DAVID LUKEHURST
ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE MAKER
Astronomical Telescopes for the Discerning Visual Observer
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Dobsonian Telescopes
A Standard 20-inch f/4 Truss-Tube Dobsonian
The photograph above is just one example from the range.
All of the Dobsonian Telescopes that I supply are individually made by me in my workshop in Nottingham.
To date (November 2015) I have made over well 200 telescopes, mostly large truss-tube Dobsonians but also a few refractors and Cassegrains.
The only components that I do not make are the mirrors, focusers and some of the finderscopes. I use mirrors from several suppliers with the majority being made by Oldham Optical in Scarborough. They are very experienced in the production of astronomical optics and consistently produce excellent mirrors. Mirrors are also available from Nichol Optical & Orion Optics. Telescopes can also be made to fit customers existing mirrors.
Sizes up to 10-inches diameter normally use closed aluminium tubes. Dobsonians of 12-inches and larger are of Truss-tube construction, which makes them highly portable for their aperture, compact when disassembled for storage and quick and easy to dismantle and reassemble.
The mountings are made from high-grade exterior plywood and are carefully sealed and painted making the telescopes durable, attractive, highly functional and easy to use. They are supplied with a high quality finder as standard.
The basic prices quoted in the price list are for Dobsonians with 1/4-wave PTV wavefront accuracy mirrors. These perform extremely well and are what is often referred to as "diffraction limited". (See: http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/ratemirrors.html for a detailed review of the many ways of describing mirror quality).
Higher accuracy mirrors, other sizes and different focal ratios are available (please see mirror set page). Currently, almost all of the telescopes I make are fitted with higher accuracy 1/10th-wave mirrors.
Please browse the web pages for more details and do not hesitate to contact me for more information or to discuss any particular requirements.