Re: ATM: Regarding new ATMs

[akkana@best.com (Akkana)]

Comments from a novice ATM:

I have to agree with Jack Schmidling about the lack of information
for non-woodworkers on building Dob mounts.  When I recently built my
first Dob mount (for a 6" f/8, with the idea of getting some practice
before launching into a larger project, though I didn't realize at the
time that a 6" f/8 Dob has some problems not shared by larger short
focal ratio Dobs) I searched the web a bit, checked the Willman-Bell
catalog, found a whole lot of information on glass pushing and very
little on mount building, and finally got tired of fruitless research
and said "Well, I've seen lots of Dob mounts, I'll just try it and see
how it works, and if I get it wrong, I'll rebuild it."  (And I made
several mistakes, and am constantly redesigning and tweaking it,
which is okay with me -- it's part of the fun of rolling your own.)

I have since found the Berry book, and through Ray Cash's SFSA web
page, learned that the Clark book and the Cunningham book are
available through Pocono (they're out of stock at AstroSystems).

All the references I've seen so far, though, assume woodworking
experience and access to tools like routers.  I've never seen a
reference which explains for the novice where to get big circular disks
for alt bearings, or how to cut the alt bearing slots in the rocker
box if you don't already have a garage full of woodworking tools.
This sort of thing turns out to be painful enough that if I have
to do one more rocker box I'm going to march down to Sears and hope
I can find someone who will explain to me which tool it is I need
(router? sabre saw?) to cut big circles even if it means that I have
to leave the router table rusting outside because I don't have space
in my garage for something that big.

Sorry, didn't mean to spew. :-)  Anyway, I agree with Jack that there's
a paucity of reference books and kits for the non-woodworker ATM.

I also agree that there's a lot less interest in do-it-yourself these
days, at least where I am in Silicon Valley.  I'm forever trying to
convince people that they would save time by doing their own oil
changes (it takes less time to change oil than to arrange a
ride to and from the mechanic's shop!) but almost no one I know is
interested in making or fixing things (at least outside the telescope
and race car communities where tinkering is almost required).

        ...Akkana        http://www.best.com/~akkana/astro.html