I've been interested in grinding/polishing my own Newt mirror for a long time but don't know how to get started. As a beginner, would you recommend attending a workshop or class or is it possible to make a good mirror using other learning resources such as books and online videos? I live in central North Carolina and I have not found any mirror making workshops close by (based on a list on Stellafane.org). I have experience building reflector telescopes, just haven't made my own mirror yet (John Dobson makes it look so fun!). Looking forward to hearing your advice and experiences.
When I ground my first mirror the only guidance I had were ATM book 1 and Making Your Own Telescope by Allyn J. Thompson. I ground, polished, and figured the mirror on top of an old washing machine. I used the Focault knife edge test when figuring the mirror. Then I got together all of the chemicals required and chemically deposited a silver layer on the mirror. My second mirror was a six inch f6 for a Newtonian and it turned out perfect. I've always thought that it was the best telescope I've ever looked through.
Homebuilt Telescopes: Mirror Grinding - Testing And Figuring - Telescope Construction Sam Brownl
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The mirror still had to have its performance tested in the telescope. The testing was done by photographing a bright star with the un-aluminized mirror through the Hartmann screen at the top of the telescope. There was a long process of additional polishing, testing and adjustment of the mirror supports. At this point the mirror had the proper shape, but no reflective coating on its surface. A thin layer of aluminum was added in the large chamber that sits on the dome floor.
As your interest in amateur astronomy grows, consider picking up the old book "All About Telescopes (opens in new tab)" (Edmund Scientific Co., 1972), written by Sam Brown. This deceptively thin paperback holds an enormous wealth of information, designs and inspiring ideas for the home astronomer. It even shows how you can make a telescope from a common length of 2-inch x 4-inch (5 centimeters x 10 centimeters) pine board. It also shows you how to make and space light baffles and find focal lengths for the particular lens or set of mirrors you couple with your eyepiece or camera. You will learn to perform optical testing and so much more. 2ff7e9595c
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