It All Started At The Adler

These are great - I think that being strapped for cash drives creativity. We were counting every penny about 23 years ago when my first son was born. We could not afford a telescope but I could afford a second hand copy of 'How to build a telescope' by Jean Texereau. I loved the book because it was stained with cerium oxide suggesting the previous owner had used it in anger and I remember excitedly reading it half expecting an insurmountably difficult step to be needed and prevent construction of a DIY telescope. No such impossible step materialised and I spent a year or two making my scope from scratch. My first focuser used bearings from a broken cassette recorder. The body used plywood from some old shelves, and an offcut of pvc drainage pipe and a washing machine bearing.

There is a real thrill in re-purposing cheap stuff for astronomical ends. I love that my planetarium attempts have used surplus photocopier lenses, central heating valve gears, pringle tubes, kitchen foil and tissue paper. Problem solving using cheap stuff is a real skill.