ATM Gallery Gluing the mirror box for Deep Violet, and 18″ f/4.5 The 18 point mirror cell, built to the plans from Barry & Kriege The primary mirror support strap The ground board with center pivot and teflon pads in place Drilling a pocket to accommodate a carpet pad in the side of the rocker box Deep Violet fully assembled and nearly ready for dark Looking at the mounted mirror cell and primary mirror Deep Violet at Sentinel, Arizona for the 2015 Pierre Schwarr Star Gaze Looking in the rear of the tube at the mirror cell Detail of the tripod head, latitude adjustment and the RA and declination axis Primero setup at Jarnac Observatory among a friendly crowd of other telescopes Stripping and cleaning the 14×100 binoculars A completely disassembled Celestron Cometron telescope Detail of the upper truss tube with the lever type latch Detail of the brass threadserts used to hold the lower truss clamp A 12.5″ dobsonian telescope after the refit Machining the mirror cell from a piece of scuba tank The mirror cell prior to installing the primary mirror with the focus knob at the back of the strut A very standard design for the mirror mount A front view of Makaʻiki ready to observe Makaʻiki with the main strut extended for use Makaʻiki under the stars for the first time at Hale Pōhaku on the side of Mauna Kea The forms for the pier upright filled and leveled Bill Lofquist pouring concrete into the upright part of the pier The completed pier with a telescope atop Looking at what remains of the paint on an old Celestron C8 orange tube telescope The orange paint just crumbles away under a few sweeps of a power sander Parts of the mount prepped and taped for painting Paint drying on the front and rear castings of the old orange tube A restored Celestron C8 on a similarly restored TeleVue Renaissance mount. The C8 set up along the old Saddle Road for Mercury Transit Re-assembling the secondary cage on the 20″ Obsession. The truss tube clamps still need to be cleaned up and re-installed, same with the focuser. Grinding the heads off a few screws The rusted hardware removed from a 20″ Obsession telescope Opening up the truss tube clamps by widening the slot with a hacksaw. A fix for the secondary mount A failed plywood joint Clamping the rocker box of a 20″ Obsession Installing the primary mirror. This is a Galaxy Optics 20″ f/4. Oddly enough Sky Hudek, the son of John Hudek, the owner of Galaxy is a good friend and dive buddy. Trunk handles added to the rocker box to make picking it up and loading it in a vehicle easier. They are mounted just high enough to avoid the wheelbarrow handles when installed. My copy of The Dobsonian Telescope by David Kriege and Richard Berry 20″ f/4 Obsession #004 fully assembled for the first time in over a year. Ready for alignment and use! Related Posts The Dobsonian Telescope Makaʻiki - A 6-inch Travel Telescope Violet Haze, A 90mm f/13 Apochromat Primero Share this:TweetWhatsAppEmail Author: Andrew An electrical engineer, amateur astronomer, and diver, living and working on the island of Hawaiʻi. View all posts by Andrew