Customer Reviews

Build Your Own Telescope

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you can only have one first book on making your own telescope this is it! I have been an active amateur astronomer for almost 35 years and I wish this book had been out in 1965 at the time I first got interested in astronomy. Richard Berry when he was editor of "Astronomy", and "Telescope Making" (now sadly defunct),was the first to popularize John Dobson's Sidewalk Telescope design now simply known to amateur astronomers everywhere as the "Dobsonian". In this book he leads you in how to build several excellent telescopes from parts that are easily available from hardware/lumberyard sources everywhere. He shows and explains 5 different example projects, 4",6",10" Newtonians on Dobson mounts, how to mount a refractor on a Dobson type mount, and even one equatorial mount made of plywood and hardware parts. The projects are well illustrated and explained. He gives you a good overview of commercially available parts and commonly used eyepieces. But beyond being just a simple how-to project book he gives an explanation of telescope history and and basic optical theory. I wish I had his well illustrated chapter on "Home Brewed Optics" when I made my first telescope mirror. While not a substitute for having a copy of Allyn Thompson's "Making Your Own Telescope", or Jean Texereau's "How to Make a Telescope" which deal mainly with the making of the primary mirror, it would have tied together concepts I did not understand well at the time. When I'm asked while doing public star parties (and you always will be while doing that kind of thing)"what kind of telescope should I get" or "where can I find out how to build one these things (the telescope)", I always recommend this book. In fact I now always bring a copy to these occasions so they can get the title and author correct as well as browse thru it. You can light a number of fires that way.

I am no craftsman, but I used one of the plans in this book to build a telescope - not a toy, but a real astronomical telescope that I use frequently. Berry includes plans for 4.25", 6", and 10" reflectors and for a 6" refractor.

The plans are quite complete, and the process of construction is given in detail. Berry devotes some space to mirror grinding, but I chose to buy my mirror, so I can't comment on his instructions. He also provides an introduction to astronomical observing, which I found helpful.

Berry's writing is clear and his tone is encouraging and enthusiastic. I recommend the book highly.

This is the best book out there for the beginning telescope maker. It is the book I used to build my first 6"; without it I would probably not have built a telescope at all.

Berry provides detailed and complete instructions for several telescopes. His writing is easy to understand and very clear, and he gives some very important practical advice about building and observing.

I first bought this book in 1989, and built the 10" Dobsonian described therein. Berry's talent lies is paring down a lot of the information available in other books, and telling you in clear, simple terms what you need to know. His directions for grinding a telescope mirror (I did this with a 6" mirror) are the clearest I've read. His technique for mirror grinding is clearly explained and easier to follow than many other books. There are also sections on testing mirrors, collimation, and other subjects helpful to amateur telescope makers. If you intend to build your own telescope, this book is a must. Even if you are a do-it-your-selfer who doesn't desire to build a telescope, or you have a general interest in astronomy, you'll find this book interesting. Fourteen years after I built the 10" Dobsonian described in this book, I would not change one single aspect of its design--thank you Richard Berry.

Great book on telescope building. I built his 6" equitorial mount reflector in 1987 and its still going strong. A wonderful place to start!

I agree with Len Bast, the instruction are very poorly laid out and often contradict themselves. One of my biggest problems with this book was that for each telescope he suggests, he neglects to have a list of building materials and tools at the start of each chapter, which is a huge mistake. As mentioned previously, the plans quite often contradict themselves, or one of the accompanying photos or diagrams or else leave ambiguities that, to a novice builder, seem bewildering. Nevertheless, I did manage to build a working telescope from this book, so while it's not entirely useless, it could be much improved.

A very good book for someone that has more curiosity than ready cash. Very informative. Nice job!

Although the book's helpful for learning how telescopes work and how they're made, the real purpose of the book is to show how to make five telescopes. That's why people supposedly buy it, given its title. But the truth is that the plans suck. He doesn't label parts in his diagrams. The dimensions in the text don't match the dimensions in the diagrams. After reading many of his paragraphs on putting the telescopes together, you'll think "What? What the )(&(^^% are you talking about?" You'll realize a lot of its going to be guesswork, on your part! This is because the plans do a piss poor job of even minimally explaining how to build the thing. A 12th grader could have written better plans. The book needs to be rewritten by someone NOT the author, who knows how to write plans in an accurate easy to read step-by-step manner.