Fun and useful Do-It-Yourself Projects

There is no end of astronomy gadgets to spend your money on. But most of us discover that some of the "must have" gadgets are either way beyond our "snack bracket" or are simply not available for purchase. So, if you want it, you'll have to make it yourself!

Many DIY projects do require a lot of driving around looking for the parts needed for construction, so consider the cost of time and gas before deciding to take on a project. My personal rule for when to/when NOT to, make my own is that it tends to cost less to buy it rather than build it yourself. On the other hand, some of these projects are just fun to do and often what I make myself is superior to what I can buy ready made.


Telrad Dew Heater

A Telrad finder scope is probably the best $ 50 you'll ever spend on this hobby. But that piece of glass is a dew magnet. Fortunately, it is really easy to MacGyver a simple, effective, attractive (looks better than the Kendrick elastic band treatment) dew heater for less than $ 10.00 and it works better than anything you can buy.

And did I say "high tech"? NOT! The only parts needed are a resister, 2 pieces of wire, and an RCA audio plug. Just plug it into your dew heater controller and works like a charm!

   Click here for installation instructions

Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator

A Bahtinov mask is a focusing aid for astronomy in general, and astrophotography in particular. It consists of a disk made of opaque material fitted over the telescope objective with slots cut out in a specific pattern devised by amateur astrophotographer Pavel Bahtinov.

Designing a mask using drawing, design, or CAD software can be challenging, as the specifics of the mask change for each telescope based on aperture, focal length, and how you plan to attach the mask to the scope. This generator makes generating masks significantly easier - simply enter some parameter values specific to your telescope on the next page, press the Generate! button, and out pops an SVG file with your design.

To focus using the Bahtinov mask, center a bright star. What you will see is a bright star surrounded by spikes in a X pattern and line running through it. As you adjust the focus knob the center line moves up or down depending on the direction that you are turning the focuser. After each focus adjustment, take another image. When the center line is in the middle of the X your in focus!

    Click here for Bahtinov Mask instructions




How To Make an Aluminum Dovetail Using Wood Working Tools

This is one of the topics presented at Starfest 2010 "Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention". The goal was to demonstrate how common woodworking tools can be used to fabricate gadgets made with aluminum. Making a dovetail was a good way to demonstrate the process, but happens to be one of those items where you'll save money if you are able to buy a ready made one. But if you can make a dovetail, you can also make a bunch of other things that no amount of money can buy!

Warning : The video clip does NOT contain the narration used in the Starfest presentation. Specifically, safety precautions. The guy in the video clip does some things that are NOT recommended. Use common sense:
- Wear protective eye shields
- Don't stand behind the table saw. The "saw dust" is very sharp and very hot!
- Push material through the saw with a piece of wood. NOT your fingers
_ yada, yada

        Click here for construction plans and video clip


 Here are some other cool things that were made using a table saw, miter saw, and router:
- Equatorial wedge with "outrigger bars"
- Spider assembly (tripod "spreader")
- Tripod leg levelers