A relic from my boyhood - worth refurbishing?

When I was young (or more likely before I was born) my father, a
do-it-yourselfer, built a telescope. This would have been probably
around 1955-1960 or so. I can remember using it as a small child, but
in 1966 (when I was 4 years old) we moved to a location unsuitable for
stargazing, and the telescope has sat since then in a dark corner of
the basement. My dad passed away several years ago.

Recently my mother, at my request, boxed up the scope and sent it to
me in pieces. I know next to nothing about telescopes, so excuse me
if my terminology is incorrect. Here is what I have:

The 'main' lens/mirror is 8". Molded into the backside is 'PYREX MADE
IN USA' and '8 D .' On the back side is a ripped paper label, the
remaining letters say

/ION
/ORS
/RATION
/DALE 5, CALIF
(The '/' indicates where the tag is ripped. That first letter in the
first line is ripped right through, it could be an 'H', 'M', or 'N' I
suppose... Any guesses who the manufacturer was?)

The 'tube' is 60" long and 10" in diameter, it is thin-walled steel.
There is an elliptical, flat secondary(?) mirror, about 1" by 1.25".
It has broken off of a small arm which holds it in position. There is
an eyepiece which attaches to the exterior of the tube. There is a
'sighting'(?) telescope which attaches to the tube for coarse aiming.
There is a wooden mount which holds and adjust the position of the
main lens/mirror. There is a wooden mount which holds the tube, on
the bottom of which is a pipe flange. That's it, so I guess I'd have
to build some sort of adjustable mount which could connect to the pipe
flange.

The main issue (I think) is that the main mirror is somewhat
corroded/tarnished. Holding it up to the light and looking at the
backside, I can see pinholes in many places.

So, my questions would be, is this thing worth fixing up? It has some
sentimental value to me, but I'd probably not invest the time and $$
if what I'll end up with isn't worth using or having. As far as the
mirror goes, is this something that can be chemically or mechanically
cleaned up in someway to get it at least into a usable condition? Can
it be recoated, and if so, about how much would it cost? Again, would
it be worth it?

Any general advice as to how to proceed?

Thanks for any advice to a newbie,

Kelly

Yes, you can have the mirror re-coated, after it's like new. (less than
$100)
Take it down to a Astronomy club near by or to a star party, have some one
experienced observer take a look it the scope.
If it's a sentimental value, I would keep it for sure, any way no one would
pay much money for it.
You would be able to see, how good your fathers workman ship was!
Also, 8" is a good aperture to get your feet wet in astronomy!

Good luck!

Julius

"Kelly" wrote in message
om...
When I was young (or more likely before I was born) my father, a
do-it-yourselfer, built a telescope. This would have been probably
around 1955-1960 or so. I can remember using it as a small child, but
in 1966 (when I was 4 years old) we moved to a location unsuitable for
stargazing, and the telescope has sat since then in a dark corner of
the basement. My dad passed away several years ago.

Recently my mother, at my request, boxed up the scope and sent it to
me in pieces. I know next to nothing about telescopes, so excuse me
if my terminology is incorrect. Here is what I have:

The 'main' lens/mirror is 8". Molded into the backside is 'PYREX MADE
IN USA' and '8 D .' On the back side is a ripped paper label, the
remaining letters say

/ION
/ORS
/RATION
/DALE 5, CALIF
(The '/' indicates where the tag is ripped. That first letter in the
first line is ripped right through, it could be an 'H', 'M', or 'N' I
suppose... Any guesses who the manufacturer was?)

The 'tube' is 60" long and 10" in diameter, it is thin-walled steel.
There is an elliptical, flat secondary(?) mirror, about 1" by 1.25".
It has broken off of a small arm which holds it in position. There is
an eyepiece which attaches to the exterior of the tube. There is a
'sighting'(?) telescope which attaches to the tube for coarse aiming.
There is a wooden mount which holds and adjust the position of the
main lens/mirror. There is a wooden mount which holds the tube, on
the bottom of which is a pipe flange. That's it, so I guess I'd have
to build some sort of adjustable mount which could connect to the pipe
flange.

The main issue (I think) is that the main mirror is somewhat
corroded/tarnished. Holding it up to the light and looking at the
backside, I can see pinholes in many places.

So, my questions would be, is this thing worth fixing up? It has some
sentimental value to me, but I'd probably not invest the time and $$
if what I'll end up with isn't worth using or having. As far as the
mirror goes, is this something that can be chemically or mechanically
cleaned up in someway to get it at least into a usable condition? Can
it be recoated, and if so, about how much would it cost? Again, would
it be worth it?

Any general advice as to how to proceed?

Thanks for any advice to a newbie,

Kelly

While I don't know all the fine points, that does sound like it's a 8inch F8
scope, something along the lines of my Babylon 8 Dobsonian. You might be
able to build a EQ mount out of pipes for it, or if you could remove that
mounting, you could turn it into a dob. But yes I would remove the coating
of the mirror and have it recoated, it would last another 40 years. Those
kind of mirrors sell fast on the market. it would be well worth the time to
rebuild the scope, if for no other reason that it was your Dad's scope.


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"Kelly" wrote in message
om...
When I was young (or more likely before I was born) my father, a
do-it-yourselfer, built a telescope. This would have been probably
around 1955-1960 or so. I can remember using it as a small child, but
in 1966 (when I was 4 years old) we moved to a location unsuitable for
stargazing, and the telescope has sat since then in a dark corner of
the basement. My dad passed away several years ago.

Recently my mother, at my request, boxed up the scope and sent it to
me in pieces. I know next to nothing about telescopes, so excuse me
if my terminology is incorrect. Here is what I have:

The 'main' lens/mirror is 8". Molded into the backside is 'PYREX MADE
IN USA' and '8 D .' On the back side is a ripped paper label, the
remaining letters say

/ION
/ORS
/RATION
/DALE 5, CALIF
(The '/' indicates where the tag is ripped. That first letter in the
first line is ripped right through, it could be an 'H', 'M', or 'N' I
suppose... Any guesses who the manufacturer was?)

The 'tube' is 60" long and 10" in diameter, it is thin-walled steel.
There is an elliptical, flat secondary(?) mirror, about 1" by 1.25".
It has broken off of a small arm which holds it in position. There is
an eyepiece which attaches to the exterior of the tube. There is a
'sighting'(?) telescope which attaches to the tube for coarse aiming.
There is a wooden mount which holds and adjust the position of the
main lens/mirror. There is a wooden mount which holds the tube, on
the bottom of which is a pipe flange. That's it, so I guess I'd have
to build some sort of adjustable mount which could connect to the pipe
flange.

The main issue (I think) is that the main mirror is somewhat
corroded/tarnished. Holding it up to the light and looking at the
backside, I can see pinholes in many places.

So, my questions would be, is this thing worth fixing up? It has some
sentimental value to me, but I'd probably not invest the time and $$
if what I'll end up with isn't worth using or having. As far as the
mirror goes, is this something that can be chemically or mechanically
cleaned up in someway to get it at least into a usable condition? Can
it be recoated, and if so, about how much would it cost? Again, would
it be worth it?

Any general advice as to how to proceed?

Thanks for any advice to a newbie,

Kelly


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This could probably be fixed up into a nice telescope. And as others
have said once you get it recoated the mirror will be as good as new.
There are a number of companies that provide this service (such as
Spectrum Coatings)

An 8" F/8 scope is considered to be a good size for an all-purpose
telescope.

Do you know if your father actually ground and polished the mirror?
That was very common in those days but less common today. If so then
the paper tag would be from the original coating company. If you don't
know the origin of the mirror then the tag is a clue. If the tag is
from a coatings company then the mirror is most likely home made.
(Which would be quite cool.) Or if he bought a finished mirror then
the paper tag is from an optical company. That is still cool, and
would likely be of better quality than a home made mirror - it is just
slightly less of a legacy item.

In any case the third line on the tag probably reads "CORPORATION",
right? Anybody know the names of 1950's California based coating
companies or optics companies to help solve the mystery? It's before
my time...

Without having seen the scope I would say that in addition to the main
mirror you would certaintly want to keep the tube (sounds very nice)
and the mirror mount. The secondary mirror mount sounds broken and
might best replaced with new. Possibly you may want a new secondary
mirror as well. There parts are available from companies such as
Protostar.

I agree that finding a local amateur astronomy club would be a good
step. Likely someone there would be interested in helping you.

Have someone look over the focuser and finder scope to see if they are
ok. You will also need a two or three modern eyepieces. Lots of
companies sell these - at a huge range of prices. Try Orion at
www.telescope.com just as a shopping start.

The mount is the biggest job. They often used pipe fitting based
mounts in those days but now most people use "Dobsonian" (dob) mounts.
These are fairly simply plywood affairs and can be built at home with
modest tools and modest skill. Dob mounts work very well for a scope
of this size. Plans are available on-line. You can see what a dob
mount looks like on the Orion web site.

Personally this sounds like a great project. Classic optics, of
sentimental value and you will end up with a good scope too. It is the
unique nature of the scope that is of value. Bear in mind that a new
8" dob can be bought for under $400. But a new scope wouldn't mean
nearly as much to you.

/ION can be CRITERION, the Dynascope mirror.
Than it would be a very high quality mirror.
His father may bought it from them, all though they were located in CT not
CA, I think.

Julius
"John Savard" wrote in message
...
On 4 Dec 2004 21:45:51 -0800, (Kelly) wrote, in
part:

The 'main' lens/mirror is 8". Molded into the backside is 'PYREX MADE
IN USA' and '8 D .' On the back side is a ripped paper label, the
remaining letters say

/ION
/ORS
/RATION
/DALE 5, CALIF
(The '/' indicates where the tag is ripped. That first letter in the
first line is ripped right through, it could be an 'H', 'M', or 'N' I
suppose... Any guesses who the manufacturer was?)

My guess would be something like

PRECISION
MIRRORS
CORPORATION
GLENDALE 5, CALIF

but I haven't found anything to corroborate it.

John Savard
http://home.ecn.ab.ca/~jsavard/index.html

John Savard wrote:
PRECISION
MIRRORS
CORPORATION
GLENDALE 5, CALIF

but I haven't found anything to corroborate it.

Glendale came to my mind first, too, but there are plenty of other
cities that end in -dale, and there's nothing that says such a company
would have to be in a major city. (For instance, it could have been
in Irwindale.) What puzzles me is that '5'; I can't figure out what
that could be. Anyone have any idea?

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Szaki wrote:
/ION can be CRITERION, the Dynascope mirror.
Than it would be a very high quality mirror.
His father may bought it from them, all though they were located in CT not
CA, I think.

They were indeed in Connecticut, so it seems unlikely that it's Criterion.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Brian Tung wrote:

What puzzles me is that '5'; I can't figure out what
that could be. Anyone have any idea?


Wild guess here, but is there any chance the "5," is actually "S."?

--Steve

GLENDALE 5, CALIF

Good guess. There are quite a few 'dales in California including Glendale but
there's also Irwindale, Lawndale, and probably quite a few more...

jon

In (Brian Tung) wrote:

What puzzles me is that '5'; I can't figure out what
that could be. Anyone have any idea?


That's the postal zone, which predates the ZIP code.

My old home was in "Baltimore 15, MD", which is now "Baltimore MD 21215".

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN