So the mystery is solved! But this is funny - I gave away what this box was for, without realizing it. So this was what I posted, asking you to guess what the finished project was. Yankee Craftsmanship. Anyhow, this is a photograph of my finished project, a telescope carrying case for my "new-old telescope." A former ASLI member offered three of his old telescopes to club members and I ended up with a 5" f/5 refractor which he built using a lens and materials from Jaegers, back in the 1970's. Please click on this to see a much larger version.
But I had forgotten that I made another post called: Cat Coffin, which showed the other part of the telescope case with cats playing in it! Duh!
Well, anyhow, now the finished project can be revealed. I promised I would show you the finished project three days after I posted "Yankee Craftsmanship" but I ran into a serious problem. I had bought a brand new quart of marine varnish and there was something wrong with it. It would not dry to a hard finish and I had to return it and wait for a new can to arrive which really set me back a couple of weeks.
But here it is, all finished, and with the telescope inside the box! With three coats of varnish on top of birch plywood, it actually is a stunning thing to see in person. It is simply beautiful! Sorry to make you wait so long for the results.
Beautiful craftsmanship and so fortunate to be the new owner of a hand made telescope from the 70's that your friend made. Why is there a pencil drawing on the top of the case? I thought it might be to position the scope correctly in the box but large sense is at the opposite end. ???
ReplyDeleteThis is funny. The drawing of a 2 element lens I did on top shows which end of the box the front of the telescope goes in, because that lens is heavy and this way I can grab the handle closer to the lens drawing. But you found the flaw... I put the telescope in the box with the top open on the back steps. It was only after I took the photograph did I realize, as you carefully noticed, that I put the telescope in backwards for this picture! Nice catch.
DeleteWhen I saw your original blog post, my mind went immediately to your astronomy hobby and figured it could be a box for a "new" telescope. So I guessed wrong on the "new" detail but I remain very impressed with the Yankee craftsmanship illustrated by today's blog photos - an heirloom telescope storage box for sure! Just out of curiosity, what features does this gifted telescope have compared to your other telescopes?
ReplyDeletePrimo: Some telescopes are more "telephoto" to think of it in one way, and others are more "wide angle." I mean, of course all telescopes are "telephoto" to use the terms for camera lenses. So this refractor (as opposed to a telescope with a mirror in it) is rather large with a 5" lens in the front. That lets in more light. And it has a shorter focal length so it is more of a "wide angle" telescope. My other refracting telescopes are longer focal lengths. So the joy of this telescope is, that under the dark skies of the east end or in Vermont, I will scan up and down the milky way and get to see more of the summer Milky Way at low power, which is a spectacular thing
DeleteI was totally wrong guessing a bread box! Of course, the size is not right. Plus, I totally forgot about the “Cat Coffins” blog. Your craftsmanship looks wonderful. What a great way to carry your new/old telescope. Enjoy. Betsey
ReplyDeleteI am so glad Ken Schwarz asked you about new/old scope as I enjoyed reading your answer and the many differences in scopes.
ReplyDelete