<p>Amateur telescope making (<a href="https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=atm%20telescopes" rel="nofollow">ATM</a>) is a popular past-time for astronomers.</p>

<p>You can grind <a href="http://www.telescopemirrorblanks.com/" rel="nofollow">your own</a> <a href="http://www.newportglass.com/apxblank.htm" rel="nofollow">mirror</a>, or you <a href="http://www.rfroyce.com/stand_mirrors.htm" rel="nofollow">can</a> <a href="http://www.gs-telescope.com/content.asp?id=142" rel="nofollow">buy</a> <a href="http://www.hubble-optics.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">ready</a>-<a href="http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/OPTICS/telescopemirrors.html" rel="nofollow">made</a> <a href="http://zambutomirrors.com/mirrors.html" rel="nofollow">mirrors</a>. </p>

<p>You can coat your mirrors with silver using chemical solutions yourself, or have a coating of aluminium applied using a vacuum chamber by an outfit offering such a service.</p>

<p>The main materials are a thick round slab of glass, usually Pyrex, and a smaller elliptical flat mirror. Using this you can make a Newtonian reflector. The support tube or structure for the mirrors can be one of a huge variety of designs, or you can be inventive yourself.</p>

<p>There are websites to guide you in this, such as <a href="http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/tm.html" rel="nofollow">Mel Bartel's</a>, <a href="https://stellafane.org/tm/" rel="nofollow">Stellafane</a>, and <a href="http://www.amateurtelescopemaker.com/" rel="nofollow">AmateurTelescopeMaker.com</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-28T19:45:33.167Z
2014-03-29T00:02:06.997Z
2014-03-29T00:02:06.997Z
Jeremy
<p>I am interested in building a high quality portable telescope from scratch in an attempt to better understand how telescopes work. What kind of materials do I need? How would I go about putting the telescope together? Are there any online guides that you can recommend?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-31T18:27:47.100Z
okarin, I would recommend breaking this down into separate questions. Perhaps this one can focus on what materials you need to build a portable telescope. If you desire a specific quality, you need to specific exactly what level of quality you seek.
called2voyage
<telescope>
Build a high quality telescope from scratch
okarin
# Build a high quality telescope from scratch

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-28)

I am interested in building a high quality portable telescope from scratch in an attempt to better understand how telescopes work. What kind of materials do I need? How would I go about putting the telescope together? Are there any online guides that you can recommend?

**Tags:** telescope
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: okarin, I would recommend breaking this down into separate questions. Perhaps this one can focus on what materials you need to build a portable telescope. If you desire a specific quality, you need to specific exactly what level of quality you seek.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-03-28. Score: 4

Amateur telescope making ([ATM](https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=atm%20telescopes)) is a popular past-time for astronomers.

You can grind [your own](http://www.telescopemirrorblanks.com/) [mirror](http://www.newportglass.com/apxblank.htm), or you [can](http://www.rfroyce.com/stand_mirrors.htm) [buy](http://www.gs-telescope.com/content.asp?id=142) [ready](http://www.hubble-optics.com/index.html)-[made](http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/OPTICS/telescopemirrors.html) [mirrors](http://zambutomirrors.com/mirrors.html).

You can coat your mirrors with silver using chemical solutions yourself, or have a coating of aluminium applied using a vacuum chamber by an outfit offering such a service.

The main materials are a thick round slab of glass, usually Pyrex, and a smaller elliptical flat mirror. Using this you can make a Newtonian reflector. The support tube or structure for the mirrors can be one of a huge variety of designs, or you can be inventive yourself.

There are websites to guide you in this, such as [Mel Bartel's](http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/tm.html), [Stellafane](https://stellafane.org/tm/), and [AmateurTelescopeMaker.com](http://www.amateurtelescopemaker.com/).


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