Manual for Amateur Telescope Makers

By Karine and Jean-Marc Lecleire. Product Information: Hardbound, 6 by 9 inches, 320 pages. A Manual for Amateur Telescope Makers—With Detailed Plans to Construct Three Different Telescopes is the first comprehensive mirror-making manual to appear in the English language in over 40 years.The theme of this book is the fabrication of both the optics and mechanical parts for three different telescopes. The first is a Newtonian with a 130-mm f/9.2 primary mirror. It is especially designed for beginners, being both inexpensive and easy to make.The second instrument is also a Newtonian reflector with a 250-mm f/4.3 primary mirror. This is an “all purpose telescope” which can provide a lifetime of viewing pleasure.The third instrument is a 300-mm f/12 Cassegrain-coudé (or Nasmyth). This a project for the advanced telescope maker and features a long-focal-length mirror, a convex secondary, and a telescope window.The book is arranged into four parts. The first is devoted to the basics of optica