Tim C
sage
Reged: 11/11/07
Posts: 272
Loc: Marietta, GA
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Hello,
I'm considering starting a dob project but only have a few very basic electric tools like a drill and a hack saw. I was browsing Home Depot yesterday and was surprised that some tools like drill presses and table saw weren't terribly expensive if you buy the smaller less "fancy" versions. My question is what tools would you recommend that I need for a project like building a dob? I'd purchase electric tools where it would make things substantially easier but would be fine with using hand tools where an electric one isn't absolutely necessary. I like to be able to take on other basic wood working projects as well down the road.
Thanks for the advice,
Tim
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Tim
Some average astrophotos: http://TCardin.zenfolio.com/p355986048
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 5025
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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I used a table or contractor's saw, a small drill press, a router with a circle cutting jig, a planer and a jointer to build my smaller telescopes. The smaller of the two is almost entirely red oak, the larger one has a tube made of cherry while the base is Baltic Birch plywood. If you are going to build a Dob with the usual Sonotube, you can skip the planer and jointer for now, but if you plan to do any woodworking with hardwoods or rough sawn lumber, you'll need them.
Along with those tools, my tape measure, steel carpenter's sqaures, biscuit jointer and a variety of clamps were essential to the success of these telescopes. I finished both of them first with a small orbital sander, then a final pass by hand with a sanding block. I finished them with exterior Polyurethane applied with a high volume, low-pressure sprayer.
I've done a lot more with these tools than build a couple of telescopes. I've made bookcases, TV stands, even a full sized dresser from Brazilian Cherry, Lyptus and White Oak. While I'm no Norm Abrams, it works well and cost me at most a third of what a similar dresser would sell for new at a furniture store. The materials came to about 600 dollars, including the supplies such as glue, sandpaper and paint thinner. Woodworking is a good way to make gifts for family and friends too.
Taras
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mconnelley
sage
Reged: 03/14/06
Posts: 271
Loc: Fremont, CA
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Hello:
When I got started, I had very few tools. I had the usual hand tools, (screw drivers, wrenches, files, etc.). A hand held power drill is necessary, and a drill press is nice but not strictly necessary. Some kind of power saw is very useful, either a table saw, band saw, or a hand held circular saw. I have found a hand held jig saw to be very useful for cutting a whole lot of things, from aluminum tubes to the various round things that telescopes need. Definitely get a few bar clamps. I don't know what I'd do without them. That's about all that I use for my projects.
Cheers
Mike Connelley
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John Carruthers
Skiprat
Reged: 02/02/07
Posts: 2270
Loc: Kent, UK
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As well as the usual hand tools and a power drill, a medium sized router is a boon.
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Jc
ATM 10" F6.1, 1/25th wave spec (max wavefront error +/- 1/12.6 in zone 4 of 6, sodium light )
6" F7 spec
127mm F9.4 Refractor
10 x 50 bin
ETX80 (finder)
Canon 20D
PST
DSI 1
and a curious mind
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bbasiaga
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/10/06
Posts: 724
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A table saw will be quite helpful as well, but you can make a simple straight cutting jig for a hand held circular saw. If you use that and take your time, you can do really well with a hand held power saw.
I recommend the Rigid router at Home Depot that comes with a fixed base and a plunge base for $200. That is enough router for some pretty big jobs, and the fact that it has both bases makes it VERY versatile. You can make a circle cutting jig for it from plywood for a couple bucks, or free if you've got a piece laying around. I've used such a jig to cut the cage rings and a mirror blank for my current project, and they are perfect.
-Brian
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Vixen 80EDSF
Stellarvue 102ED2
Orion Atlas 11 EQ-G
15" Astrosystems Telekit w/ Discovery Optics
Lust for something Larger
Lust for something Larger than that
Past Lovelies:
Oberwerk 20x100 binocs
Meade AR5
Meade LX10 8" SCT
All sold to a good home
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Jeff Morgan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/28/03
Posts: 1987
Loc: Prescott, AZ
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For a minimum set: circular saw and guide, router, sabre saw, and hand drill. Plus the usual support items: tape measure, clamps (you can never have too many of those), sanding block, and an accurate square.
A better set would include a table saw, plate joiner, orbital sander, and drill press.
And that would be the order I would acquire them in. A skilled wood worker could add to that, but those are sufficient to build a basic scope.
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Jeff Morgan
Prescott, AZ
Wile E. Coyote School of Telescope Making
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bbasiaga
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/10/06
Posts: 724
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How could I forget an orbital sander?! I never knew how much I needed one of those until I got one as a gift. Sanding is no longer a chore!
-Brian
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Vixen 80EDSF
Stellarvue 102ED2
Orion Atlas 11 EQ-G
15" Astrosystems Telekit w/ Discovery Optics
Lust for something Larger
Lust for something Larger than that
Past Lovelies:
Oberwerk 20x100 binocs
Meade AR5
Meade LX10 8" SCT
All sold to a good home
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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 12939
Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA
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If you want to know the absolute minimum tool set that will get you by, I built my 10" dob using nothing more than a jigsaw, a screwdriver, and a hand power drill. I built it in about three weekends on the front porch of an apartment.
It's workable and sturdy, but a long way from "craftsmanship".
The next most important tool to get, if I was going to build another one out of wood, would be a router, and a workbench.
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"Since the process of science generates more mysteries than it solves, I predict that we'll never learn everything: and we'll continue to generate new ignorance at the speed of knowledge."
"S.O.E." (Sauron's Other Eye), with 16" Royce conical mirror: A permanent work in progress.
10" Homebuilt dob, old Coulter mirror
Under Construction: The "Eye of Sauron" Observatory!
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arpruss
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/23/08
Posts: 858
Loc: Waco, TX
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Quote:
If you want to know the absolute minimum tool set that will get you by, I built my 10" dob using nothing more than a jigsaw, a screwdriver, and a hand power drill.
I have barely started on my travel 8" project, but I am hoping to complete it with a drill as my only power tool, with no jigsaw or router. The trick is to find already formed circles for the alt bearings. My wife had an old round CD case that she was going to put on craigslist for free, so I grabbed it. The top and bottom were 3/8" particleboard circles of basically the size I needed. I sanded one side of each circle, glued them together with Titebond II (clamping with five tiers of bricks), and then cut the resulting 3/4" circle in half with a hand saw. Another source of wooden circles would be small round tables that one can find on craigslist for $10-20, or maybe even for free if one waits long enough.
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Coulter Odyssey 13.1" split-tube
Coulter Odyssey 8"
Home-made 7.8" F/4 dobsonian travel scope
Home-made 68mm F/5.3 achro (typically used as finder on 13.1")
Skymaster 15x70
BPTs4 8x30
32mm Plossl, 30mm Rini, 27mm Kellner, 13mm Hyperion, 6mm TMB/BO Planetary, Owl 2X Barlow
Palm TX with AstroInfo and RescoViewer
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dave b
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 3535
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you could build an entire dob with just a router, a drill and a drill stand
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dave bonandrini
30" f/5.2 Dobsonian
President of GCAC
Astromart Moderator
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StarmanDan
sage
Reged: 08/27/07
Posts: 391
Loc: China Spring, Texas
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I built my first scope with a table saw, drill press and router.
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"Starman" Dan Doyle
Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas
Central Texas Astronomical Society
8" LX200GPS w/ST80 guidescope, Canon 350D+DSI Pro
150mm f/8 Sky Watcher Refractor
10" f/4.5 Homemade Dob
RV-6 Criterion Dynascope
http://darcstar.wordpress.com
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Tim C
sage
Reged: 11/11/07
Posts: 272
Loc: Marietta, GA
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Thanks for all of the advice. I'm gonna use my existing tools as best as possible and buy additional tools as needed once i get into the project. Probably the only way to avoid buying equipment I won't use.
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Tim
Some average astrophotos: http://TCardin.zenfolio.com/p355986048
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14dobguy
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/09/08
Posts: 819
Loc: rhode island
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hey dave i saw your ad in astronomics about "saurons other eye"...sweet man!!!
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Brian
14" dob
sky commander
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HandyAndy
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/11/08
Posts: 650
Loc: West Midlands and around
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Hi,
A decent drill press is pretty essential for drilling holes square to the surface. Get a machine vice which will CLAMP to the drill press table for holding small metal parts. Use the belt on the pulleys to give you the right speed for the drill or bit you are using.
A good handsaw is a lot safer than a table saw for cutting sheet material. (I use a few 4' lengths of sawn 3"x3" lumber on the floor as a stable bench. You have enough clearance for a jig-saw blade but those sort of saws give a wobbly cut and one side breaks out pretty badly.) A small Bosch cut-off circular saw is big enough for most Dobo projects. (You can cut 3" lumber from each side to get over its 1.5" depth limitation) It is lighter and more controllable than a 10" blade circular saw. I bought a cheap 10" circular saw first and returned it as not east to set and unwieldy.
A good small Router is pretty essential for cutting all the round parts you need for a telescope tube and Dobo or split ring mount. With a straight edge guide you can finish edges cut with a handsaw.
A few good quality chisels are useful as well. A diamond lap to sharpen them and act as a surface mill.
A good set square and 3' ruler make setting out as accurate as you need to be, along with a bit of Pythagoras geometry.
Cheers. Andrew.
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Monarch 8x42, Zeiss 10x50 WA
10mm F2, Pentax 60mm F5
City: 7" MN78: MK4#2, 10" F6.3: MK4#1, 16" F5 ParaCorr
Country: 8" VISAC: (GP2)
Car: 6" F5 MPCC: SP, 5" 127mm F7.5 (GP2)
TV 55mm, Paragon 40mm, UO Pretoria 28mm
B&L 32 Pl, Clave's 25, 8, 6, 2x
Hyperions 5, 8, 13, 17, 24, 31
Nagler1 9mm, Meade 14mm 4000 UWA
Antares 1.6x, 0.7x, 0.5x
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Jeff Morgan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/28/03
Posts: 1987
Loc: Prescott, AZ
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Quote:
A good handsaw is a lot safer than a table saw for cutting sheet material.
One also has to use care using a table saw for small parts as I found out about four weeks ago. I was cutting a 2" x 3" piece of baltic birch. I made the mistake of having the small piece between the blade and the fence. Of course, the blade caught it and sent it right back at me at about 110 mph.
I took the hit just above the belt line on the right side. The resulting bruise was the size of a baseball and included at least 10 different colors, mostly indigo (and I don't bruise easily). Interestingly enough, it left me with a nice laceration and resulting scar (through my t-shirt) that my girlfriend says resembles the Ursa Minor.
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Jeff Morgan
Prescott, AZ
Wile E. Coyote School of Telescope Making
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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 12939
Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA
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Quote:
hey dave i saw your ad in astronomics about "saurons other eye"...sweet man!!!
My ad?????? 
ETA: Oh -- you're talking about the current Astronomy Technology Today. Cool! I hadn't even seen it yet!
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"Since the process of science generates more mysteries than it solves, I predict that we'll never learn everything: and we'll continue to generate new ignorance at the speed of knowledge."
"S.O.E." (Sauron's Other Eye), with 16" Royce conical mirror: A permanent work in progress.
10" Homebuilt dob, old Coulter mirror
Under Construction: The "Eye of Sauron" Observatory!
Edited by llanitedave (06/30/09 01:12 AM)
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Undermidnight
Pounder of Brass
Reged: 05/25/04
Posts: 2426
Loc: Hilliard, Ohio
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Quote:
One also has to use care using a table saw for small parts as I found out about four weeks ago. I was cutting a 2" x 3" piece of baltic birch. I made the mistake of having the small piece between the blade and the fence. Of course, the blade caught it and sent it right back at me at about 110 mph.
I took the hit just above the belt line on the right side. The resulting bruise was the size of a baseball and included at least 10 different colors, mostly indigo (and I don't bruise easily). Interestingly enough, it left me with a nice laceration and resulting scar (through my t-shirt) that my girlfriend says resembles the Ursa Minor.
Ahh kickback! When it occurred on me, it was from me pulling the piece of material away from the saw blade on the left side and I angled it into the back of the blade. It hit me, did not leave a mark, but it hit the wall behind me  and I still cannot find where that piece of wood went.
I still love my tablesaw 
I would use a handsaw, but I cannot cut straight if my life depended on it. In fact, I would love to use manual tools as much as I could because it is how they used to do it. 
Jason
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WO Megrez 90 on EZTouch Mount
WO Zenithstar 66 on Microstar Mount
PST
8" F/4.2 Ball Scope, "Marilyn"
12.5" F/4.3 Ultralight, "Ada II"
11x70 Oberwerks
6" F/6 Polishing
Pans, Orthos, and Naglers
"We who cut mere stones, must always be envisioning cathedrals." - The Quarry Workers Creed
http://www.undermidnight.com
http://undermidnight.blogspot.com
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 5025
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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A table saw can throw wood at you with deadly force. I almost took a piece of red oak to the face, but instead it grazed my ear and hit the wall behind me. Had it hit me it probably would have smashed bone.
Taras
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15-inch F/4.5 Dob under construction
10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
A whole bunch of eyepieces, filters and other accessories....
Two curious cats
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dave b
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 3535
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all those old table saws are too dangerous to fool with.
ALL saws you use should have a splitter or better yet a riving knife directly behind the blade. if your saw cant be retrofitted, it really should be replaced (or turned into a disk sanding station).
you cant just be "really careful" (dont kid yourself!), wood is an unpredictable thing.
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dave bonandrini
30" f/5.2 Dobsonian
President of GCAC
Astromart Moderator
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Scott Watson
sage
Reged: 05/26/06
Posts: 282
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I used a drill press, a router, and a table saw. I think it is possible to use a skill saw instead. I'd say the router and the drill are essential. Oh, and a sewing machine.
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