For over 30 years Richard Berry’s “Build Your own Telescope” has been one of the telescope making standards of recent times. A number of lessons learned within the now-defunct Telescope Making quarterly periodicals have been gathered here in one easy to read publication.

With simple tools and skills, the author shows how to build a variety of telescopes from a small 4.25-inch reflector to a medium sized 10 inch Dobsonian. The only real equipment needed is commonly part of many American households. A hand drill, a router, measuring tape, a straight edge and various nuts and bolts hardware store items. Much of the components necessary in telescope construction are made of wood.

Berry discusses the grinding and polishing of a reflector mirror and proper testing. The book encourages the amateur to try his or her hand in not only building a telescope with commercial optics but also with optics you can make yourself.

Berry continues with a special chapter of building telescope parts to support the mirrors within the telescope tube and how to accessorize your instrument.

Perhaps the AMT will be pleased to see a chapter on grinding and polishing a refactor telescope objective. Then how to build a cell for the lens and instructions on baffling the tube assembly. Few books touch on the subject today and while there is some difficulty involved a number of amateurs have successfully completed a refractor telescope with the foundation of this publication.

There is a chapter on optical testing that helps the amateur in determining how to judge the optical quality of a telescope using bench tests as well as star tests.

Mr. Berry’s last chapter includes how to use and observe the moon, planets, asteroids, stars and other wonders of the universe with your home built telescope.

If you are an Amateur Telescope Maker you need this book for your library. It is simply written and provides more than the basics in crafting a number of telescope projects. It can be a nice companion with volumes by Albert Ingalls ATM series 1,2,3 and Jean Texerau, How to Make a Telescope.

Editors

Richard Berry

Table of Contents

Introduction
Which Telescope is for You?
How Telescopes Work
Telescope Mountings
Building a 4″ F-10 Reflector
Building a 6″ f/8 Equatorial  Reflector
Building a 10″ Dobsonian Reflector
Building a 6-inch f/15 Refractor
Cells, Spiders, Focusers, Finders, and Eyepieces
Home-brewed Optics
Optical Testing
Observing with Your Telescope

Appendix A
Telescope Materials

Appendix B
Materials, Suppliers and Sources

Appendix C
Books and Other Information

Index