Finished - well almost..

[DanDare]

This is a homemade 10" f7.5 truss tube newt I picked up about a year ago. It was made about 25-30 years ago, the truss tube had been sitting in a shed for about 20 years and the mount had, I think mostly been out in the open. (I had to knock out or drill out every bolt to get it apart). Mostly used the original bits, but needed to fit a new (homemade, but not by me!) secondary holder and spider. Had the mirrors re-coated. Also bought a s/hand focusser and finderscope and sorted out the mirror cell. I attached some lockable castors to make it easier to move arounnd. I've yet to sort out a counterweight and a light shroud. I haven't got the collimation right yet but have had a quick peek through it with Jupiter as a target and just some general scanning around.

Some before and after pics:

[barkis]

That looks splendid. A labour of love there, and I'm sure it will perform superbly on Jupiter, and the other planets too.

Don't forget to turn it on the moon too.

Great job, well done. Please report on first light results.

Ron.:)

[Doc]

Wow you have made a fantastic job restoring it, looks lovely now. Whats the balance like as there seems to be a lot of weight on those bearings especially with the length of the scope.

[TheThing]

Looks excellent! Congrats.

[Psychobilly]

Lovely job on the restoration

[Rusty Strings]

I'd be very proud if I'd done that, well done.

John

[DanDare]

Thanks all, your comments are very much appreciated.

Certainly a labour a love Ron, hate to think how many hours I've spent on it. Fairly costly as well, with having the mirrors re-coated, paint, SS nuts and bolts and everything I reckon I've spent around £200.

Doc, I will need to get some weight on the back, which should sort out the balance - as you've spotted it's a bit top heavy.

Its a bit of a beast, the truss is 6' long, it's too heavy really to keep getting it off and on the mount, so I'll leave it mounted permanantly. I have to keep it in the garage as that's the only place big enough for it - and it half fills that. Don't think I'll be taking it to any dark sites/star parties.

Roy