Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hale 200 inch Model

img_8701-1024x683I recently finished making a model of the Hale 200 inch telescope on Mount Palomar. Here is a video https://youtu.be/xCQCpob6erU .

img_8567-smallIn this image it’s the one on the left. Also shown is a wonderful Barry Crist model of the 100 inch on Mount Wilson. I also made working 1:64 models of the Yerkes 40 inch Alvan Clark refractor and the Hubble Space Telescope. These are all at the same 1:64 scale. The three models I made are all of aluminum and are fully functional small telescopes. More details about making the Hale model is here: Making the Hale Model

Mogey 3 inch Telescopes

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This is a pair of Mogey 3 inch telescopes. They probably date from the 1920’s or so. The one on the left is completely original except for the tripod, which I made. The one on the right was a mess when I got it, with a very strange declination housing. Here’s a picture.

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The Declination housing was made from a Right Ascension housing from a very old Alvan Clark! Have a look at these pictures:

 

So that may be a project in the future.

There are many details about the restoration of the Mogey mount here:

Mogey 3 inch Restoration.

You can see a video about these two scopes here Mogey Telescopes.

Alvan Clark Replica

I have always wanted to own an Alvan Clark telescope. Unfortunately they are beyond my range. So, when I recently completed my first lens, I decided to create a scratch-built mount and tube assembly to house it and I wanted the completed telescope to look a lot like an Alvan Clark. This 3 1/2″ f/15 telescope is not an attempt to create a perfect replica in all respects, though many features of the telescope are intended to be nearly identical to an Alvan Clark. Maybe it should be called an “Homage Alvan Clark Telescope”.

I made virtually everything you see in the picture. The only exceptions are some small screws and bolts and the finder lenses. It was a long and difficult process described on this page: Making The Alvan Clark Replica Telescope. This scope is certainly not an Alvan Clark but it looks great, works  well and I made it with my own hands.

To me the function of this telescope is of minor importance. This is more like a beautiful mechanical sculpture intended to have a permanent place in my living room or study.  Despite that, it would be offensive to me if this showpiece did not perform its basic duties under the night sky, and it does that well. When I am using this telescope it is easy to imagine that I have traveled back in time over 100 years.

I have made a couple of Youtube videos about the scope here:  Alvan Clark Replica Tour and Alvan Clark Replica Teardown

 

Uni-Clone 4 inch telescope mount

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This is a Unitron 4 inch mount alongside a nearly identical home-built mount of unknown origin. The similarities between them are numerous. They both have the Unitron style declination slow motion controls, large high quality setting circles and are nearly identical in size and overall design. But the home-built mount actually has several improvements over the superb Unitron, including a breathtaking mechanical clock drive adjustment mechanism. The unknown maker of this mount was a genuine craftsman of the highest caliber. I call this mount a Uni-Clone with the greatest possible respect. You can see closeups of the mount, clock drive and corrector on Youtube at http://youtu.be/d1VNP8gpH-I .