DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Wanna make a scope? Or better still, grind a mirror yourself. Or, you have some good tips in making a really useful accessory? This is the place to show what your hands can do...
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geyes30
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DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by geyes30 »

Made a planetary scope from a bunch of shelves, some plywood, and a GSO mirror.

Image2018-05-22_10-37-20 by Cyrus Beh, on Flickr

Balances very well, and seems to have pretty good mechanics. Can't wait to test it out soon!
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Airconvent
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by Airconvent »

Adventures in recycling...haha. Nice scope! Maybe can get Ikea into the Dob business too.
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orly_andico
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by orly_andico »

hmm so the hex things were the ikea shelves?

i have a lot of trouble cutting angles into plywood to make those hex shapes.. what i did before was a box.
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geyes30
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by geyes30 »

Nope. I got the shelves from a local carpenter through carousell. The table is from IKEA and has been converted to the rocker box
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Yong54321
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by Yong54321 »

Hi

Good to see you have done it. I am a beginner and want to buy a dob 6 inch but find it too heavy and expensive to import here. It costs about $650 to bring in from bh for a skywatcher. I wonder why an 6 inch dob needs to be heavy like 18kg. The mirror is only about 1kg. I am thinking of building a light weight version where i can bring for travel.

what online shop do you buy your GSO mirror? What is the total weight of your assemblied Dob telescope?

Thanks very much.
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geyes30
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by geyes30 »

Yong54321 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 27, 2018 12:17 pm Hi

Good to see you have done it. I am a beginner and want to buy a dob 6 inch but find it too heavy and expensive to import here. It costs about $650 to bring in from bh for a skywatcher. I wonder why an 6 inch dob needs to be heavy like 18kg. The mirror is only about 1kg. I am thinking of building a light weight version where i can bring for travel.

what online shop do you buy your GSO mirror? What is the total weight of your assemblied Dob telescope?

Thanks very much.
Sorry I missed this question. The GSO mirror was bought from Agena AstroProducts. The total weight is very heavy, though I don't have a scale to weight it. I have another project with a ultraportable Dob, that weighs around 9kg.
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orly_andico
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Re: DIY 8"F/6 Planetary Scope from Shelves and IKEA table

Post by orly_andico »

You can get the Skywatcher 8" dobsonian through Amazon.sg for $625 all-in (that is inclusive of shipping and GST!)

https://www.amazon.sg/Sky-Watcher-S1161 ... 00Z4G3PRK/

You do need to have an Amazon Prime subscription, which is pretty cheap, you can even get it through Singtel.
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