Telescope Reviews: 60mm project

Here is the build story, if anyone is interested:
I started with an old Swift 60x810 objective lens and cell. I found this 60's era glass to be -very- good. (I would not do this project with marginal glass).
First, I did a raytrace on a sheet of butcher paper. This gave me the locations for baffles, focuser, etc. I ordered some 2.5" x 1/8" wall tubing from Online Metals. On receipt, I took it to a local machine shop and had them cut to length, thread for the objective cell, and ream the rear to proper size for the 1.25 focuser that I had ordered from Island Eyepiece.
Then I assembled the tube and ran some tests to make sure the tube length was correct, and see if it actually worked. (it did).
A section of 3" aluminum tube, a section of 1.5" solid brass rod, and another trip to the machine shop and I had my dewshield and balance weight. I also had him cut some 1/2" ring sections off the scrap 2.5" tube.
Cutting a section out of the rings, they became "springs" that I inserted in the telescope tube as baffle holders. Half inch turned out to be too wide(too stiff)-I should have made them 3/8" or 1/4" wide. But I managed to get them into the tube. The baffles themselves were cut on the drill press with a "circle cutting" bit. The material was some plastic sign material I picked up at Home Depot. After cutting, I covered them with flocking paper. The procedure was to tap a ring into position, drop in a baffle, tap another ring in to sandwich the baffle between rings to keep it in place.
The pillars for the sliding weight were drawn out by me, transferred to a cardboard pattern and cut out of 1/2" aluminum plate with a jig saw. I drilled/tapped for the brass screw that holds the weight in position. The brass rod is kept from shifting by SS set screws with a soft tip, with 8-32 threaded holes in the top of the pillars. (did I mention McMaster-Carr has me on their speed dial? )
The Orion 6x30 finder required a bit of work. The mounting shoe was designed to fit large diameter (dob) tube. So I used an epoxy product designed for bedding rifles to cast a perfect fit to the tube. I also drill/tapped a hole (the boss was already there) in the riser stem, with the intention of possibly mounting a laser pointer.
The paint does not show up well in the photos. It's actually and old ivory color, and the focuser and lens cell are a pastel green which goes very well. Quite pretty.
The Mount:
The mount is an older EQ1, purchsed used from Astromart. It had the usual black wrinkle finish. It was stripped, cleaned and bead blasted (I have one of those small blasters that look like a paint gun. Harbor Freight sells glass beads for blasting. A cardboard box served as a cabinet. If you do this wear leather gloves, a dust mask, and a face shield!)
The parts were then repainted "machinery grey". On reassembly, I used some teflon sheet in a couple of places as "bearing material". Most of the screws/knobs were replaced with SS units. Currently, it sits on an Orion HD tripod. (Future plans include a rolling steel pier) The eyepiece holders were made from a circa WWI/II leather ammo carrier. Excess leather was trimmed off, they were soaked in water, and the pill bottles inserted the leather stretched to fit and then allowed to dry. Works quite well.

Hubert

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Hubert
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