two years ago I traded in a camera for a 6" Newtonian with a German equatorial mount which served as a great first scope. Last September, I became intrigued with large aperture instruments - elegant smooth truss type, you know, the ones that can probe deep into outer space. I can't believe how easy it was to get aperture fever from just looking at photos on a computer. From here I made up my mind to pursue the adventure of building the biggest telescope that I could afford, a 16" truss dobsonian.

Although I didn't have a clue how to start, I purchased books and researched everything that I could find from the ATM sites. I highly recommend joining an astronomy club before taking on a project like this—being able to see up close the real thing and getting assistance from the ATM folks is invaluable. Since I didn't have the foresight to join a club I made good use of calling long distance to John Hall of Pegasus Optics, whose experience in making Starmaster telescopes, greatly assisted me from top to bottom design concepts of dobsonian assemblies. This relationship developed out of a need to purchase one of the most important elements of a telescope, the primary mirror.

Nothing is more exciting then getting started on drawing a blueprint that shows measurements and illustrations of the assembly. Several nights I would sit down at the dining table with my trusty little calculator and pencil in the dimensions. Easy it is to draw the assembly but problematic to figure out balance which requires knowing what all this stuff weighs. Once it is built and if it's top heavy you can't simply put your telescope on a Jenny Craig crash diet.  Experience tells the tale, little grasshopper.

Consequently, I relied on a book called the "The Dobsonian Telescope" to help resolve many of the other issues that cropped up.

By Jan I was ready to begin building, and priorities being what they are for me, I purchased an Orion 10 inch dobsonian. I made that unthinkable mistake of selling my first scope, and I needed to get a replacement. You don't build a super structure without observing the night sky for inspiration. While I was at it I also purchased a few other desirables. I talked with Pete Kron of Astronomics to help me get a handle on eyepiece selection since I wear glasses. He recommended the Pentax XL21mm 65 degree field of view with 20 degree's of long eye relief. I was so impressed with the performance that I also purchased a XL14 and Televue's 2x Barlow.

Launching the project required exotic wood. Enter Binford 2000 Baltic birch plywood - 5/8 inch 13 ply laminate in 5 x 5 sheets. This wood holds an edge and is astonishingly strong. What, you didn't know that these scopes could hold up the earth, how else did Atlas get a vacation?

The mirror box, the rocker, and base went together like clockwork. The table saw works well

for general woodworking but I felt that it needed more precision. All pieces were precut to within 1/8 of an inch and then I set up the router using a straight edge for the final cut. The last step required putting the joints together and making sure that everything is squared up. This is where the Bostitch pneumatic finishing gun shines. Glue up the joints and the instant that you are ready in goes the nail before anything can move out of position.

March came in like a lion. I needed to think about finalizing the mirror cell design. I went with a type of tailgate design fabricated from steel and aluminum. The frame was made from 1 inch square tubing, and the joints were gas mig welded. For an 18-point design 6 triangles needed to be fabricated.

US Metals donated ¼ inch aluminum plate for the job. Relatively easy to cut using a 60-tooth carbide tipped blade in a circular saw. Jig up the metal with a straight edge and bee's wax and the blade will track faithfully. It really helps to have a drill press since all the holes need to be as square and accurate as possible. As a final piece of information I found some software called Plop that will facilitate finding all the dimensions and test the performance with graphical plots and mesh outputs.

Now I had to deal with the bearings. I purchased a sheet of ebony star Formica and virgin Teflon for the mating side. Although this seemed to be the standard I was not convinced that this was optimal. The rocker worked great but the base was sluggish. I loaded up the base with steel to simulate the actual weight. I used a dry Teflon lube and added 2" Teflon shims to the center bolt. The motion is ultra smooth even at zenith, as I found out later at first light.

May was sneaking up fast. The mirror was due in June and I needed to get cracking. Galaxy Optics had shipped the 3.1" elliptical flat and I promptly installed it into the spider assembly.

Here I go again staring at the scope. Once the cage is centered and the poles are properly aligned it was time to perform final focus and wheel the scope outside. Nothing is fasten down very tight so I have to be careful not to move anything and perform a somewhat collimation. I focused on a few

stars overhead and made note of the positions of all my eyepieces. It's a stunning event to find out they all worked. Not bad at all. The truss supports are mounted permanently and now it's ready for first light.

Before anyone gets nervous I still had a couple of things left in the laundry basket. Since I am not a weight lifter wheel barrel handles were required to transport the scope. I ripped a long plank of oak in half and shaped it with the rotozip. Those nice Home Depot wheels are attached with 2 sets of captive eyebolts. What's left? Yes, every truss scope needs a shroud but how and where? In steps Mary, my wife, with the solution. On one weekend she whipped out a perfecto black nylon ripstop shroud that made me proud. It easily slides over the cage and attaches with Velcro at the bottom and snugs up the top with a pull cord - ingenious.

First light was the day when my anticipation reached new levels. Galaxies were lined up and waiting for their turn on stage. Mary and I wheeled the scope to the backyard and performed a collimation. I aimed the finder on the first bright star overhead and brought into the view the primary. Wow! A brilliant white disc in all its glory. My next quarry was M13, which is usually a snap to locate. This is where hurried anticipation gets you into trouble. I quickly found M13 at low power viewing and gazed at the small fuzz ball, then jacked up the power only to reveal a larger dim fuzz ball. What's going on here, is the Orlando light dome working overtime? Higher power yet showed a bigger but dimmer fuzzy ball with smoky edges and a few dim stars scattered about here and there. Back to the star charts for another check. What was that thing? I was in the wrong area and relocated the scope onto the real M13. At the highest power I was overwhelmed. M13 was phenomenal. Stars stretched across the whole field of view almost three dimensionally with a slight bluish background with dozens of stars in the foreground. I checked on that fuzzy object and found 4 different galaxies that it could have been, the brightest at 11.2 mag. Who knows, I should have paid closer attention to its location.

The maiden voyage to darker skies came the following Friday night at Split Oak Park. To the south it was clear as a bell. The Teapot and Scorpius and the other constellations were easy to see. Phil, Mary and I quickly set up the scope, chairs, and the snacks ready for the hunt. Our first prey was M5. It was absolutely stunning. I couldn't wait to see the expressions on their faces. Phil let out a loud wow. Mary was astounded. Some of the background stars had a pearly white sheen and well defined while scattered up front others glimmered with a yellowish sparkle. There didn't seem to be any end to how high I could increase the power.

We covered most of Scorpius and the Teapot. But the most interesting object was the Swan Nebula. At very high power I studied the structure that looked like a spiral column of wavy hair, fine gray strands intermixed with mysterious black shadows. The definition and contrast was amazing. My other

favorite was a long deep view of the Sagittarius star cloud area - hundreds and hundreds of stars. It was time for me to take a break and time for Phil to go solo on the scope. His favorite was the Scorpius Jewel Box. He was intrigued with the various layers of stars and colors as he described it. None of us have ever really seen much detail or features in deep sky objects before which really made for a fascinating evening.

The biggest wonder in this world is what I call the discovery zone. The first time I look at a truss type telescope I was in awe. First, what is this strange looking marvel? No doubt a high tech instrument for intense probing the unfathomable reaches of the universe. My furthermost wonder came on my first night at a CFAS star party at the Lewis site and yes, I did come to my senses and join a astronomical society. Telescopes of all sizes were present - beauties to behold in every direction. I was like a kid in a new playground. I was especially impressed with the folks. Mary and I walked around and had the opportunity to talk and look through their telescopes. I can sincerely say that I was impressed with their hospitality. There doesn't seem to be any end to how far that you can expand this adventure, or the sharing of experiences with community, friends, and fellow astronomers.

I completed the first phase of my astronomical experience including the recent rewards of observing through a home built 16" dobsonian telescope. So remember, "To infinity and beyond", as quoted by Buz Lightyear.