
www.dobstuff.com/parts.htm and
www.scopemaking.net/dobson/ota.htm

Fair play to you for wanting to build one.

Your dead right to think of this...
It's a great project and achievement for any club to build a scope.
I was not around when SAC built the 12'' but I played a part in
having it restored and it was very satisfying to see it brought back to life.
(many hands on the committee made this happen!)

I think the last person on these boards to build a scope was
Mike O Connell...
Sory Mike if I'm dropping you in it!
I've seen said build and scope and TBH you couldn't do worse
than talk to him about it!

Rgds,
Frank

I think that's a great idea Julie. In TAS back in '89/90 we built a 6" reflector. I was only a young 'un then but the members each took a piece of the project and in the and everyone came together when it was time for assembly. It still exists today.

I have built two 8" Newtonian reflectors on equatorial mounts myself. It's quite easy as long as you dont intend on grinding your own mirrors, everything else falls in to place.

There are some useful links mentioned above. I'd also mention a book entitled 'Handbook for Telescope Making' by Neale E. Howard. It's old I tetms of first print but I swear by it in tetms of its simplicity in telescope making, even for the first time, either by an individual or a groupYou can get a used copy via Amazon easily. I have my copy from 15 years ago but I don't think I will let it go anytime soon!

Seanie.

Frank_Ryan_jr wrote:

It's a great project and achievement for any club to build a scope.
I was not around when SAC built the 12'' but I played a part in
having it restored and it was very satisfying to see it brought back to life.
(many hands on the committee made this happen!)
Frank

yea, I can remember when it was brand new, it was like the hubble space telescope back then, a 12" scope in the 80s was a massive scope! but. If the club was forming today, I dont think we'd build one, we'd go buy it. Satisfaction in seeing a newly built scope is fine, but its what you do with it that counts.
Its kinda like restoring a house, you'll do it once, and then knowing whats involved you probabily wouldnt do it again.