DIY Resources

Sites for the Do-It-Yourselfer

There are a few great places to find products to use for building telescopes. Here are some of the ones I've found most useful in my building and searching for parts:

Surplus Shed - Find objective lenses for refractors and finderscopes, eyepieces, first surface mirrors, and more. VERY inexpensive prices for what you get, and the quality isn't too bad either, considering it's surplus stuff.

Telescope Warehouse on Ebay - I've bought a 5" primary mirror and secondary with spider for $15 from this store. Also, some cross-hair eyepieces and small finderscopes for my daughters' scopes. Can't beat the prices, and the stuff he has is mostly very well priced.

Meridian Telescopes - In particular, check out the price for a brand new 4.5" primary mirror with secondary for just $32.95 (as of Jan 2009). You can make a telescope for around a grand total of $100 for that price - just pick up one of these eyepieces while you're purchasing the mirror. For about $40 in additional supplies from Lowe's or Menards, you can make a really great telescope - a lot better than some of the ones sold in retail stores for that aperture.

Small Parts Inc. - Wow, what can I say? It's the DIY's dream site. Small screws, tubing, bearings, rods, plastic, etc. What a great resource for anyone prone to tinkering with building stuff!

McMaster-Carr - The Big-Daddy of the one-stop-shop industrial suppliers. You need it - they've probably got it. Need I say more?

Hands On Optics - Go to Accessories / Parts / Antares. Nice stuff for those interested in making better telescopes. Great focusers, mirrors, refractor objectives, more.

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One last thing: Please be sure to turn off your outdoor lights, or if you must have an outdoor light on, be certain it is a full cut-off fixture, and the minimum wattage required. No sense in lighting the underside of planes at night - it just ruins the night sky for everyone else! Besides, doing so really will save you money on your electric bills. For more information about light pollution, please visit the International Dark Sky Association.