Swayze's Photo Gallery

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Thumbnail - 12.5 binoculars Steve's award-winning (STOLEN!) 12.5" binoculars. 12.5 binoculars - 40 in background

The first photograph was taken at the 1995 Riverside Telescope Makers Convention. The next photo was taken by our friend, Jim Reilly, and shows the 40" in the background.. Click on the images to download a larger high-resolution image. ALERT! Please watch carefully for this instrument at star parties, swap meets, sales, etc. Tragically, this instrument was stolen. If you see this instrument show up somewhere, please e-mail or call us immediately.

Click!-->The 40-inch f/5  The 40-inch f/5!. The 40-inch mirror. The 40-inch mirror
The 40-inch f/5 telescope! .... ......................The 40-inch mirror!

The 40-inch is 17 feet high when pointed at the zenith. It weighs over 800 lbs. Steve and Bruce worked for months grinding, polishing, and figuring the mirror. The truss tubes are covered with a black shroud during observing sessions, to enclose the tube and block stray light. The "finder" scope mounted piggyback on the mirror box, seen here on the right side of the photo, is a 12.5" f/5 telescope, also built by Steve. The first photo was taken at our Goat Mt. site, with Mt. Hood in the background. The ladder is a 16-foot orchard ladder built with extra steps. It is very stable, resting on 3 feet with a very wide base. The next photo was taken by Mel Bartels at the Oregon Star Party site in central Oregon, elevation approx. 5,500 feet. The next 2 photos show Steve with the 40" mirror. The mirror is 2 inches thick, weighs about 185 lbs, and is supported in the telescope by a 27-point flotation cell.

More photos of a few of the telescopes built by

Steve & Bruce (mostly Steve) over the years:

The 30-inch telescope..Steve's award-winning 30-inch!30-inch details

Steve's 30-inch f/4 was a totally unique instrument. A truss-tube design, with the base tube inlaid with Steve's classic woodwork. Walnut veneers combined with maple. The base rocker was very simple, elegant, and sturdy. The "finder" mounted on top is a beautiful 7-inch f/4, now being used by Bruce as a stand-alone instrument (see photo below).

7-inch f/4..Steve is all smiles.  We love this little 7-inch f/4

This beautiful telescope won an award at the Table Mountain star party in 1992 for the best in amateur workmanship. It's 7-inch mirror has a focal length of 26.25", and an excellent figure. It provides fantastic rich field wide angle views, as well as crisp high power views of the planets. Steve and a friend did the woodwork, of dark red padauk and birds-eye maple, and Bruce ground and polished the mirror. A 35mm Panoptic eyepiece with an O/3 filter shows you the entire N. American nebula! Also, the entire Veil Nebula can be seen (all the remnants) in one field of view! And you can see all the Pleiades at once! We really get a kick out of this little telescope.

Bruce's 15-inch (1981) Old 15-inch telescope.The new 15-inch!.

BEFORE and AFTER. Bruce built this large 15-inch in 1981 in Fremont, California. It was a classic dobsonian, and it has seen many sights over the last 16 years. The instrument was showing it's age, and Bruce was anxious to upgrade to a truss-tube design that breaks down into a compact cube for travel. This instrument has now been entirely rebuilt. The original mirror has even been refigured. The results are astounding! The woodwork is done in purple heart and quilted maple veneers, and it's gorgeous! Check out the special page I have created with a number of new photos.

12-inch f/8...12.5-inch f/5...12.5-inch f/6.6...12.5" Telescopes galore

The first photo shows a 12-inch f/8 built several years ago for a friend. The unique woodwork is done in Cherry and Maple, with a touch of Ebony in the side bearings. The next photo shows a 12.5" f/5, done in dark red Padauk and Maple.Although it looks similar, it is a different scope than the one mounted piggyback on the 40-inch. Finally, this 12.5" f/6.6 truss-tube scope is done in Nara and Birds-eye Maple. Steve made all these mirrors.

6-inch f/6...8-inch f/4...8-inch f/7A beautiful trio of smaller scopes.

The first photo shows details of a beautiful 6-inch made for a friend. The woodwork is a combination of Walnut and Maple. Next is a gorgeous 8-inch f/4 made in Walnut and Maple. Finally, this beautiful, artistic 8-inch f/7 is made with Maple, Rosewood, and Walnut.

Thank you for visiting this page. Your comments are appreciated.

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Send email to Steve at: steve@europa.com