Several years ago I started to develop an elegant, high quality, easy-to-use astronomical telescope with professional grade optics in a smoothly operating, rock steady mount. This "New Classic 8" is the result. Its form-follows-function design makes it a beautiful, long lasting, user friendly, highly functional, sk … Read more Several years ago I started to develop an elegant, high quality, easy-to-use astronomical telescope with professional grade optics in a smoothly operating, rock steady mount.

This "New Classic 8" is the result. Its form-follows-function design makes it a beautiful, long lasting, user friendly, highly functional, sky viewing tool

Professional Quality

Good design lasts. This is not a telescope that will become obsolete.

We use diffraction limited optics ( as good as the laws of Physics require) carefully chosen and tested to give the best possible view of the heavens.

The optics are arranged exactly as Isaac Newton did when he invented the reflecting telescope in the late 1660's. There still isn't a better, simpler way to do it so well.

Great optics are worthless without a sturdy, steady, smoothly operating mount. Ours precisely holds the optics to deliver sharp, breathtaking views of the universe by bouncing actual photons that have traveled through space off of two mirrors into your eyes. You literally touch the stars.

Hand Crafted

We hand build each scope, making them light enough for one person to handle, but strong enough to last for many years. It's designed to last and will be as treasured by your grand kids as it is to you.

We use wood dyes that actually sink into the deep grain instead of just coating the surface like stains and paints. We mix these ourselves to provide a deep, even, natural color without obscuring the wood.

Wooden pegs are used in all structural elements. We carefully match the grain so the risers and buttresses match. The slats and ribs of every tube are made from one sheet of wood so you can follow the grain all around making everything look even more solid and almost alive.


Why Wood ?

Wood is an ideal material for telescope construction.

The scope is made of Maple and Baltic Birch, known for its use in canoes and boats. It's stiffer than steel for its weight to precisely hold the optics in place.

Wood instead of metal also neatly solves the problem of the magnified heat waves that distort the optical path as metal tubes and hardware slowly cool in the night air.

Wood is also self dampening. Vibrations from wind or guiding quickly die out seconds after you find your target so stars and Planets and Galaxies don’t dance around in the eyepiece as they do with many lightweight commercial mounts.

Easy to Use

Ease of use was always the most important factor in the design of this scope. You don't have to know anything about astronomy or electronics or celestial motions or computers to set it up for use. We've made finding things in the sky intuitive and incredibly easy With laser and optical finders all you do is point the tube at what you want to see.

The Compton Tube Clamp system allows tube adjustment for balance, and for rotation to conveniently position the eyepiece.

Everything you need is provided. You don't have to buy anything else to make it right.