I started, but never finished grinding an 8" mirror. I began making a low-focal ratio mirror for deep sky observing (which means grinding it to one curve) then decided I wanted a high-magnification planetary scope instead (and reground to a different curve) then kids came along and my hobbies stopped.
Along the way, I built my own tools, like the necessary Foucault tester and a mirror grinding machine. My machine was basically a variable speed drill driving some eccentric gears that pushed the blank around. I have no idea whose plans I followed but there are lots out there. I planned to use it for the polishing stage but ended up giving the machine to a friend who tells me he used it successfully to polish a mirror.
Mel Bartels is a giant in the amateur telescope making (ATM) community. He's made many amazing scopes and advanced the art for the amateur a lot. See his scopes and articles at http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/tm.html
Stellafane is an annual gathering of amateur telescope makers (and astronomy enthusiasts) in Vermont. They have some nicely organized ATM info at http://stellafane.org/tm/atm/index.html
Been pondering grinding a mirror for a long while now; however even the blanks are quite expensive these days (in the UK at least)...
Also, given the amazing amount of time you need to do it, I'd rather go for a rather impractically large one, otherwise, well, I do have 10" newtonian 'scope already.. But it's unlikely a 16" mirror is a realistic 'first try' :-)
"Pushing glass" to make a 16" mirror would probably take considerable effort as well as time. I gather it's quite physical.
I've had some 5 inch blanks for a couple of decades with the intention to have a bash, just to see if I could get within 1/4 wavelength. I suspect I'll never have the time, or patience/skill with testing it.
I built a 9 inch Newtonian using bought mirrors and focuser, and plywood etc for everything else. It would be one step cooler to grind the mirrors too.
The grinding could probably be automated somehow; might actually be easier to get 'random' movements that way too..
I imagine a X/Y/R table with the blank (or tool, alternatively) and the tool mounted on top on a semi flexible arm that applies pressure mostly on the center, so it gets to 'rock' a little...
Put a spoon of grit on the blank, place the tool on top, press the timer and go have a beer :-)
But yeah, that's also a project that'll stick to the back of the queue for quite a while ;-)
Along the way, I built my own tools, like the necessary Foucault tester and a mirror grinding machine. My machine was basically a variable speed drill driving some eccentric gears that pushed the blank around. I have no idea whose plans I followed but there are lots out there. I planned to use it for the polishing stage but ended up giving the machine to a friend who tells me he used it successfully to polish a mirror.
Mel Bartels is a giant in the amateur telescope making (ATM) community. He's made many amazing scopes and advanced the art for the amateur a lot. See his scopes and articles at http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/tm.html
Stellafane is an annual gathering of amateur telescope makers (and astronomy enthusiasts) in Vermont. They have some nicely organized ATM info at http://stellafane.org/tm/atm/index.html