Tonight, I crosscut the hardboard to length and assembled the first tube section with adhesive. I will need to cut around 30 more baffles/ribs and mark and cut 10 outer rings.

The first upper section, I've put together without yet the outer ring. I laid out two lengths of 2" masking tape sticky-side up and carefully put down 12 of the 12" strips. After turning them over, I fully taped each joint and then turned them back. I applied adhesive in to all the joints and down both sides. With a mate and 30-odd small spring clamps, we formed it round the 1/3 ribs bit by bit, offsetting the ribs one side to the other by 60 degrees. I pressed bamboo BBQ skewers into the excess adhesive that squeezed out of the edge joints inside. I may add another rib internally when I come to mount the spider - position tbd. I will have to notch the corners to provide clearance for the skewers.

Next time, I would avoid a 45 bevel on one edge in favour of symmetric bevels. This would give a cleaner line on the outside. I'll resin and sand these tubes to smooth the edges instead.

I hope to assemble the rest of the tubes over the weekend, ready for resin sometime next week.

The mirrors have a long focal length (>1.6m). The upper tube sections will have around 8 inches in front of the focuser, making them appear even a little longer. The additional weight up front (making no attempts to reduce weight, at all) will serve to move the center of mass up the whole assembly. This will ensure that the lower struts are not overly short and it should look more balanced for it.

This design is a hybrid of polygonal tube and Serrurier truss - which means a lot of work. I'm considering something along the lines of the mount linked below, for a single scope at least. The binoscope is another project, altogether.

http://www.cloudynig...5/o/all/fpart/1

I am very excited! :D