How To Build A Telescope: A step-by-step guide to building your own 8-inch Dobsonian by Olle Eriksson

This is guide about making your own 8" Dobsonian telescope. It's complete with photos, illustrations and accompanying te t describing e!ery step o" the process. There are no "inished plans a!ailable but almost e!erything is discussed in the te t so that shouldn't be a problem. The telescope presented here is the "irst I e!er built mysel". The ideas has since been used to produce se!eral similar telescopes by other people. #s "ar as I know all o" them ha!e been !ery pleased with the results. I" you ha!e $uestions, I'd be glad help you. %ust send me an e&mail and I'll try to answer it as soon as I can.

1. Introduction
1.1. Introduction
I once "ound a !ery basic book at the library about amateur astronomy. It included a description o" how you could build your own telescope with only two con!e lenses and a cardboard tube. I called se!eral opticians and asked i" it was possible to buy uncut lenses. 'hen I was told how much it would cost I let go o" the whole idea. 'hen I a couple o" years later reco!ered my interest "or astronomy I decided I would make a more serious attempt to build a telescope. This time I was also ready to put out with more money to get a telescope o" higher $uality. I gathered in"ormation about telescope making pro(ects both in the library and on the Internet. I "ound out that the best in"ormation is on the Internet. The problem is, no matter how much you search, you will not "ind any complete plans "or telescopes. 'hat most e perienced telescope makers want is "or you to be inspired and get ideas by looking at pictures o" their telescopes. Then you can make your absolutely own telescope. 'ith the little knowledge I had I started building. Thanks to !ery help"ul people o" the Internet I could get help any time I needed.

The meaning o" this report is to show how easy it is to build your own telescope. The "irst part e plains how I built the telescope. The last part shows the result o" the pro(ect and how the telescope works under the stars.

2. onstruction
2. 1. !"er"iew
In %anuary )**+ I decided to build my own telescope. ,y re$uirements on the telescope weren't !ery many since I had no e perience using telescopes. #ll I wanted was an instrument to look at the stars and planets with. -irst I thought about whether I should build a re"ractor or a re"lector. #"ter ha!ing looked into it I decided a re"lector o" the type .ewton would be easiest to build. It can be used "or both planet and deep sky obser!ation, it is easier to "ind optics "or and "inally, it is !ery cheap. -rom the beginning I had planned to make an e$uatorial mount "or the telescope but then I was in"luenced by an amateur astronomer and telescope maker in /weden and "inally set "or a dobsonian type mount. Dobsonian mounts are easy to build and doesn't re$uire any materials di""icult to access. # couple o" plywood sheets are all you need while an e$uatorial mount re$uires hea!y&duty metal pipes to be rigid.

-ig. .ewtonian telescope. 0asically, you can say a .ewtonian consists o" a mount holding a tube, which itsel" holds a parabolic mirror, a secondary diagonal mirror and an eyepiece. -or the mirrors to stay in place inside the tube, you build holders. These are the parts o" the telescope that are the most di""icult to build. The holder "or the parabolic mirror is called a primary mirror&cell and the one "or the secondary diagonal mirror is called a diagonal holder or secondary holder. The secondary holder together with the "legs" holding it to the tube is also sometimes called spider thanks to its similarities with the insect. I decided to buy the mirror, secondary and the eyepiece. It would take too long to build them mysel" and I had no e perience o" this. To be able to ad(ust the eyepiece's height "rom the tube wall you use a "ocuser. 1ou build these too but it's also too di""icult "or the beginner. There are almost no suppliers o" telescope making parts in /weden where I li!e so I had to turn to a company in Denmark called #stro ,ekanik.

I ordered the "ollowing parts2 & 8 inch "34 parabolic mirror & ).5+ inch secondary mirror & ).65 inch rack&and&pinion "ocuser & ).65 inch super pl7ssl 64 mm eyepiece & 8ieces o" Te"lon 9"or the mount: I decided to start building the primary mirror&cell and secondary holder "irst. I reali;ed these were the parts that would be the most di""icult to build and i" I "ailed with these and lost my interest in the telescope I wouldn't ha!e ordered mirrors "or a lot o" money. # telescope also needs a tube. I had no idea where to "ind a suitable tube but I thought I'd "ind some sort o" plastic pipe later. I planned to use plywood sheets o" <.=" and <,4" thickness to the mount. I was going to buy them later.

-ig. The tube with it's holders.

2.2. The pri#ary #irror-cell

-ig. 8rimary mirror&cell without the mirror. The point with the primary mirror&cell is to hold the mirror in its place inside the tube

and also to allow the obser!er to ad(ust its position a little. 'hen all the optical parts ha!e been assembled and "astened inside the tube you ha!e to ad(ust them to make sure the light that hits the primary mirror really is re"lected e actly towards the center o" the secondary mirror and then e actly towards the center o" the "ocuser and eyepiece. I" the light is re"lected away "rom this central a is along the optical path through the telescope, it could result in a totally black !iew through the eyepiece. To ad(ust the mirrors o" the telescope like this is called collimating. -or the easiest possible collimation, the primary mirror&cell is constructed with screws that does all o" the work. #ll you ha!e to do is turn them in the right direction and to the correct amount until the mirrors are aligned.

-ig. # drawing o" my primary mirror&cell design. ,ost primary mirror&cells consist o" two plates. The mirror lies on the upper plate and the lower plate is connected to the tube walls. 0etween the two plates are the collimation screws holding them together. They are organi;ed in pairs around the plate, )6< degrees apart. To change the distance between the plates you simply turn one screw and loosen the other screw in the same pair and the plate holding the mirror will be either li"ted or lowered on one side. 'hen you mo!e the telescope "rom a warm place, "or e ample inside your house i" that is where you store the telescope when you are not using it, to the chilly night air, dew can "orm on the tube and the optics. The changes in air temperature makes the air unstable which results in the light bending di""erently, causing image distortion and less light reaching the eyepiece. To minimi;e this e""ect it is "a!orable to make the circulation o" the air inside the tube as good as possible. 0ecause the primary mirror&cell takes up a big part o" the place in the tube, the circulation o" air "rom the backside is limited. 'ith a larger distance between the tube wall and the mirror&cell, the circulation is increased. ,y primary mirror is 8 inches in diameter and I used a tube with an inner diameter o" )< inches. That means I ha!e ) inch o" "ree space on both sides o" the mirror, which is most o"ten acceptable.

-ig. The bottom o" the primary mirror&cell with its collimating screws. #nother "actor to keep in mind is the rate at which the mirror is cooled down when taken outside. >lass, like many other materials are distorted at temperature changes. The best result comes when the mirror is cooled down. 0y making a hole in the middle o" the primary mirror&cell's plates, air can circulate behind the mirror and decrease the time it takes to cool down. ,ike ?indner has built a !ery nice 4&point mirror cell that you can "ind at http233www.starastronomy.org3Telescope,aking3,irror@ell3inde .html .

2.$. The secondary holder

The secondary holder is what holds the secondary diagonal mirror almost at the "ront inside o" the tube. /ince the secondary mirror sits in the path o" the light an importance "actor to consider is the si;e o" the secondary. #lways keep it as small as possible. >enerally, it is said that the diameter o" the secondary mirror should be about 6<&65A o" the primary mirror's diameter. 0ut there are "ormulas i" you want to "ind out the e act optimal si;e.

d B - C $ 3 5+,D E D C ? de 3 d stands "or the diameter o" the secondary. /ince it is elliptical it re"ers to its minor a is. - is the "ocal length o" the primary mirror and D is its diameter. $ is the "ully illuminated "ield in degrees. -or most purposes a "ield o" )36F is enough, the same angle as the diameter o" the moon "orms. ? de stands "or the distance between the center o" the secondary to the eyepiece. The unit "or all amounts is inches i" not otherwise noted. In my case the "ormula looks like this. d B =8 C <,5 3 5+,D E 8 C 8 3 =8 B ),+5" To get the best possible image you will need a secondary with the minor a is at least ).+5" in diameter. /ince secondary mirrors are manu"actured with certain dimensions you need to choose the one with the ne t closest diameter. # larger one blocks more light so it pre"erred to choose the ne t smaller one. 1ou can't use absolutely all o" the light gathered by the primary mirror but the di""erence is o"ten not e!en noticeable. I choose a ).5+" secondary. The support o" the secondary holder is what holds it up in the tube. This is also where you collimate the secondary mirror. 0ecause the mirror has to be placed in the middle o" the tube, thin !anes go "rom the tube to the secondary holder. There are many ways to put the !anes but in most cases the whole support will look like a spider seen "rom abo!e. That is why the secondary holder with its support is o"ten called the telescope's spider.

-ig. # drawing o" my secondary holder design. %ust as with the primary mirror&cell you want to be able to ad(ust the secondary mirror's position, or collimate it. The idea behind the secondary holder is the same as with the primary mirror&cell. Two blocks2 one holding the mirror and the other hanging on to the tube wall 9through the spider !anes:. 0etween the two blocks are collimation screws. The di""erence here is that I ha!e used only one screw to pull the two locks together and three screws to push them away. The pull screw is placed at the center o" the two blocks and the tree push screws are placed in a cirle around the center, each separated )6< degrees apart.

Gere is a map with di""erent spider types. The circles are supposed to illustrate the tube seen "rom abo!e and the bo es placed (ust o!er each circle are the "ocuser and eyepiece.

-ig. Di""erent spider types There are many di""erent spider types. E!erything "rom those using one !ane to those using "our !anes. It is most common to use straight !anes but it is also possible to bend them. The optical di""erence doesn't di""er !ery much. The downside o" using a one& !ane spider is that it will not be !ery rigid but it is maybe easier to build and it causes less optical distortion. 'hen I was to choose spider type I was ready to make a "our&!ane spider but a"ter a while I reali;ed one problem that would mean. It would be hard to come up with a good way o" "astening the spider !anes to the body o" the secondary holder without unless I welded them.

-ig. ,y spider design I got the idea "or a three&!ane spider 9no + in the "igure: "rom an amateur astronomer and telescope maker in /weden. Ge had used a long !ane "rom one side o" the tube to the other and on this he had glued the body o" the secondary holder. *< degrees against this !ane he had glued another shorter !ane going "rom the secondary holder to the side

o" the tube "acing away "rom the "ocuser. The ad!antage with this design as I see it is that you can use glue to "asten the !anes to the body o" the secondary holder and don't need to use screws or anything else that will result in scattered light and unnecessary obstruction o" the light. #s spider !anes I used <.<=" thick metal saw blades. Try to keep them as thin as possible to a!oid too much obstruction o" light. <.<=" may sound little but it creates a !ery rigid spider when assembled. /ince the metal in the saw blades was hardened I couldn't saw them to the right length but it was easy to (ust break them. #lso, ha!e a look at 0ruce 'eertman's homepage where he uses my secondary holder design on his 8" tra!el scope 9#cc. no!ember 6<<6:.

2.%. The tube

#s a telescope tube I used one o" those cardboard tube that is normally used as concrete "orms. It chose one with an inner diameter o" )<" and a wall thickness o" <.6". This meant I had )" o" "ree space on each side o" the primary mirror. This kind o" tube actually $uite rigid and !ery light.

-ig. The dimensions o" the tube. #t this stage, all you want to do is to determine the length o" the tube, so you shouldn't shouldn't worry about any small margins here. /tart by deciding how "ar "rom the "ront end o" the tube the secondary mirror will be and how much tube you want behind the primary mirror. In doing that you ha!e to consider how your spider and mirror&cell are constructed. Hemember we are taking about distances between the "ace o" each mirror here. I chose about 8" "rom the secondary to the "ront end o" the tube and about =" behind the primary mirror. The reason the distances in the "igure abo!e are not rounded o"" to complete integers is that I work with the unit mm and I ha!e simply con!erted them to inches. To see this, notice that +.8+" I 8" and D.*=" I =". .ow, to know how long the tube needs to be between the primary and secondary mirror, you need to know the distance between the secondary mirror and the eyepiece since the eyepiece should always be placed in the "ocal point o" the primary mirror. Take hal" the tube diameter, the tube's wall thickness, the height o" the "ocuser when "ully racked in and "inally hal" an inch or so e tra "ocus tra!el and add it together. /ubstract that sum

"rom the "ocal length o" the primary mirror and you end up with the re$uired tube length between the primary and secondary mirror. In the "igure abo!e, this is .ote that this length is between the C"aceC o" each mirror so you will ha!e to ad(ust the distance be"ore you drill the holes "or the spider and mirror&cell in the tube. 1ou will not drill the holes "or the primary mirror and its mirror cell at this point, only the holes "or the spider. That means the distances are not crucial. 1ou will always be able to ad(ust the distance "rom the eyepiece to the primary mirrror later when you insert the primary mirror into the tube. #ctually, i" you mis&calculate by as much as an inch, all that happens is that the tube becomes an inch shorter at one end o" the tube and an inch longer at the other. #s long as the tube doesn't get too short at the "ront end 9near the secondary mirror: and allow "or stray light to enter the "ocuser "rom the back side, it is ok. I cut the tube to 56" but waited to drill the wholes "or the mirror holders and the "ocuser. To a!oid light "rom being re"lected by the inner sides o" the tube it is a good idea to paint the inside o" the tube with the most "lat black paint you can "ind or add so called ba""les. 0a""les are thin rings o" some material that are "astened along the inside o" the tube, about 4" "rom each other. These are probably the best way to pre!ent stray light but it can be di""icult to obtain rings o" per"ect diameter. -or that reason I choose to use the black paint which absorbs the light instead o" blocking it out. 'hen you are obser!ing with the telescope, dew "orms !ery easily on the tube. I" the tube is made o" metal, this is no problem, but when it is made o" paper, it will get decayed. 8ainting the outside o" the tube with enamel will make a per"ect protection against dew and "luids 9enamel is used to paint the parts o" boats that are underwater:. There are both one& and two&component enamels. The two&component !ersion is a better protection against "luids but since the one&component !ersion is so much easier to coat it became my choice. I painted the tube with three layers o" enamel because it took two layers "or the paper to suck up the "irst enamel and the third layer "ormed a nice strong sur"ace. @hoice o" color is optional but I choose black because o" se!eral reasons. I" you look through the eyepiece with both eyes open, the part o" the tube you indirectly see with the "wrong" eye should be as dark as possible to keep your eyes adapted to the dark. #nother reason is that dirt doesn't show up as much on a dark sur"ace as it does on a white sur"ace.

2.&. Installing the #irrors

There are a "ew di""erent ways to install the mirrors in the holders. The most commonly used nowadays is to use silicon adhesi!e to simply glue the mirrors into the holders. That was what I did. /ilicon adhesi!e is o"ten used when gluing together the glass sides o" an a$uarium and it is !ery strong. En "allen secondary is bad, but =<< liters o" water in the li!ing room is worse. I started by making three small pieces o" wood that I glued around the sides o" the primary mirror&cell so that they stood up about an inch abo!e the upper plate. I also

drilled a hole through each o" them 9see "igure:. Then I placed three <.<8" nails on the upper plate with the meaning o" keeping the primary mirror separated "rom the plate while being glued.

-ig. >luing the primary mirror. I put three blobs o" silicon on the upper plate and then lowered the primary mirror onto the nails. 'hen the silicon had dried a"ter about a day I could pull out the three nails and the mirror nicely rested on the silicon about <.<8" abo!e the mirror&cell. This margin is use"ul to pre!ent the mirror "rom getting strained i" undergoing de"ormations at temperature changes. 'hen gluing the secondary mirror I did the same, only I used <.<= nails and less silicon.

2.'. Asse#bling the tube

-ig. The tube assembled and painted. 'hen it is time to insert the mirrors inside the tube, start by drilling holes "or the spider and "asten it with the secondary mirror attached and mount the "ocuser to the outside o" the tube. Then insert an eyepiece in the "ocuser and turn the "ocuser knob until the

eyepiece is about hal" an inch or so "rom "ully racked in. This time it is much more crucial with correct distances since it is now time to mount the mirror in it's "inal position. #t this point it is good to be two people. ?ay the tube down on a chair or something and point it towards a distant hori;on. ?et one person look into the eyepiece at the same time as the other inserts the primary mirror in its mirror&cell "rom the backside o" the tube and slowly pushes it "urther and "urther into the tube. The person looking into the eyepiece will now see a "u;;y picture o" the hori;on i" the tube is pointed correctly. #s the other person mo!es the primary mirror "urther into the tube, the picture in the eyepiece will e!entually get sharper and sharper and when it is as sharp as you can get it, put a mark on the tube indicating the current position o" the mirror&cell. .ow take the primary mirror out o" the tube, drill holes "or the mirror&cell and "inally assemble e!erything. Try to use an eypiece with as low magni"ication as you can "ind when doing the procedure abo!e, as low&magni"ication eyepieces normally re$uire more "ocuser in& tra!el than a high&magni"ication eyepiece. Doing this, you will be $uite certain that no eyepiece combination re$uire more "ocuser in&tra!el than your telescope allow.

2.(.The #ount
.ow was the telescope tube with all its optics ready. The only thing I had le"t to make was the mount. I choose to build a dobsonian mount, which basically consist o" three main parts2 a tube bo holding the telescope tube, a cradle and the base plate. These models try to e plain how the mount works.

-ig. The dobsonian mount. The !ertical motion o" the telescope tube comes "rom the tube bo 's altitude bearings 9the rings on its side: gliding against the cradle and the hori;ontal motion comes "rom the cradle rotating around a screw going through both the cradle and the base plate. 0oth the altitude bearings and the bottom side o" the cradle glides against Te"lon pieces gi!ing a per"ect "riction when aiming the telescope. The altitude bearings on my mount

are two rings taken cut "rom a 8J@ plastic pipe o" )<" in diameter.

-ig. The altitude bearings gliding against te"lon pieces. The sides o" the tube bo should be short enough to make the tube bo (ust a little smaller than the outer diameter o" the tube. I" it is you can "asten the tube in the tube bo (ust by screwing together the sides o" the tube bo a little harder. Do this a"ter you are sure the gra!itational point o" the tube is e actly at the center o" the tube bo .

-ig. The cradle and the base plate almost completed. I cut out all o" the sides "or the mount "rom a plywood sheet. Then I assembled the rest o" the mount e cept the sheets o" plywood "or the sides o" the cradle on which the altitude bearings would glide. 0y measuring the distance "rom the center o" the altitude bearings to the back o" the telescope tube I knew the minimum height o" the mount. I added a "ew inches and "astened the two remaining sides with screws at the correct height. -inally I added the Te"lon pieces and then the mount was ready.

$. )sing the telescope

$.1. *+irst light*

The moment you look through a new telescope is o"ten called ""irst light". I had my ""irst light" on the e!ening the 5th /eptember )**+. I couldn't wait until the mount was "inished so when the tube was completed I carried it out to the backyard and put it down on a wood sheet in the grass. I inserted an eyepiece in the "ocuser and looked through it. It was $uite clear that night and the stars were !isible. I was actually ama;ed at how many stars there were that I had ne!er seen be"ore. I aimed the tube toward bright planet %upiter in the southeast. 'hen I "irst looked through the eyepiece I didn't see anything but a"ter mo!ing around a little the planet's disk appeared in the "ield o" !iew. It was larger than I though it would be along a line was %upiter's "our brightest moons. On the planet were "eatures as cloud bands !isible. The e perience still didn't "ully "ul"ill my e pectations. It was di""icult to "ocus the image and it was not as clear as I though it would be. I aimed the telescope towards the #ndromeda gala y. It can be "ound in the .orthern Gemisphere and is !isible as a "aint "u;;y patch o" light "or the naked eye. This ob(ect didn't look as good as I had hoped either.

$.2. olli#ation
'hen I had completed the telescope I "ound out why the telescope hadn't worked as I had hoped. There were se!eral reasons2 the !iew had been shake because I hadn't used the mount and the telescope hadn't been collimated. @ollimating means aligning the mirrors so that they re"lect the light along the central line through the telescope. I" they are not aligned, the light will get lost somewhere and not reach the eyepiece. @ollimation is done by turning the collimation screws on the primary mirror&cell and the secondary holder.

The "ollowing procedure is one way o" collimating a telescope2 ). @enter the diagonal in the "ocuser 6. @enter the primary mirror in the secondary D. @enter the diagonal in the primary mirror There is much more in"ormatioin about collimation and how to collimate telescopes i" you "ollow these links2 @ollimating .ewtonian Optics & by ,el 0artels 9 http233www.e"n.org3Imbartels3tm3collimat.html : -#K about @ollimating a .ewtonian telescope & by .ils Olo" @arlin 9 http233;ebu.uoregon.edu3Imbartels3kolli3kolli.html :

$.$. )nder the stars

# double cluster in the constellation o" 8erseus. 8hoto by Olle Eriksson. The ne t clear night I brought the telescope out. %upiter was !isible in southeast and the moon was about to set in southwest. I aimed the telescope at %upiter and looked through the eyepiece. This time the planet looked much better and the contrast was higher. I could clearly se the cloud bands along it's sur"ace and the "our moons were sharp pin points. I also took a look at the moon close to the hori;on. 'hen it entered the "ield o" !iew I (umped up in surprise. It was the most incredible !iew I had e!er seen. Especially the contrast and high detail le!el was literally unbelie!able. I aimed the telescope toward the #ndromeda gala y and it was still !ery "aint. #s soon as I mo!ed the telescope away "rom the nearest light bulbs it stood out much better. /uddenly I reali;ed /aturn was !isible in the west and when I turned around I "ound it right away. I aligned the telescope and had an un"orgettable !iew when I "irst caught the planet disk. I was shocked at how clear its rings were and that you could see "eatures on

the sur"ace. It's important to understand that the !iew seen "li!e" through a telescope can't be compared to the beauti"ul color photographs in astronomy maga;ines. In the eyepiece e!erything is in black and white e cept the brightest planets. >ala ies and nebulas look like "aint "u;;y patches o" light. To bring out the beauti"ul colors and sharp details in gala y spiral arms you need to let them be e posed on photographic "ilm during long times. 'hat dri!e amateur astronomers around the world to spend hour a"ter hour behind the eyepiece is the knowledge that you see e!erything "li!e" and the e traordinary high detail le!el the human eye yields that photographs can't achie!e by "ar. It's a special "eeling to obser!e the mani"old o" a star cluster, search details on planets and na!igate between gala ies and nebulas.

%. ,u##ary
%.1. ,u##ary

-ig. The "inal telescope. The total cost o" this pro(ect ended at a little o!er L55<. It's about what a commercial telescope o" this kind costs, only the shipping charges e cluded. /o "or me, I got away a little cheaper. #nother big ad!antage with making your own telescope is the e perience you gain and the insight into the workings o" a telescope, which is really in!aluable. I" you are only a little handy and ha!e access to a working place I de"initely ad!ice you to make your own telescope i" you are thinking about buying one. 0ut the reason in "ront o" all is that it is so much more "un to e plore all o" the things in the sky when you know that you ha!e made the instrument yoursel".

%.2. osts and suppliers o- #aterial

# lot o" people send me e&mails asking "or how much the telescope cost to build so here is the complete list. The cost o" the optics probably !aries a lot dependning on where you li!e and where you can "ind the nearest supplier o" telescope optics. 8" primary mirror & L)85

=< mm secondary mirror & L68 ).65" Hack&and&8inion "ocuser & LD+ ).65" /uper 8l7ssl 64 mm eyepiece & L5= Te"lon sheets & L5 Telescope tube & L)= 8lywood & L64 8aint & L6< /crews, bolts etc & L6< This in"ormation was written down when I built the telescope so the numbers should be "airly accurate, but there are also a lot o" other e penses like new tools etc which are not included here. I also get e&mails "rom people asking "or where you can "ind suppliers o" mirrors and other telescope accessories. There are a "ew #T, resource lists on the internet which list known suppliers. Ga!e a look at the article #T, Hesources in /candina!ia on my homepage "or some addresses and links to the other lists.

%.$. The telescope rebuilt

The telescope worked (ust "ine as it was but my re$uirements changed when I mo!ed to an appartment two years later. #t that time I rebuilt the telescope to make it lighter and more portable. Head all about the new telescope in the "ollowing article.

I" you ha!e any $uestions regarding this article or something telescope making related, "eel "ree the e&mail me. Bac.