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Porter Turret Telescope Construction Photos

The Porter Turret Telescope was constructed in 1930, during the great depression in the United States. Springfield, Vermont was the heart of the precision machine tool industry in the country at this time, and most of the club members worked for Jones & Lampson, a major tool maker, and consequently had access to the machine tools needed to construct such a mechanically large instrument. These photos from the Stellafane Archives chronicle the construction of this unique instrument.


1: Preparing the
Bedrock Foundation.
2: Porter gives some
inspirational words.
3: Forms ready,
mixing cement.
4: Posing before the
cement is poured.

5: Machining the
RA Bearing.
6: Test assembly of
boom with bearing.
7: Building the
wooden shack.
8: Hoisting the RA
bearing into place.

9: It's a bit higher
in this view.
10: Sill sliding the
RA bearing into place.
11: Completed Turret
Telescope with optics.
12: The Porter
Turret today.

Notes:

  • Photo 1 & 12: Note telescope pier behind boom (1) and to right of (12) - it hasn't moved!
  • Photo 4 & 11: Note observation platform on tower by clubhouse, no longer on tower.
  • Photos 5 & 6 are at Jones & Lampson Company in Springfield.
  • Photo 6: Note second eyepiece location at right, perhaps for a second instrument such as refractor like the Hartness Turret has. However, it was never installed, and that hole has always been used as a mount for a counterweight boom.
  • Photo 9: Best view of shack, and original tarpaper and batten roof.

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Page last revised on Sunday, 2007-Sep-23 08:24:10 -0600