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A bit messy is understatement. And finishing such project without a good guidance is almost impossible. At final stage a few bad moves can destroy week of work!

A bit messy is understatement. And finishing such project without a good guidance is almost impossible. At final stage a few bad moves can destroy week of work! It is setting up newcomers for failure and burnout. We made our own mirrors, because there was no other option a few decades ago. But today mirrors are cheap, and they come with aluminum coating and rest of the telescope!

Tepix 2y ago
I'm not in the loop, are 14 inch or larger mirrors affordable nowadays?
- throw73849488 2y ago
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chantepierre 2y ago
It's not about price, but enjoying the process, or making instruments that just are not commercially available. Amateurs are constantly pushing the limits of optical designs. Here is a recent groundbreaking example from Rik Ter Horst, a 10" f/20 kutter with toroidal secondary : https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/935825-a-250-mm-f20-kutter-telescope-with-toroidal-secondary-mirror/ https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/935825-a-250-mm-f20-kutte... I did not do anything that impressive but enjoy my own set of non-standard scopes : - A 8" f/3.5 hyperbolic primary + ross corrector - a 6" f/2.8 with permanently mounted 4-element corrector and am working on a 16.5" f/3.3 that will have a permanent Paracorr II lens group. The only messy moment was my first mirror when I learned to cut pitch, but grit and glass dust itself are no problem thanks to the wet process. You are right though on the last bits of figuring, it's a psychological challenge and my first mirror took 3 attempts over 18 months.
dylan604 2y ago
Just because this was your experience does not mean others should not try, and frankly, your posts suggesting others not try is disgusting. You're on a forum for people with a hacking ethos. That's pretty much the "hold my beer" mindset with a facade of classiness in front of it. Also, rather than saying such negative things like "don't do it", you could have wrapped up your negative experience into a parable for people to learn from before embarking upon their own journey. Just because you didn't prepare for the results of grinding something to a fine dust/powder doesn't mean others won't prepare for that. Especially after what could have been a much more positive outcome from your negative experience. Don't be a downer. This would be haha funny if you were trying to stoke that "don't tell me no" as reverse psychology.
daedlanth 2y ago
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Tepix 2y ago

I'm not in the loop, are 14 inch or larger mirrors affordable nowadays?

throw73849488 2y ago
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chantepierre 2y ago

It's not about price, but enjoying the process, or making instruments that just are not commercially available. Amateurs are constantly pushing the limits of optical designs. Here is a recent groundbreaking example from Rik Ter Horst, a 10" f/20 kutter with toroidal secondary : https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/935825-a-250-mm-f20-kutter-telescope-with-toroidal-secondary-mirror/ https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/935825-a-250-mm-f20-kutte... I did not do anything that impressive but enjoy my own set of non-standard scopes : - A 8" f/3.5 hyperbolic primary + ross corrector - a 6" f/2.8 with permanently mounted 4-element corrector and am working on a 16.5" f/3.3 that will have a permanent Paracorr II lens group. The only messy moment was my first mirror when I learned to cut pitch, but grit and glass dust itself are no problem thanks to the wet process. You are right though on the last bits of figuring, it's a psychological challenge and my first mirror took 3 attempts over 18 months.

dylan604 2y ago

Just because this was your experience does not mean others should not try, and frankly, your posts suggesting others not try is disgusting. You're on a forum for people with a hacking ethos. That's pretty much the "hold my beer" mindset with a facade of classiness in front of it. Also, rather than saying such negative things like "don't do it", you could have wrapped up your negative experience into a parable for people to learn from before embarking upon their own journey. Just because you didn't prepare for the results of grinding something to a fine dust/powder doesn't mean others won't prepare for that. Especially after what could have been a much more positive outcome from your negative experience. Don't be a downer. This would be haha funny if you were trying to stoke that "don't tell me no" as reverse psychology.

daedlanth 2y ago

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