Re: [ATM] There seems to be a reoccurring motif among this list.

[Daniel Fundo <fundo@bellsouth.net>]

<<  This list is usually a whole lot more polite than some I have seen.
Occasionally someone sounds more forceful or discouraging than they
probably mean to be.  >>

The ATM list is a lot more tolerant than several other lists I am on or
visit regularly.  One woodworking list (which I will not name) is a
constant war between the hand tool "purists" and the "New Yankee
Workshop" (used VERY DERISIVELY) advocates.  There is one individual who
claims that the only electricity used in his shop is for lighting.

As for building bigger telescopes:  its true that most of us on the list
are amateurs in more ways than one.  We are in this to save a bit of
money  and to build something that, in all probability, is going to be
better than many commercial products.  The bigger the instrument, the
bigger the savings, and if you want to build something over 1 meter, by
all means, go for it.  We will all support you in whatever you might
need in the way of advice. 

The biggest mirror I have made is a 12.5".  I have "aperture fever" like
most, but I also realize that anything bigger is going to be less
satisfying for my current location and ability to use it.  A 10" will
show you the entire NGC catalog and all of the variables tracked by the
AAVSO.  It will also be used, and provide good views, on almost any
night.  Unless you live in proximity to a dark sky area with good
seeing, a 20" will be disappointing many nights.  It will take longer to
cool down, and will be affected by atmospheric currents.  If you opt for
a thin mirror, you trade cool down problems for support problems.  Pick
your poison!  That doesn't change the fact that in most of the U.S.A.,
you will only be able to full utilize it on no more than a dozen nights
a year.  You have to ask yourself if its worth the effort and if you
have the perseverance to complete what you start.

My only advice is don't try to build a yacht if you can't build the
dinghy.  I have seen too many folks build a bird house and think that
that qualifies them to build their dream home.  Building a stool is
different from building a chair.  I had a neighbor who made a
respectable knickknack displayer, and then tried to build a 7 ft high, 6
ft wide Chippendale breakfront display case with raised panel doors and
beveled wirrors and glass. (George A. in Canada....Yeah....I know, but
that's the only way to discribe it!!!<G>)  It was never completed
because the cost of the glass, mirrors and decorative brass pulls, etc,
were so expensive and hard to find.  It wasn't that he couldn't afford
all that.  It just became an expense and time consumer that he didn't
have the will to stick with, especially when the case work was anything
but acceptable!  With a few more projects under his sander, it would
have been a piece of cake.

*****-----
Dan F.
Former Secretary/MAS
Memphis, TN
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