Posts Made By: Jay Emirzian

I agree with George. I own a 15" Obsession and was contemplating the same thing when it was time to purchase it. Only a small jump in magnitude isn't worth the ease of portability. Jumping to an 18" will increase the size and weight of the scope. You will most likely have to purchase a small step ladder which will ad another piece to the equipment you'll have to carry. If I was to go larger then a 15" it would be in a fixed location and it would be a HUGE jump in mirror size.

John,
I believe that C-14 you looked though was Alan Traino's scope. He told me he waited a long time for an exceptional scope to come off the assembly line. He wasn't kidding.....That scope can perform. But I do remember that WSP.

Jay

Nice Ed......But I don't think under 3 watts of heat is going to go up in flames.

Philip and Ted,
Your comments upset David a bit. I read both of the posts and got the impression that you weren't trying to make any waves. It seemed you were only lightening the mood but David didn't like your comments. Unfortunately it is hard to distinguish people's emotions on any forum. I deleted any reference to the comments. Please try and put yourself in others shoes and think of how they may feel before you post anything.

Thanks everyone,
Jay

Hey Guys,
I'm hoping to be there both weekends weather provided. With the opening of a new business it's hard to get away. I'm usually hanging out with Lenny and Audry in their tent. I know of alot of people who will be there so it should be fun. Hope we get good weather....I guess that will be my deciding factor.

L8R,
Jay

Great shots Jim. It looks like you had an awesome time. Thanks for shairing the pictures.

Hi Anthony,
I was reading Freds reply to your question and can say that he has some good points, but I don't tend to agree with some of his methods. My father builds reproductions of 18th century furniture as a vocation. Over the years I have learned a lot from him. I listed the link below so you can see where I am coming from.

That said, here is what I think you should do. First I would get a good quality gel stripper and use that to get the majority of the old finish on the tripod legs. Use a course steel wool to help get into the open grain of the Oak legs. A brass brush works even better. Fred was right about using a 150 paper to remove the rest of the finish. Make sure you do this after the stripper has completely dried. It won't mess anything up, but it will gum up the sand paper.
Next is the stain. I HATE Minwax. They are typical home owner grade products. Try going to a local Woodcraft store and pick up a gel stain....Walnut color. Make sure it is a sealing stain. Follow their directions and then use a polyurethane. Sand with 400 grit before applying the polyurethane. If you look at my fathers furniture, he uses a laqure finish. This will not hold up to weather as well as the Poly. I would spray the finish on, but if you don't have access to the equipment brushing it will be fine. The most important part is sanding between coats, but because Oak is an open grain you want to sand the legs across the grain so the open grain will fill with the powdered polyurethane. When you put on the next coat it will fill in the holes of the grain. I would sand with a 400 grit paper. Three coats should be fine. There are other steps to make the finish a really high shine after the last coat, but you should be happy with the results with just the three coats.

Ask if you have any other questions.

Jay

http://www.18thcenturyfurnituremakers.com/

Tom,
GREAT pictures. I love to watch the deer around my peroperty to. The unfortunate part is the mother is skin and bones trying to keep up with the milk production. Usually triplets don't do so well. They look very healthy though....But the mother is suffering for it. Hope she can keep up with their growth.

Jay

Deet also disolves the coatings on optics. Make sure your well away from yours or anyone elses equipment before you spray!!

ThermaCell mosquito repelent seems to work well in still air. Manufactures link below

http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/howwork.html

Thanks for the info Joe....